In agreeing whole-heartedly with the need for public engagement for science and in attracting young people to science subjects and scientific careers, Amgueddfa Cymru—National Museum Wales would wish to note that it is not only science and discovery centres that havea role to play in such an engagement. We believe that museums also have a truly important role to play in this area, given that they often hold substantial evidence bases, and are often the major centres of taxonomic expertise left in the country. Crucially, they also have a long tradition of interpreting the collections and knowledge that they hold.

  Under the terms of its Royal Charter, the remit of Amgueddfa Cymru—National MuseumWales operates in two sciences, Biodiversity (Botany and Zoology) and Geology. In a recent review of direction the institution has proposed the development of a national museum of natural sciences/natural history for Wales, with an international remit. An integral part of this will be programmes to develop a greater public understanding of natural and earth sciences with the aim of encouraging involvement and uptake of the subject by students. We believe that this involvement in science and understanding the research process is lacking in many public venues where the focus is on explaining the known rather than discovering the unknown. It is the latter that actually drives scientists and currently we do not succeed in projecting this enthusiasm.

  We currently operate a "hands-on" gallery that is used primarily by younger children and families. The programmes here, however, do not focus on the process of science and do not tackle what one might term as contemporary science issues,such as genetic modification or climate change. A significant challenge for museums is attracting secondary and tertiary level students to participate in events, and this is not helped by the limited time schools have for visits to museums and science centres, and the rather narrow demands of the national curricula.

  We intend to provide a venue for our own science research activities and to offer this to universities and other research bodies throughout Wales. The difficulties in making visits to a museum or science centre,of course, may be partly overcome by developing virtual visits that can be accessed at the school, the university or home.We are currently developing such a virtual museum butit is in its very initial stages. We are also proposing to create an interactive zone and an information zone, ideally to be facilitated bystaff trainedin the interpretation of science and supported byscientific curators.

  In our case, funding for such proposals could only come from two sources, either grant in aid from the Welsh Assembly Governmentand/or from sponsors/charitable trusts. The primary recurrent costs are for staff, and this is the precise area where funding for new developments can be most problematic for all institutions in this area. Consequently, it might be well worth exploring the feasibility of a dedicated funding source for the public understanding of science, especially in relation to contemporary issues and understanding the research process.

June 2007