Museums and Sustainability
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2022-08-19
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en
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The climate is changing and humans are responsible for the environmental problems we are facing. Green museums and exhibitions can potentially play a role in the encouragement of pro-environmental behaviour. Pro-environmental behaviour is behaviour that reduces the environmental impact of a person. Green museums and exhibitions focus on sustainability. This research investigates the role that (green) museums play in the pro-environmental behaviour of its visitors and how this is expressed, in terms of educational, social and societal impact. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and its processes of change are used to explore in what ways museums can potentially encourage pro-environmental behaviour. The Transtheoretical model argues that individuals move through a sequence of five stages of change, which are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. The processes of change are activities and experiences that individuals engage in when they try to modify problematic behaviour, which can be supported by (green) museums. A comparative case study is done of three Dutch museums, which are Discovery Museum, Museon-Omniversum and NEMO The Studio. The research methods used are interviews with museum representatives and content analyses of selected exhibitions and social media content. Results show that all three museums investigated are aiming to play a positive role in the pro-environmental behaviour of their visitors. All museums have the desire to have educational, social and societal impact. The most important methods that the museums use to fulfil their role in terms of pro-environmental behaviour are: being accessible for everyone, having a positive tone of voice, the stimulation of dialogue, the use of interactive elements, and encouragement of visitors to develop and share their own opinions and ideas.
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