Interactive visualizations are increasingly emerging in science centers to communicate complex scientific ideas. Yet little is known about public engagement with exploranative exhibits combining explorative and explanative visualization. This study investigates visitors' engagement with the Marine Food Web, a touch-based 3D Antarctic food web exhibit about ecological relationships in the context of climate change. A mixed-method design combined five semi-structured interviews with log data from 995 science center visitor sessions. Qualitative analysis showed both sound scientific reasoning, for example about trophic relationships and population dynamics alongside misinterpretations, related to depth cues and node-link structures. Affective responses ranged from curiosity and aesthetic appreciation to climate concern. Usage constraints including graph auto-rotation, node density, and dual-screen split attention, might limit understanding. Quantitative analyses of exhibit log files revealed wide variation in engagement. Most visitors interacted briefly, while longer sessions (>5 min) featured extensive exploration of the food web, including increased page visits and interactions per session compared to shorter sessions. Our findings reveal novel benefits and challenges of exploranation for public engagement with complex science visualizations. We highlight the need for interaction control, decoding support, and alignment between narrative and interactive affordances, which may inform empirical guidance for future exploranative exhibit design.
Trust in science is often mediated via trust cues, i.e. information provided in content about science referring to dimensions of trust in science (i.e. expertise, integrity, benevolence, transparency, dialogue) as reasons for placing trust in scientists. Even though trust cues have been identified in media content, perspectives of public audiences have thus far been neglected. Therefore, we conducted four online focus groups (n = 23 German participants) to assess the perceptions and relevance of trust cues. Our findings show that even though evaluations are individual, for most participants expertise and integrity cues were most important for their trust in scientists.
Science-related topics are a popular genre of podcasts and are growing as a form of science communication. Science information is a resource, and when accessed through podcasts, a disparity in its allocation can occur. Using fairness as an ethical framework for knowledge selection and distribution, we surveyed 147 top science podcasters and assessed their views on how listeners benefit from content decisions (distributive fairness) and whether decisions reflect audience voice, respectful treatment, and transparent explanation (procedural, interpersonal, and informational fairness). Our results indicate podcasters view themselves as an intermediary between scientists and general audiences. They gather information primarily from scientific research articles and by interviewing researchers. We also note that while podcasters strive to maintain high ethical standards in the pursuit of trust from the audience, their actions, intentionally or unintentionally, do not always indicate this. We discuss potential tactics to enact fairness and future research areas to examine within this area.
A lack of role models has been identified as a key reason adolescent girls are less likely to consider STEM careers. Social media present significant opportunities for adolescent girls to connect with women STEM role models and learn about STEM careers in an accessible and appealing format because social media are deeply integrated into the everyday lives and media practices of adolescent girls. This case study used reflective thematic analysis to analyze engagement with 303 TikTok posts associated with the #womeninSTEM selected by an adolescent girl when seeking information about women in STEM. Uses and gratifications theory provided a framework to better understand content preferences and motivations that prompted engagement. Positive engagement was found for content centered on inspirational messages and negative engagement for content focused on discouraging messages about challenges working in male-dominated fields or content lacking in trendy design features. Implications for women STEM influencers and content creators seeking to promote engagement with this important audience are considered.
This article examines the opportunities for STEM learning in an anthropological gallery in a museum. This study focuses on family groups of children aged 2-5 years and their accompanying adults. The participants consisted of 15 families with young children visiting the gallery during regular opening hours. The data were collected through video-recorded observations and post-visit semi-structured interviews with the family groups, and semi-structured interviews with nine museum staff members from various teams. Specific episodes were selected for analysis based on their relevance to STEM-related themes, such as mathematical reasoning, scientific inquiry and problem-solving. We employ multimodal analysis to make sense of the data and draw on Activity Theory to explore families' meaning-making processes, with a focus on children's STEM learning. This study contributes to the growing recognition of the entanglement between human and non-human agencies. The findings demonstrate how non-human entities - artefacts, exhibits and gallery spaces - actively contribute to children's STEM learning during museum visits. We also show how, in the absence of the gallery explicitly providing opportunities for STEM learning, some parents but not others were able to use the gallery's resources to enable their young children to develop their STEM learning.
