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Worts makes the distinction between conscious and unconscious aspects of culture:

…the total sum of all values, collective memory, history, beliefs, mythology, rituals, symbolic objects and built heritage which reflect the manner people relate to those aspects of life which a) they can know and control; as well as b) those they cannot fully understand or control, but to which they need to have a conscious relationship.

(Worts, 2004, p. 45)

This distinction works exceptionally well for museums. Many of the exhibitions and programs in this study provide historico-cultural perspectives which illustrate and raise awareness of the ways in which Western values have or are currently affecting Norwegian society. These narratives build a sound foundation for the further exploration of values and lifestyles with respect to ESD.

Historical exhibitions may trigger such an exploration in several ways. First, historical events and conflicts can be related to similar events in the present. Eva reported in connection with a Victor Lind exhibition that the guide actively drew lines between the past and the present (World War II vs. 21st century) highlighting similar paradigms (persecution and discrimination) in relation to different social groups (Jews versus asylum seekers). This reciprocal relation of past and present encouraged the students to re-consider their conception of the core problem – persecution and discrimination. Likewise, I want to Decide Too! illustrates historical and contemporary aspects of social participation and freedom of speech. Such an approach could for example be employed in The Industrial Revolution and encourage students to discuss the necessity of a Revolution of Sustainability.

Secondly, insights into cultural history can serve as a tool to illustrate how certain developments have created new challenges. From the Worktop to the Planet / Nobel Peace Center, for example, looks at the ways in which current consumer habits are a consequence of long-term historical development. The program then challenges the appropriateness of these developments. This approach may not be completely consistent in the program since the historical part concerns the increased globalization of food consumption and the contemporary conflict presented addresses waste – food that is not consumed. However, it is an attempt to combine historical developments with current SD challenges. To stay with the example of The Industrial Revolution,

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such an approach could foster a discussion on the social and technological frames which have arisen from the Technical Revolution as well as their appropriateness for a sustainable society and possible alternatives.

Either way, this conscious and dynamic exploration of past and present, values and narratives, captures the purpose of ESD. It triggers the discussion of contemporary SD challenges and allows thereby for vision building. Further, this dynamic relationship of past and present promotes reflection on values, lifestyles and conflicts. This opens for a reconsideration of individual practices and possibly the transformation of behavior.

The historical perspective that the museums in this study offer, is largely ignored in Norway`s ESD strategy and also to some extent by UNESCO. UNESCO emphasizes the value of traditional and indigenous knowledge, which as I pointed out in chapter two are often seen as important for more sustainable lifestyles. A less restricted and more holistic integration of cultural history in ESD would allow for highly beneficial cultural insights, and could strengthen the concept. It is here that museums show their biggest potential for ESD.

Depending on their foci, learning centers may not have the same historical orientation as museums. The exhibitions in the science center at the Museum of Science and Technology and the Nobel Peace Center present a contemporary view of energy and food consumption respectively. However, this does not mean that learning centers exclude historical perspectives altogether.45 Rather, they are not bound to historical objects and have thereby more freedom in in their temporal approach.

Many of the exhibitions of the National Museum of Science and Technology (e.g.

Healthy Soul in a Healthy Body, Industry along Akerselva) and to some extent the

Norwegian Folk Museum (e.g. The Constitution`s Guardian) focus exclusively on the past and hardly provide links to the present. This may impede reflection on current social needs (cf. Fithian & Powell, 2009, p. 2f.; Sutter, 2008, p. 198). The same is true for the glorification of modern life in the 20th and 21st century and of how challenges of the past have been overcome (e.g. Oil / Norwegian Museum of Science and

45 _{As noted earlier, the energy exhibitions at the science center of the Norwegian Museum of Science and}

Technology, are fruitfully supplemented by the museum exhibitions which provide a more historical perspective on the topic.

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Technology and Technology of the Home / Norwegian Folk Museum). Such modern success narratives may be uplifting and informative, but exhibitions that focus exclusively on the benefits of modernity or recent achievements within SD, miss the opportunity to highlight current sustainability challenges and to empower the visitor by envisioning and committing to alternative futures.

Worts (1998, p. 7; 2004, p. 52; 2008, p. 6) regards the low attention to visions and vision building as a general problem for museums, which originates from their strong academic focus on objects and collections. In accordance with Worts, Sutter (2008, p. 198) makes the criticism that, although objects are valuable for sustainability education as ways into SD topics, an exclusive focus on collections and collection building goes along with an overemphasis on the past and the present, and that this impedes forward-looking perspectives. In line with Sutter and Worts, the findings of this study suggest that if museums provide their historical objects and exhibitions with contemporary perspectives, museums can be of primary importance for ESD.

The school programs indicate that such contemporary perspectives would take into account the local realities of the visitors. Studies from Norway (Brunstad, 2002), Great Britain (Henley Center, in Schreiner et al., 2005, p. 21), Sweden (Lindström & Johnsson, 2003, p. 62) and Australia (Hicks & Holden, 1995) suggest that individuals perceive their impact on the local community to be considerably higher than on global matters.46 Similarly, people are more positive about their personal future, while they tend to be pessimistic about global developments. Schreiner et al. (2005, p. 21f.) see a link between perceived local impact and positive images of the future. Accordingly, the local context, i.e. the realities of museum and learning center visitors, constitutes one of the key elements for vision building and commitment. Both What the World

Eats / Nobel Peace Center and Red- and Black-Listed Species / Oslo Ridge / Natural

History Museum prove advantageous with this respect. They draw on topics that are directly connected to the students’ lives, namely food consumption, waste and local plants.47 By that, they open for action and the reconsideration of certain practices after the visit.

46 _{All studies are also quoted in Schreiner et al. 2008.}

47 _{In fact, all museums / learning centers in this study have exhibitions that are related to Norway or have}

sections which are linked to Norway and Oslo. The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology shows an exhibition on the industrialization along the Akerselva; the Natural History Museum has a section on

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These aspects could get more attention beyond the school programs of museums / learning centers, since they encourage continued involvement and engagement beyond the actual visit.