Abstract

Science museums are operating in an environment where the visitor journey increasingly begins long before someone steps through the museum doors. Audiences discover content through social media and AI, often making decisions about where to spend their time and money before they ever visit a museum website.

This presentation explores how the Science Museum Group is responding to this shift by placing audience needs at the centre of its digital transformation. Drawing on lessons from the Delivering Digital Reach programme, which significantly expanded the organisation's digital storytelling capabilities and online reach, the session examines how science museums can use digital content to support the delivery of our mission and reach new audiences with STEM content. We will also share how SMG is evolving towards a more joined-up audience model, linking content, websites, ticketing and museum experiences around a single audience journey. It will explore how digital content helps audiences discover the museum, how improved digital experiences can reduce barriers to visitation, and how insights gathered across these touchpoints can inform future service design.

Looking ahead, the presentation will consider the opportunities and tensions facing science museums as they seek to grow digital reach amongst new audiences. Topics will include emerging approaches to monetisation and partnerships, alongside the growing role of artificial intelligence in personalised experiences. As trusted public institutions, science museums have an opportunity not only to adopt new technologies, but to help audiences question them, understand them and engage with knowledge confidently in the AI era.

The session will offer practical lessons for museums seeking to connect online engagement with physical visitation, as well as balance public value with commercial sustainability.

Biography

Janey MacRae-Tym is the Chief Digital Officer for the Science Museum Group, where she leads the organisation’s digital team across platforms, content, data and AI. Her remit includes responsibility for the websites for each of the six sites in the Group along with the popular online collection and video content production. As the Group’s AI champion and advocate, she is dedicated to navigating how the organisation can unlock the full potential of this transformative technology.

Janey brings over 18 years’ expertise in technology-led transformation in marketing agencies, having shaped digital strategies for organisations such as Diageo, Unilever, and Barclays LifeSkills. Her experience sits at the intersection of digital innovation and customer experience, building digital platforms and products, content marketing and implementing AI programmes at scale for global brands.

A Chemistry graduate, Janey’s connection to the Science Museum is personal, rooted in fond memories of visits that sparked curiosity in the sector. She is honoured to now shape how technology can support the Science Museum Group's digital storytelling, ensuring the national collection continues to inspire a global audience.

Abstract

YouTube has emerged as one of the most influential new media platforms, forming a distinctive content ecosystem of its own. In this context, national museums and science museums should utilize YouTube not merely as a promotional channel but as a platform for communicating exhibitions, disseminating research outcomes, and strengthening institutional branding. YouTube content is no longer simply a promotional product; it functions as an exhibition and a medium for presenting research achievements in its own right. Furthermore, the impact of content production cannot be achieved in the short term, and the success of a single viral video does not determine the overall performance of a channel. Rather, sustained continuity and diversity of topics grounded in high-quality research constitute the core of a successful content strategy, while responsiveness to current trends should serve only as a complementary element that enhances this foundation.

Biography

· 2024–Present, Curator, Gongju National Museum
· 2019–2024, Curator, Jinju National Museum

Abstract

Science museums have long played an important role in making science accessible through exhibitions, demonstrations, and hands-on learning. Today, however, the scientific landscape is changing rapidly. Developments in artificial intelligence, quantum science, biotechnology, advanced materials, space science, and other frontier fields are increasingly influencing society, while their underlying concepts are often complex, invisible, interdisciplinary, and unfamiliar to the public. This raises an important question: how can science museums move beyond conventional STEM learning to help people engage meaningfully with emerging science and its implications for the future?

This presentation explores how the National Science Museum (NSM), Thailand, is developing approaches to public communication of frontier science through a combination of physical and digital experiences. Drawing on selected NSM case studies showcasing in museums and festivals, it examines how exhibitions, interactive experiences, digital technologies, immersive media, hands-on activities, and engagement with scientists can translate complex scientific ideas into experiences that are accessible, relevant, and thought-provoking for diverse audiences.

Going “beyond digital” does not necessarily mean using more technology. Rather, it requires choosing appropriate combinations of physical, digital, and human interaction to create meaningful science experiences. The presentation argues that the future role of science museums extends beyond communicating established scientific knowledge. Museums can become platforms where people encounter emerging science, explore possibilities and uncertainties, ask questions, and connect scientific developments with society and everyday life.

Through these experiences, science museums can contribute not only to STEM learning, but also to science literacy, critical thinking, future literacy, and people's capacity to participate in conversations about science and our shared future.

Biography

Dr. Ganigar Chen has been with the National Science Museum (NSM), Thailand, since 2000 and has extensive experience in science communication, museum education, public engagement, and informal learning.

As former Director of Public Awareness of Science, she led major national science engagement initiatives, including the Thailand National Science and Technology Fair, the country’s largest public science event. She also played a key role in developing strategies and programs for NSM’s Science Caravan, bringing science learning experiences to communities across Thailand, as well as the Thailand Science Communication and Science Museum Network and the Thailand Science
Communication Award. These experiences have strengthened her commitment to lifelong learning, sustainable development, and science education that empowers people to engage with science and society.

Currently serving as Vice President of NSM for Education, Outreach and Partnership, Dr. Chen oversees exhibition development and a broad portfolio of science engagement initiatives, including science film festivals, television programs, digital and online media, and programs for developing young science communicators.

She has also led the development of NSM museum standards and initiatives to create new products and innovations that strengthen the museum’s sustainability and long-term development. Her research interests include public science literacy, science communication, museum education, and informal learning. She also contributes to policy recommendations and
strategic proposals concerning the future development of science museums and science engagement in Thailand.

Beyond NSM, Dr. Chen serves as Vice President of the Asia Pacific Network of Science and Technology Centres (ASPAC) and as an Executive Committee Member of the Science Society of Thailand. She is also a guest lecturer in science communication and informal learning, sharing her professional experience with students, educators, museum professionals, and emerging science communicators.

Throughout her career, Dr. Chen has worked to strengthen the role of science museums as platforms for lifelong learning, public engagement, collaboration, and dialogue—connecting science with society and helping prepare people for a rapidly
changing future.