Same, same, or different? A comparative study of guided tours about evolution : Are fossils interpreted the same way in South Africa as they are in Sweden?

Abstract: Sweden and South Africa are two quite different countries, but they share the will to educate their people. The museum is an institution of learning and an opportunity to learn something more and something else than in the classroom. Thus the museums have an important educational task to fulfil. Various visitors may understand an exhibition at a museum differently since they have different references, culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic background. Evolution may be a delicate subject to exhibit due to the visitors various religious beliefs. This may be a difficult challenge for museums of natural history. The aim of this study is to compare how the guides at museums of natural history in the two countries are presenting evolution, the genesis of life and humankind during the guided tours. The method is participating observation, and the theoretical framework is based on theories about ethnicity and multicultural and intercultural education. Since all three museums depend on the same science and fossils, the conclusion is that they are less different than expected.