Cool Cafe

Mythbusters Science: Fact or Fiction

Mythbusters Science: Fact or Fiction

Written by Ashlyn Rinehart, Teen Ambassador

On December 11, 2019 the Penn Museum Teen Ambassadors hosted their last Teen Science Café of the decade. Entitled “Mythbusters: Science… Fact or Fiction,” the Café focused on how science is presented, and ways in which information may be deceiving. The Ambassadors hosted speaker Lizzie Oakley, an Anthropology Doctoral Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Oakley currently works with a focus on how science is communicated through museums, but her past research has spanned many fields.

Lizzy shares her myth busters with the teens.

The Café began with an activity in which participants were given paper, pencils and markers, and were asked to draw what they think of when they hear the word “scientist” – lab coats, men in glasses, and test tubes were among the most popular responses. This exercise opened up a conversation about how people view science as a whole.

Drawing images of things related to science and scientists.

After the initial activity, Lizzie Oakley began her presentation, focusing on how science is presented to the public through museums, and the issues that lie within common methods of sharing information. Museums frequently present as if their audience is already well informed about the subject in question, which is not always the case. The teens offered up ideas for how museums could make their exhibits more relatable and interactive, and generally agreed that more information and guiding questions would make museums more interesting.

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