The Convergence of Informal Science Education and Science Communication

Funding for informal science education in the United States is shifting. Federal funds once dedicated exclusively to the informal science education field are decreasing; competition for those funds is increasing. And there is a growing anti-science movement that threatens to drown out the field’s financial concerns. These reverberations are felt in everything from the specific rejection of the science behind climate change to the general elimination of science reporting in U.S. news outlets. Overall, these changes signal an urgent need for the field of informal science education to position itself as more necessary to the public it serves, more valuable to its funders, and more successful at reaching its goals. The purpose of this commentary is to consider the urgent pressures that could be addressed by conjoining efforts in informal science education and science communication.