EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  1.  We contend that there is extensive evidence that centres of informal education, including Science Museums and Science Centres play a much needed role in educating and engaging a broad public audience with science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We also contend this role should be recognised by increasing the levels of public funding available to such institutions. There is already extensive collaboration between institutions fostered by Ecsite-UK, and we believe that a strategic investment fund for science museums and science centres would reap significant rewards nationally. We propose that any additional funding should be distributed through a competitive peer-reviewed process similar to that employed by the National Science Foundation to fund informal science education in the United States.

INTRODUCTION

  2.  The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester (MoSI) is a charitable trust (registration no 518412) which receives revenue funding from The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). As a result of this funding, the Museum does not have an entry charge and offers free admission to all.

  3.  The Museum opened in 1983 on the site of the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. The Museum records the industrial and scientific development of Manchester and the Northwest region in particular and the UK in general. It has a wide ranging large collection of artefacts based in a number of buildings reflecting industrial themes.

  4.  In 2004-05 the Museum attracted 481,039 visitors of whom 179,455 were children. During 2004-05 65,734 children visited the Museum in organised education programmes, many directly related to the National Curriculum. (MoSI Annual Report 2004-05).

  5.  The Museum displays and interprets important artefacts and examples of local and national engineering from cars to aeroplanes, steam engines and textile looms. It also includes a recreated model of "Baby", the world's first stored program computer developed at Manchester University in 1948.

  6.  Each year the Museum runs a large number of educational programmes, schools programmes and exhibitions that popularise science, and this year has provided funds to stage the first Manchester Science Festival from 20-28 October.

  7.  Institutions such as ours build connections between science and the public by improving the quality of debate about contemporary science, by supporting the work of teachers, enhancing the experience of students, and by raising awareness of science and its relevance to society for all visitors of all ages.

ECSITE-UK AND THE UK PICTURE

  8.  The Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester is a corporate member of Ecsite-UK, which represents a single-point contact for the UK sector. Collectively, members of Ecsite-UK attract over 17 million visitors per year and reach many more through media, the internet and outreach programmes.

  9.  Ecsite-UK has brokered many successful projects across the UK. For example MoSI, in collaboration with a number of other Ecsite-UK members and thanks to funding from the SITA Environmental Trust, opened the "Wasted: the trouble with rubbish" hands on gallery on 23 October 2006. The active collaboration between science centres made possible "economies of scale" which reduced costs for everyone involved.

  10.  The exhibition looks at how Manchester dealt with its rubbish in the past, how our waste is processed today and how we might tackle waste management in the future. It encourages visitors to learn what they can do to help deal with the problem of waste in today's consumer society.

MEASURING THE ADDED VALUE OF INFORMAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

  11.  By using our collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment, museums can make a real difference to people's lives. There are many studies which demonstrate that museums can enable people of all age groups and from every stage in life to develop their knowledge, skills and personal qualities, and to continue learning, eg The Learning Power of Museums: a vision for museum education, published jointly by the DCMS and DfEE in 2000.

  12.  Although research to date has been limited, notably longitudinal studies, two recent evaluation studies involving the Museum's formal education programme provide clear evidence of the contribution that museum-based learning can make to children's attainment at school. The first showed the difference in science attainment by a Year 6 class from a school in East Manchester following their participation in a Museum visit, including a taught science session. At the start of Year 6, 17 out of the class of 29 were below a Level 3 in science. After the SATS test in the summer, all but three were above a Level 4, with seven pupils achieving Level 5. Besides there being questions in the test which children said they could answer because of what they had seen at the Museum, the teacher pinpointed the Museum visit as having made a real difference in the children's attainment.

  13.  The second study involved 201 primary school children who took part in a collaborative literacy programme between the five museums and galleries in the Manchester Museums Consortium working with the Manchester Education Partnership, who were monitored for their progress in writing. The evidence suggests that for all of the pupils involved there was a progress in writing attainment greater than the national norm of 2 points over two terms. Research discovered average progress of 2.7 points which is 157% greater than the national norm ("An Evaluation of the Impact of the NW Museum Hub's Primary Consultant", University of Warwick, 2006).

