INCREASING INTEREST: IN POLAR SCIENCE FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES THROUGH A LIVE, INTERACTIVE PLANETARIUM SHOW.

Science museums are important informal science learning environments which have the potential to shape public discourse around topics such as climate change. Planetariums, which have traditionally provided projected, observational experiences to explore topics in astronomy, have evolved to engage different areas of science in live interaction with planetarium staff. The current study analyzes audience experiences of a planetarium show about polar science and climate change, Earth: Pole to Pole, designed jointly by Pacific Science Center and the University of Washington's Polar Science Center. Post-show survey results from general audiences indicated that over 90% of respondents felt that they learned either "some" or "a lot" about polar science, with a moderate increase in interest observed in all subgroups analyzed, but this increase was especially high amongst female respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]