STUDENT EXHIBIT DESIGN IN AN ON-CAMPUS NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: ENGAGING UNDERGRADUATES IN REFLECTIVE SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Geological studies of past mass extinctions and climate change aim to contextualize, understand, and predict the scale of modern and future environmental change. Science communication of these studies, and of many climate change topics, can be aimed at evoking feelings of alarm and dread. In addition, these narratives often group all humans as one entity- arguing that human beings have been inherently destructive since our species’ evolution. I have found that these narratives leave undergraduate students feeling helpless and also do not recognize the disproportionate role of western capitalist societies in causing climate change. I engaged undergraduate students in a group project to create new exhibits for our campus geology museum. My goals in this work were to provide opportunities for students to feel empowered to reimagine these narratives, to encourage students to find their own voices in communicating Earth Science, and to increase student engagement in the Earth Science department. Student-driven exhibits have so far focused on comparing modern and past extinction events, on representation of historically marginalized geoscientists, and on creating new narratives about how the past gives us insight into modern climate change. I will present aspects of our new exhibits as well as student reflections on how this project has impacted their understanding and views of global environmental change and the geosciences at large.