  14.  We are looking at opportunities to undertake further research into the impact of the Museum's learning programmes on both improving levels of attainment in schools and applying learning as a lifelong process, thereby enabling people to develop their confidence, knowledge and skills, and thus improve their quality of life. Linked with this is a continuous process of monitoring, reviewing and improving the programmes we offer different audiences in order to optimise the learning opportunities we provide for both our existing and potential new audiences.

PARTNERSHIP

  15.  Partnership with other organizations is another important aspect of our vision since it allows us to use the skills and expertise of others to help us develop.

  16.  For example we have recently enjoyed a most successful collaboration with the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization (FSTC) to host an exhibition on the Muslim contribution to civilization. The result of this partnership is "1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim heritage in our World", which is a unique UK-wide travelling exhibition. It forms part of an educational project, which aims to bridge the gap in understanding of the rich heritage that the Muslim community share with other communities in the UK and Europe. The project also includes a concurrent events programme and provision of educational resources.

  17.  The exhibition and, indeed, the partnership has been a tremendous success for the Museum. An independent evaluation has determined that it has driven over 10,000 new visitors to the Museum (the majority of whom are Muslim) and importantly that is having a positive impact on visitors when they are here. The exhibition was on display at the Museum from April to September 2006 and is presently on tour for a period of a further two years throughout the UK.

WORKING WITH SCIENTISTS

  18.  The Museum is a full partner with Prof Phil Withers from the School of Materials Science at the University of Manchester in an ongoing EPSRC project "So you think you can design a jet engine", which aims to develop a toolkit for communicating materials research to KS4 students and families with children aged 8-14.

  19.  The Museum is a full partner with Prof Nigel Linge from the School of Computing at Salford University for an EPSRC project aimed at developing a new interpretive tool for Museums called MiGuide, as well as to run a series of public engagement events on telecommunications.

  20.  Professor Linge and his team at the University of Salford ran a Telecommunications show on 10th March 2007, attended by over 1,100 visitors; this formed part of the Museum's programme for National Science and Engineering Week.

  21.  The Museum has a long running programme which brings scientists into the Museum to present and discuss their work to the Public. The programme has been a tremendous success, with positive feedback from Museum visitors and academics alike.

  22.  Another occasion was in April 2004, where Dr Albert Zilstra from the University of Manchester unveiled a brand new image from the Hubble Space Telescope at the Museum before an audience of 200 students from Bolton. The image, which Dr Zilstra used in his research on planetary nebulae, attracted significant media attention (appearing on the national BBC news) and thus the students were able to question a leading researcher on his research, and experience the excitement of a media press conference at first hand.

MANCHESTER SCIENCE FESTIVAL

  23.  The Museum has played a leading role in establishing a science festival for Manchester. The inaugural Manchester Science Festival will showcase the region's innovative science research and practice to a huge public audience in October 2007. It aims to share the excellent theoretical and applied science that is produced across the region, including in areas as diverse as psychology, the built environment, and technology.

  24.  The Festival will launch and run for the first time in 2007 as a nine-day, multi-venue festival (it is expected to run annually thereafter), and its intention is to host and promote a broad and engaging public science programme. We expect it to contribute towards the drive to get more schoolchildren studying science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, and also to increase levels of understanding of science issues within the general public and to help them to see the relevance of science in their everyday lives.

  25.  The Festival is being organised by a unique alliance, including leaders from business, culture, education, local government and healthcare. It will deliver a high-profile, high-impact festival, which will inspire the next generation of innovators in the North West.

  26.  In 2007, Manchester Science Festival will:

—  Work with 25+ key cultural, scientific and business organisations to develop the festival.

—  Promote a packed week of events between 20-28 October 2007.

—  Reach an audience of 25,000+ people, especially those not normally engaged in science.

—  Deliver an inspirational and hands-on schools programme in each of the ten AGMA areas.

—  Present a diversity of activities, from walks and tours to exhibitions and workshops, plus some professional events aimed at science communicators, artists, educators, etc.

—  Host work in key venues across the city-region of Manchester, such as the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester Museum, and the universities.

  27.  The Festival will take place primarily in venues across Manchester city centre, also utilising the four Greater Manchester universities (Manchester, Salford, Bolton, and MMU), as well as unexpected public places and other cultural and science venues across the city-region. The programme will include a wide range of activities and events, including hands-on workshops, exhibitions, talks, tours, and more. It is expected that there will also be a significant online presence.

