Role of Science Centres in the Field of Sustainability

Abstract

Sustainable Development is hard to imagine without a responsible, smart society. Accordingly, Education and Awareness-raising are essential prerequisites for social knowledge and acceptance of Sustainability. This research examines the role of today's innovative educational and awareness-raising institutions and science centres in presenting Sustainable Development issues playfully and experientially, and thus in shaping the attitudes of upgrowing generations and adults. The research aims to investigate how and to what extent science centres in Hungary reflect in their content and operations the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) declared by the UN and Sustainability in a broader sense. A questionnaire survey was carried out by contacting 14 science centres, supplemented by an analysis of the external communication of the institutions and a telephone inquiry. The results indicate that instead of representing the diversity of SDGs, on average, only 30 % of them are presented, and science centres are highly specialised, which threatens equal access and fairness. This study is outstanding in several respects: it contributes to the development of institutions by presenting promising practices, and its academic relevance is given by the fact that research on the operation of science centres is still lacking in Hungary.