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Handbook of Climate Change Communication: Vol. 3 pp 329–348Cite as

Engaging People with Climate Change Through Museums

Part of the Climate Change Management book series (CCM)

Abstract

This paper sets out some reflections on the ways in which museums can approach climate change engagement, based on recent experiences of the re-design of a permanent natural history gallery and a climate change focused exhibition at the Manchester Museum, part of the University of Manchester (Manchester, UK). It emphasises the importance of engaging with people in affective and behavioural (personal action) terms, rather than focussing solely on climate change information. It also emphasises the importance of providing people with opportunities to express their ideas, values and concerns, promoting critical thinking, civic discourse and climate change action. Through providing such opportunities, museums could provide more effective service to society, supporting and enabling positive action directed towards climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Keywords

  • Climate change
  • Museums
  • Public engagement
  • Activist practice
  • Civic institutions

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Acknowledgements

We thank our collaborators on Climate Control, Dr. Rebecca Cunningham (formerly Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, now at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney); Dr. David Gelsthorpe, Anna Bunney and Dr. Emily Robinson of Manchester Museum, and Jonny Sadler of Manchester Climate Change Agency. We thank Houri Boughosyan and Donacio Acosta (MET Studio), who designed the Climate Control exhibitions. We also thank Laura Bennett and Catherine Tyldesley (also of Manchester Museum), who oversaw the counting of many thousands of tokens throughout the period of the Climate Control exhibitions. We thank Director Nick Merriman for his support throughout the project. We are grateful for the support of an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Impact Accelerator Award.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Henry McGhie

  2. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, University of Manchester, Pariser Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Sarah Mander

  3. Public Interest Research Centre, Y Plas, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8ER, Wales

    Ralph Underhill

  4. c/o 20 Dovecot Park, Edinburgh, EH14 2LN, Scotland

    Ralph Underhill

Authors
  1. Henry McGhie
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  2. Sarah Mander
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  3. Ralph Underhill
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henry McGhie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Prof. Walter Leal Filho

  2. Department of Forestry and Management, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece

    Dr. Evangelos Manolas

  3. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Prof. Anabela Marisa Azul

  4. Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Prof. Dr. Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

  5. Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Henry McGhie

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McGhie, H., Mander, S., Underhill, R. (2018). Engaging People with Climate Change Through Museums. In: Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A., Azeiteiro, U., McGhie, H. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Communication: Vol. 3. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70479-1_21

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