Science museums in a time of crisis: Insights from Brazil, Canada, Finland and Portugal

This research examines how science museum teams in different countries addressed crises during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what values, priorities and practices emerged during this challenging time. Informed by theoretical perspectives related to broken world thinking and care, this paper summarizes and discusses findings related to four qualitative case studies: the Museum of Tomorrow (Brazil), the Royal BC Museum (Canada), Heureka the Finnish Science Centre (Finland) and the National Museum of Natural History and Science (Portugal). Data gathered during 2023–2024 centred on the voices and lived experiences of 26 museum professionals, as well as documents and artefacts shared by them. Findings highlight how local realities shaped institutional responses to the pandemic, and how all four institutions nurtured caring relationships, faced uncertainty through reflective attentiveness and became relevant civic and scientific resources in a time of crisis. The research shed light on how care can become a central pathway to guide the transformation of science museums both inwardly and outwardly.