The Critical Role Research and Evaluation Assume in the Post-truth Era of Climate Change.

Climate change is one of the most complex and polarizing topics to recently emerge in museum education. It is also a topic that has emerged at the precise time that museums are undergoing great transition, moving away from an authoritarian framework toward a democratic one that seeks to integrate diverse audiences and multiple perspectives. Climate change has manifest at a moment when the legitimacy and authority of science is being publicly questioned and debated. In the post-truth era of "fake news" and disposable facts, with the public increasingly suspicious and distrustful of media and government to provide reliable and accurate information, museums are positioned to assume an essential role in public education on climate change. Drawing upon research conducted at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on visitors' understanding and expectations on climate change messaging, this paper explores the critical role research and evaluation assume in the emerging discourse on climate change in science museums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]