Forums

The promise of nanoscale science is that it will dramatically improve our lives, bringing great advances in applications as diverse as medicine, energy, electrical and chemical engineering, and materials. At the same time, nanotechnology’s potential negative impacts also touch on a broad range of societal concerns—environmental pollution, toxicity, the prospects of artificial life, and privacy violations. There is a middle ground between scientific boosterism and extreme rejection of these new technologies. Open deliberation can help steer the public conversation toward this more thoughtful, considered middle ground.

Around the world, science centers are exploring new models for engaging adults and older youth in dialog and deliberation about the societal implications of technology. This democratization of public policy deliberation is a strategy for stimulating learning by both scientists and the public and for revitalizing the role of science museums in the life of the nation. These efforts lay the groundwork for an exciting new role for science centers as a bridge between scientists and the public.

In the first two years of NISE Net operation five science museums have worked together to research, develop, and test a variety of program models aimed at engaging adults and older youth with in-depth informal educational experiences that incorporate dialog and deliberation around societal implications of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. This team is developing materials and expertise to share with the broader science museum community to build capacity in the field to engage the public in this kind of programming.

Current Strategy

Collectively we have covered various topics but only 2 forums topics will be tested across all 5 institutions after year 2. Once a complete evaluation report has been written for each topic the forums team will package the materials in a disseminatable format that will be distributed to the network's 100 partners.
Each disseminatable package will include the following:

• What is a forum?
• Set up requirements
• Budget for hosting a forum
• Agenda
• Scenarios or discussion questions
• Bulleted list of speaking points to give to potential speakers
• Nano 101 video
• A list of topics that are important to the forum discussions to give to speakers to include in their presentations

Nano-enabled Medical Technologies

Participants in this forum discuss whether new nanotechnology applications in personal care and medicine should be made available for use before we understand the possible risks associated with these new technologies.

Who Should Decide?

Participants in this forum are presented with the potential benefits and unknown risks associated with nanotechnology and are then asked what role should the public play in helping to shape its future development and the governmental policies concerning its use.