The capacity to engage with science is recognized as a dynamic and multifaceted set of competencies that extend beyond conceptual understanding. It includes the ability to critically evaluate socio-scientific issues, interpret scientific information in diverse contexts, and participate meaningfully in public discourse about science. This article addresses a timely and significant concern: the need to revisit and expand the concept of science literacy in an intensely mediated environment, shaped by platformization and the algorithmic influence on the framing of scientific information and discourse. It advocates for a reconceptualisation of how individuals engage with science, grounded in the integration of multiple critical literacies and competencies, to better support informed participation in science-related decision-making.
This article examines how professional science communicators make sense of emotion in their work. Drawing on a constructionist perspective and reflexive thematic analysis of 22 interviews with practitioners, it analyses how emotion is legitimised, enacted, and negotiated as part of science communication practice. Rather than treating emotion as a psychological response or persuasive tool, the study approaches it as a socially situated practice shaped by cultural norms, institutional settings, and professional role expectations. The analysis identifies six themes across three dimensions: how communicators justify emotional engagement through evolutionary and professional framings; how they enact emotional practice through strategic calibration, narrative engagement, and collective embodiment; and how they navigate cultural mandates that define acceptable emotional expression. The findings show that emotion is not simply used instrumentally, but made meaningful through ongoing work of legitimation, judgement, and negotiation within particular contexts, roles, and relationships. Understanding how emotion is legitimised, enacted, and constrained is therefore central to understanding what science communication is in professional practice.
Educational videos are increasingly used to enhance learning and disseminate scientific and technical knowledge. However, optimizing their design is essential to maintain viewer attention and maximize their educational impact. This study analyzes user engagement with exercise and dissemination videos on a Spanish-speaking YouTube channel focused on STEM education, particularly physics and engineering. The research examines how video characteristics, such as length, narration speed, and the presence of a fixed channel introduction, affect attention retention. Using YouTube analytics, data from 124 videos published between 2019 and 2025 were analyzed through metrics such as average view duration and audience retention after the first 30 s. Results show that dissemination videos achieve higher attention retention than exercise videos. Shorter videos, especially those under eight minutes, are significantly more effective, while narration speed has little influence. The first 30 s are critical for maintaining engagement, particularly in dissemination videos. Conversely, the inclusion of a fixed introduction reduces attention and should be avoided as it adds no educational value. These findings provide evidence-based recommendations for educators and content creators to improve the design and impact of educational videos, contributing to the broader understanding of effective communication strategies in STEM education on digital platforms.
Our exploratory case study examined how immersive teaching strategies in zoo-based classrooms support student learning through the lens of situated learning theory. Situated learning theory emphasizes four elements - content, context, environment, and participation - each present in the zoo's Immersive Habitat Classrooms: Rainforest, Woodland, and Desert. We collected 644 Year 7 students' (ages 13-14) drawings before and after their Immersive Habitat Classroom lessons and conducted non-participant observations of 15 lessons taught by five zoo educators. Drawing scores were analyzed using a rubric, a one-way ANOVA and 10 factorial ANOVA models. Most students showed improvement in habitat knowledge, with drawings reflecting more detailed representations of classification, adaptations, and environment-specific features. Observations revealed immersive teaching strategies, such as storytelling, animal handling, and dialogic discussion, that fostered engagement and conceptual understanding. Students responded emotionally to spontaneous animal behaviors, which anchored their learning in the authentic zoo context. The student's post-drawing scores increased from pre-drawing scores for all three immersive habitat classrooms. Overall, there was a positive, statistically significant effect on student learning, from experiencing a lesson in the immersive habitat classrooms. These findings underscore the potential of zoo-based instruction to support science learning through active participation, authentic experiences, and situated meaning-making.