  28.  The central strands for the 2007 Festival are still to be decided and programme highlights will be released in the summer. Manchester Science Festival is based on the view that NW England needs a platform dedicated to promoting science, technology and engineering to inspire and inform the innovative future workforce. The aim is to create an inclusive, accessible, popular science programme for everyone.

  29.  For the 2007 Festival, partners include the Museum of Science and Industry Manchester, NWDA, Manchester: Knowledge Capital, The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science), Manchester Museum, Universities of Manchester, Salford and Bolton and Manchester Metropolitan University, Cornerhouse, Whitworth Art Gallery, SETPOINT, Institute of Physics, Arts About Manchester, NW Cultural Consortium, and more.

  30.  The Museum of Science and Industry acts as the banker for the project. In 2007, it is expected that financial and resourcing support will come from a wide range of public and private funders (including NWDA and MoSI), with thousands of pounds of in kind support from our partners and venues.

BEACON FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

  31.  The Museum of Science and Industry is a full partner with Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University in a bid to the Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) to create a Beacon for Public Engagement in Manchester.

  32.  MoSI is keen to be involved because we see the potential of using this initiative to make a huge public impact in the region and beyond. By partnering with us (and of course through us with the other cultural organisations in the City) the emerging cadre of academics created and trained through the Beacon process will have an array of opportunities to engage with the public and a suite of tested tools and techniques they can be confident will help them deliver successful engagement activities.

  33.  From our perspective, one of the most exciting aspects of this project is that the Museum (and other venues such as galleries, schools and community centres) would become "laboratories" where we could partner with the universities and work with some of the academics emerging from the Beacon process to develop, experiment with, evaluate and refine both existing and new approaches to engagement to identify which are most effective.

—  A nationally significant element of the project will be to take the "best practice templates for engagement" developed at our Beacon and share them with the PE community.

—  The templates would make it easier for motivated academics to get involved in the new field of engagement.

—  These templates would be disseminated to the academic and museum community in Manchester and beyond.

—  Ranging from PowerPoint to ways to run debates, from grass roots consultations to practical ways to talk to the public and the media, our beacon will build up a library of tested and evaluated best practice across the field of public engagement.

  34.  The Beacon will provide easy access for external organisations (ranging from community groups to the media) to the best minds in each of the Universities, who, thanks to the professional development would be well prepared to really raise their games and generate significant improvements in public attitudes to science in our region.

  35.  Although the bid as presently structured rightly places an emphasis on working with disenfranchised and hard to reach groups, it is important to realise the opportunities offered for engaging with a mass audience also. Collectively, Manchester's Museums and Galleries attract nearly 2 million visitors per year. Thus by partnering with them, the potential impact of the Beacon programme could be enormous.

  36.  The information presented above shows what is being done with present levels of funding. With more funding the important work being done at our Museum and at science centres and museums all over the UK can be significantly extended, and the benefits shared via the strong partnership networks which have developed over the past few years.

FUNDING OF SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY CENTRES

  37.  With UK science centres bringing in 85% of their operating expenditure from earned income (including admission charges), as compared with 47.5% in the USA and 57% Europe wide (Sourcebook of science centre statistics 2005, ASTC) some will not be sustainable without external funding support. MoSI contends that a model similar to that used in the USA by the National Science Foundation should be introduced to support informal learning experiences in the UK.

  38.  According to the website of the National Science Foundation the National Science Foundation funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants, and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the United States. The Foundation accounts for about one-fourth of federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

  39.  Of particular relevance is the fact that the NSF supports a major programme of Informal Science education, which amounted to $25 million in 2006 (NSF website).

  40.  The peer-reviewed program invests in projects that develop and implement Informal learning experiences designed to increase interest, engagement, and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by individuals of all ages and backgrounds, as well as projects that advance knowledge and practice of informal science education. Projects may target either public audiences or professionals whose work directly affects informal STEM learning. ISE projects are expected to demonstrate strategic impact, innovation, and collaboration.

CONCLUDING THOUGHT

  41.  It has long been said that we need to do more to encourage young people into the sciences, but the developments likely to take place in the next 50 years or so make this remit ever more critical. We, as a society need to make sure that, 100 years from now, museums and science centres up and down the country are filled with galleries paying homage to a new generation of 21st Century British scientists. A generation that might just have to save our planet.

June 2007