Twenty-five years ago there were fewer than twenty science and technology museums in the United States. Today there are more than 200 and a new one opens every month. Science museums attract more than 100 million visitors a year more people than attend all major league sports events. Nearly every major city has a science museum; some have several.

The unique character of a science museum stems from its very lack of an accessioned collection. For many years science museums were excluded from accreditation by the American Association of Museums because they did not own objects. Ideas, not objects, are on display. Demonstrating ideas has become the foundation of interactivity. The lack of collections and the holy grail of interactivity have connected science museums to their audiences in ways that traditional museums now seek to imitate. Science museums:

• have strong entertainment and engagement quotients;
• often create a presence in malls, community fairs, and similar places where people congregate;
• are available on the World Wide Web, many with interactive programs;
• are becoming indispensable to science education in local school systems;
• derive the bulk of their operating income from earned income.

The relationship between commercial entertainment and science museums is growing. Disney is developing a science center in Baltimore. Epcot Center has several exhibits created by the Exploratorium in San Francisco. And Jurassic Parkthe moviewas created with close ties to the museum world and has now evolved into Jurassic Parkthe museum exhibit.

Science museums may be a kid’s phenomenon, but one that creates major economic benefit in each city where one exists. Collection rich museums seeking to expand audience can learn a lot from exploring the techniques of America’s burgeoning science and technology museum centers.

Adapted from The Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 12, 1996