Convenor: Paola Rodari, Dotik project leader, SISSA Medialab, Trieste, Italy

Discussants: Jamie Bell, Director, Centre of learning, Petrosains, The Discovery Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Maria Xanthoudaki, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy

Abstract

Explainers, animators, pilots, facilitators: whatever their name is, these professionals have an essential role in science centres and museums. A key factor determining the quality of their role is training. Recent research studies show a great diversity among different institutions: rather than a limit, this can be seen as an enriching factor requiring more intense and organised exchange of best practice. Examples of structured, often very creative, “lifelong” training can be found; these usually involve external speakers, drama workshops, exchange of facilitators among different science centres, daily practice through which facilitators update their competences in terms of content, engaging schemes, etc. The poster session will aim to share experiences on the training of facilitators, and to discuss key problems, new challenges and old difficulties.

Posters

Thomas Brandlmeier, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Training practices for staff, volunteers and freelancing guides.
Explainers must have basic knowledge about the subjects of the exhibitions, but that’s not enough. Staff and volunteers are trained in rhetorical skills, body language and communication with different groups (or with complicated visitors). They have optional language courses. For guided tours, handouts are freely available for all guides. Each department has a little library with background information. Every year, members of staff visit other institutions
for further development and exchange of experiences.

Guy Simonin, Palais de la Découverte, Paris, France
How can explainers best interact with the general public?
When and how can we make the public participate? How do we motivate a heterogeneous and difficult public? How can we use a common base of tools of reasoning (for example the distinction between a correlation and a link of causality) to motivate visitors who are not interested in science? These are the problems explainers have to learn to deal with, to engage the public more effectively in science.

Maria Xanthoudaki, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy;
Massimo Abbamonte, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy
Facilitating experience: Training of explainers at the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci”.
Our Museum employs 60 explainers working in exhibitions and interactive laboratories. The majority has a scientific background, but once entering work they receive initial and in-service training in contents, educational methodologies and communication skills. Training adopts thesame interactive approach as the one used by explainers themselves with Museum visitors. The aim is to guarantee highquality performance but also awareness of the complexity of explainers’ role and the importance of their profession within museums.

Anne Lise Mathieu, La Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris, France
Training practices for the explainers of exhibitions.
Our explainers are either permanent staff with a university background, or teachers. Their scientific knowledge is of a high level. Researchers are in charge
of their scientific updating, but they do their own surveys as well, and can use some booklets made by other explainers. Each year they have communication skills training on how to use their voice or to a conduct a debate. Theatrical training helps them to dramatise their interaction with the
public.                                                                                

Piotr Kossobudzki, Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw, Poland
Benefit from variety: building a multi-talented team of explainers.
Copernicus Science Centre is successfully operating travelling exhibition and numerous science demonstrations and workshops. These activities are
facilitated by the team of 30 explainers, trained continuously in science and humanities, public performance, voice emission, cooperation with different
age groups, first aid and other useful skills. Topics of consecutive training are selected in response to both employees’ and explainers’ needs. Knowledge and various experiences of explainers themselves are routinely shared among the group.

Saiful Bahri Baharom, Petrosains: The Discovery Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Facilitating facilitation at Petrosains.
Facilitators at Petrosains facilitate exhibit interactions, perform science shows, engage visitors by “busking” and coordinate all “on the floor” activity. In
addition, they mentor and supervise a rotating cadre of volunteers who assist them. To meet the scope of their responsibilities, they need science
content and pedagogy knowledge, public speaking and performance skills and strong leadership qualities. A variety of training strategies have been
employed over the past 8 years, with many lessons learnt to share.

Luka Vidic, Activities Editor, Hisa Eksperimentov, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Human interfacing.
Explainers with natural and social sciences background are trained in similar way for different roles. Tours with the designers of exhibits are
organised several times a year. Promoting the sharing of experience, providing references and organising meetings are successful minds-on ways
of raising their professional level. Workshops familiarise them with different centres’ activities, and give them background knowledge. Different
schemes of explainer exchange between science centres contribute to their understanding of communicating science to visitors.

Noel Jackson, Head of Education, Centre For Life, Newcastle, UK
Training for formal workshops.
LIFE offers an extensive programme of curriculum-linked workshops to school groups. Science explainers must deliver workshops in a way that is exciting to
students whilst using pedagogy that meets with the teachers' approval. The key to success is engaging the teachers as well as the students. To do this, young science explainers need the skills and confidence to manage teachers who are often older and more experienced than themselves.

Shan Richardson, Techniquest, Cardiff, UK
Empowering the Front line.
Helper staff are the public face of Techniquest. It is of paramount importance that they have good communication and interpersonal skills in order to build a rapport with our visitors and stimulate their interest in science. Regular training evenings provide a social and learning opportunity for staff and form part of
their continuing professional development.

Dawn Sanders, Head of Learning Operations, Natural History Museum, London, UK
Science educators’ qualities and skills: Voices from the Natural History Museum
‘Approachability, confidence, flexibility, enthusiasm, creativity, professionalism, understanding of learning, knowledge of collections, supportive curiosity,
working together, common experience rather than individual knowledge, knowing each other, sharing skills, career progression, not being isolated islands between science and learning’. These are the skills and qualities valued by the science educator team at the end of 2006. We used this collective expression to inform the basis of our professional enrichment programme 2007. This is the story so far.

Carla Giusti, Science Centre Director, Città della Scienza s.c.p.a, Naples, Italy
Theatre in explainers’ training.
Capturing and communicating scientific culture in a clear, playful, enjoyable way. Searching, experimenting and using theatrical techniques to support the knowledge of training models for the explainers of Città della Scienza. They use the body, gesture, language and space as fundamental instruments
of communication. The exhibits, element-symbols, therefore make the visitor a curious witness of emotions and suggestions produced by the explainers.

Matteo Merzagora, Scientific leader - DOTIK project, SISSA – ICS, Trieste, Italy
DOTIK, a masterclass for explainers on participation and governance.
In 2006, 60 explainers from 23 countries gathered in Trieste for the DOTIK summer school, aimed at enhancing their ability to involve visitors in participatory procedures, governance experiments, and in general to take care of the Other: observing, listening, understanding diversity and
investigating interactions. Theoretical lectures and practical workshops were led by experts from different countries, science centres and research institutes. The feedback of explainers was collected and will be reported.