As science museums and science centers increasingly address complex topics like biotechnology and quantum physics, visitors face mounting challenges navigating exhibit-dense environments and making informed choices aligned with their backgrounds. To reduce these challenges, this study introduces individualized tour proposals tailored to visitors' prior knowledge and interests in a biotechnology exhibition. Comparison of experimental and control visitors' tracking data (N = 285) demonstrate that these proposals successfully redirect movement patterns, leading experimental group participants to prioritize suggested exhibits over conventional circulation routes. Participants visited fewer exhibits overall but engaged more selectively and intensively, suggesting deeper learning potential through focused attention. Post-visit interviews reveal nuanced responses: participants reported enhanced thematic coherence, reduced cognitive load, and improved exhibit selection, aligning with cognitive load theory applications in informal learning. However, some experienced autonomy restrictions that conflicted with free-choice learning principles. These findings contribute to discussions in museum studies regarding visitor guidance in complex scientific exhibitions. The personalized tour approach demonstrates potential for enhancing learning outcomes while raising important questions about the balance between structured support and visitor autonomy. This research offers evidence for museums developing strategies to support visitor navigation in content-rich exhibitions, though implementation considerations include maintaining visitor agency and accommodating diverse learning preferences.
This experimental study examines the benefits and limits of a science, language, and literacy integrated curricula with Multilingual Learners (MLs). The curricular intervention is based on the premise that language processes, specifically reading, writing, and discourse instruction are better served when these language processes are means to subject matter learning. Although there is a knowledge base of the efficacy of similar instructional models for middle school and upper grade MLs, this study examines the effects of a science, language, and literacy integrated curricula on early elementary grade MLs (n = 307). In this study, classrooms in the United States that housed second and third grade MLs were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: 1. Science and Literacy Integrated Curriculum; 2. Science-Only Curriculum; 3. Literacy-Only Curriculum; 4. No treatment comparison group. The study included four conditions to distinguish the effects of the integrated curriculum on MLs' learning. Results showed that the science, language, and literacy integrated curriculum outperformed two of the three comparison conditions in science vocabulary and science knowledge, but not in science reading.
This research investigates the role of science education in countering climate misinformation, focusing on its effects on both skeptics and believers. It assesses two forms of literacy: cognitive science literacy, which addresses biases in processing scientific information, and civic science literacy, which involves understanding the scientific principles and methods that enable informed decision-making and effectively participating in civic and societal discussions. Results from experimental data collected in 2024 (N = 798) showed that different types of science literacy content had a minimal impact on perceptions of misinformation trustworthiness. However, the level of attention given to the educational material significantly influenced its effectiveness, with this effect being moderated by participants' pre-existing attitudes. Specifically, increased attention reduced trust in misinformation among climate believers, but not among skeptics. These findings underscore the importance of designing science education interventions that capture attention and align with the audience's predispositions, thereby enhancing their effectiveness.
The AMACA project (Astronomy education with a Multi-sensory, Accessible, and Circular Approach) develops multi-sensory activities for accessible education and engagement in astronomy. Despite promising innovations, existing resources are often poorly documented, designed for one-time events, expensive, and lack interdisciplinary collaboration, user testing, and broad dissemination. AMACA addresses these challenges by creating multi-sensory activities for education and outreach, with a particular focus on accessibility for people with sensory disabilities. A circular approach informs its educational structure: (1) a PhD course on multi-sensory astronomy outreach develops hands-on activities with the support of astronomers, psychologists, and organizations for the visually impaired and the deaf; (2) PhD candidates teach High School (HS) students how to deliver the activities; (3) HS students lead the activities at the Astronomy Festival "The Universe in All Senses"; (4) HS students train teachers to implement the activities in their classrooms. AMACA also develops tools to guide project development and track participants' learning. Key findings show improved communication and accessibility awareness among PhD candidates, increased emotional engagement with astronomy among HS students, enhanced public engagement with research and accessibility awareness, and high teacher satisfaction with the flipped-roles, hands-on approach. Overall, AMACA enhances accessibility and engagement in astronomy education across audiences.
