Conceptualizing sustainable communities through an exhibition in a university museum

Abstract

Sustainability communication arises in the face of complex socio-environmental crises that manifest on different scales and in different ecosystems. Museums and science centres, as cultural institutions, are key to building social representations and generating discourses and experiences in their visitors to facilitate engagement in the search for future alternatives. This empirical research, conducted at the Universum Science Museum of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, seeks to contribute to the advancement of the academic field of sustainability communication by analysing the main elements and exhibition practices related to sustainability in the exhibition Producing by Conserving: Biodiversity and Sustainable Communities. We investigated how sustainability is expressed in the museum, utilizing the proposed perspective of analysis based on four typologies of science exhibitions. We employed qualitative analysis to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the exhibition. We identified central aspects and limitations in communication concerning sustainability that could nurture communication practices in demonstrations and other exhibitions with related themes. The implications of this study extend beyond the specific context of the university museum. They can be useful for communication practices in universities and other cultural institutions seeking to develop a culture of sustainability and envision transformation of future societies.

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