Museums expand outreach

NEW YORK — As issues such as global climate and evolution increasingly become part of public discussion, museums are finding their roles as educators expanding.

“We have the opportunity to educate the public about issues of profound concern to them,” said Ellen Futter, president of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

That doesn’t just mean exhibits on topics in the news. Museums are also reaching out to schools and partnering with other science institutions to provide research help to students and training opportunities to teachers.

In the past, museums were hampered by a lack of technology that might have allowed them to reach a broader audience, said Robert Sullivan, associate director for public programs at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

“In the past it was easier for us to duck our responsibilities because we didn’t have the means to do it,” he said. But that has changed with the Internet, allowing institutions to reach people far beyond their immediate vicinity.

Jeff Rudolph, president of the California Science Center in Los Angeles, says he thinks many institutions are getting better at making their programming relevant to current events.

“I think there is a clear understanding in museums that our role in education is significantly expanding, particularly within science institutions,” he said.