Misinformation about science is becoming increasingly common both through passive transmission and through active weaponization by bad faith actors around the globe. Science communicators and educators should play a central role in combatting this but to do so they need a deeper understanding of how the meaning of scientific research is transformed as it is disseminated to the public. To help with this understanding, I present a narrative case study that follows a single piece of scientific research from original publication through interactions between the authoring scientist and a news reporter to its presentation in a popular news story read by a member of the public. By analyzing how fine-grained knowledge resources are activated in each step of this journey, this study demonstrates that differences between scientific and lay interpretation of scientific research is not the result of the public's lack of knowledge but rather an emergent property of small shifts in meaning in each interaction and text. Furthermore, I argue that both scientists and non-scientists rely on fundamentally similar interpretative resources depending on the interactional context of use. This provides new analytical and theoretical directions of developing research to understand and tools to facilitate science communication and education.
This study explores the classroom implementation of an audio podcast assignment in an undergraduate course on public science communication. Drawing on theories of professional identity formation and science communication, it investigates students' perceptions of their social responsibilities as future science professionals as well as their communicative practices podcasting science to the public. Conducted at a Canadian university, the study involved 34 students who created podcasts designed to engage lay audiences in scientific topics. Analyzing open-ended student reflections and podcasts, the study examines the extent to which students recognized the civic purposes of science communication and enacted socially responsible orientations in their podcasts. Cognizant of their civic duties, most students created podcasts that addressed broader societal issues, adopting communicative practices consistent with the pursuit of social good. The findings suggest that podcasting can serve as a pedagogical tool for cultivating students' civic agency and advancing science education's social mission. By combining creative expression with public engagement, podcasting can encourage students to see themselves not only as scientists-in-training but also as future communicators with a professional responsibility to serve the public good.
This study examines how science comics can promote engagement and scientific literacy among children aged 8-9 in informal learning settings. Situated at the intersection of science communication and science education, the research responds to ongoing calls for interdisciplinary strategies that make science more accessible and meaningful to the public. We designed and implemented three resources based on science comics in a Portuguese science center, combining the Design Thinking approach with qualitative research. The resources addressed health and well-being topics aligned with the WHO and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Data were collected through observations and children's produced work across three implementation sessions, and thematic analysis was used to assess engagement and learning outcomes. The findings highlight how science comics acted as boundary resources, facilitating dialogue between scientific content and children's everyday experiences. Children demonstrated engagement with the science and showed a comprehension of the scientific concepts. This study contributes to a growing field of research on comics as tools for science engagement, offering insights for science practitioners. It advocates integrating visual narrative, participatory learning, and design-based approaches to enhance informal science education and foster scientific literacy from an early age.
Epistemic injustice remains underexplored in science museum contexts, particularly within the dynamics of visitor interactions. This focused case study investigates how epistemic injustice manifests during exhibit engagements, drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and a taxonomy of epistemic injustice. Using video and conversation recordings, and post-visit interviews at a science exhibit focused on viruses, bacteria, and public health, we illustrate how subtle forms of epistemic injustice manifest in visitor-exhibit interactions. Our findings reveal that visitors, and especially children, must navigate often conflicting roles as learners, family members, and research participants, frequently deferring to parental and institutional authority in ways that suggest epistemic injustice. We argue that the exhibit reinforces a deficit model of science communication by privileging institutional expertise and limiting opportunities for visitor sense-making. Finally, we reflect on the difficulties visitors face in articulating critique, emphasizing the role of epistemic power asymmetries between the exhibiting institution, researchers, and publics. This study suggests that exclusionary knowledge practices are enacted through moment-to-moment visitor-exhibit interactions. We advance a theoretico-methodological lens for understanding visitor experiences and advancing epistemic justice within museum studies and spaces: the synergy between the CHAT and epistemic injustice frameworks.
