The Gatekeepers to STEM? How Adults Shape Children’s Access, Belonging, and Interest

Other - Abstract - network meeting, 2026

This work in progress is connected to an ongoing survey of adults who visit Universeum with children. Universeum is Sweden’s national science centre, located in Gothenburg, and reaches over half a million people each year, both through visits to the centre and through activities beyond its physical site. The centre offers ten floors of exhibitions and experiences, including aquariums, rainforest environments, interactive science activities, shows, guided tours, exhibits, and Wisdome Gothenburg, Sweden’s largest visualisation dome, with 360-degree experiences and 8K visualisation technology. The study explores the science capital of adults who accompany children to Universeum. Rather than treating adults as background figures in children’s experiences, the project approaches them as active participants who help make the visit possible, interpret its value, and support children’s encounters with science.