An Analysis of Essential Qualities for Science Communicators and a Study on the Development of Associated Training Programs

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(1) In the practice at the National Museum of Nature and Science, it was figured out that children's communication with "museum staff" and "museum materials," both of which are peculiar learning resources in science museums, have large effects in growing children's positive attitude toward science learning. Therefore, science communicators have significant roles to "connect" science and people, and thus science communicators are required to have abilities to convey science in the way that visitors can understand easily, to coordinate and organize such a communication environment, and special knowledge and skills in order to further enhance it.(2) From the investigation at foreign science museums and universities, it was found out that universities hold practical training programs for science communicators. For instance, the National Center for Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University develops partnerships with the QUESTACON (the Science and Technology Center) a … More nd the university students there engage in outreach activities. Also, UC Santa Cruz in the United States holds some courses for informal science education that opens for professional museum stuff. These courses develop science communicator training programs by partnering with Imperial College in the Great Britain and Exploratorium in San Francisco.(3) Based on abilities and skills expected for science communicators, we, the National Museum of Nature and Science developed and implemented a science communicator training program. This program is going to be approved as an official graduate class at University of Tsukuba in 2007.(4) In an international symposium, attempts of several science communicator training programs are reported mainly by universities. From all these investigations above, it can be said that science communicator training programs should be developed each for general communicators, researchers, professionals, and science teachers.In summary, a future implication is to have strategic views to crate a career path for possible science communicators : for example, by developing a strategy to get more science communicators involved and by developing official university classes or courses that would issue the diploma. Less