Museums, zoos, aquariums, and other cultural organizations are powerful messengers for implementing positive social change. Trying to modify and change behavior is undoubtedly a challenge, but museums have the right ingredients to make it happen. In fact, research shows that when museums execute social change campaigns, the public listens and reacts. The Ocean Project also found that zoos and aquariums are the preferred – even trusted – voice for communicating environmental messages, more so than government agencies and corporations.
Visitors stopping by museums, zoos and aquariums alike will learn something upon entering each of these institutions, because museums are natural storytellers and educators. People expect to learn something when they visit a museum. According to the American Association of Museums, 850 million people visit American museums each year with the top three most-frequently visited museum types being science, living collections (zoos/aquariums), and children’s museums (AAM, 2009).
However, many museums have not fully recognized the ability to create social change. This is why a cultural shift needs to occur within these organizations, starting with their leaders (Sandall, 1998).
The potential of museums to act as a catalyst for change is incredibly significant. In an ever-changing world, social change campaigns can utilize countless platforms for these important messages. Of course, messages can be communicated inside the physical walls of institutions, but with modern technology there are endless opportunities to communicate in other effective ways. It is not uncommon for messages to be found both in physical and virtual spaces, for example, in exhibits and on billboards as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
In today’s information culture, there is an abundance of content, and finding credible sources can be both challenging and downright tiring. This is why these trusted cultural institutions have an important role of taking information from within their walls and communicating it externally. In this way, the trusted voices of museums, zoos, aquariums, and cultural organizations can be used to bring accurate information to the public, thus facilitating positive social change.
