Border Crossings in Informal Science Education: DragonflyTV’s Experiment in Museum-Media Collaboration

A recent collaboration between the production staff of DragonflyTV and 29 institutions of informal science learning pushed beyond the traditional roles of museum-media partnerships by engaging museum professionals in the production of television content and featuring the partner institutions on the TV show. The 14 DragonflyTV episodes produced as part of these partnerships were subtitled "DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science" and were produced over two production seasons. The collaborations involved both large and small institutions, including hands-on science centers and natural history museums, as well as visitor centers in state and national parks. A study of the collaborations revealed some striking differences between the two arenas of informal science education. The process of collaborating created opportunities for the partners to think about informal science education in ways that extended beyond their familiar television or museum worlds and enriched both fields.