Science Communication in the New Era: Skills Education at Science and Technology Museums

As informal educational institutions with a long history, museums are attracting increasing attention from scholars in China and abroad for their functions of promoting the public understanding of and participation in science and boosting the public’s scientific literacy. Based on a historical review of the development of natural history museums, science and technology museums and contemporary science centres, this paper seeks to explore the direction of informal educational institutions represented by interactive science centres from the perspective of the demand for skills in scientific literacy. The background to and reasons for the formation of diverse forms of science venues in different periods are also explained.