How do we learn about something we cannot see? In her latest opinion paper, Beyond the Petri Dish: Exhibitions as Catalysts for Microbial Literacy—Bridging Science, Culture and Society, Rachel Armstrong argues that improving microbial literacy requires more than better science communication. Drawing on philosophy, design, history and microbiology, she explores how exhibitions can create meaningful encounters with microbial life, making abstract scientific concepts tangible through space, storytelling and sensory experience.
Rather than treating exhibitions as places to display scientific knowledge, the paper proposes them as environments where knowledge is actively created through experience. Through examples ranging from Amsterdam’s Micropia museum to Gut Feelings and We the Bacteria: Notes Toward a Biotic Architecture, the article examines how immersive installations, participatory exhibits and narrative design can help people understand microbes not only as pathogens, but as essential partners in health, ecosystems and the built environment. At the same time, it raises important questions about how such experiences should be curated to remain scientifically rigorous while avoiding overly simplified or misleading narratives.
By bringing together perspectives from the sciences, humanities and the arts, the paper invites readers to reconsider how microbial knowledge is produced, shared and experienced. It offers a compelling case for exhibitions as spaces where science, culture and society can meet—while opening a broader discussion about what meaningful public engagement with microbiology could look like in the future.
Read full article here:
Armstrong R (2025) Beyond the Petri Dish: Exhibitions as Catalysts for Microbial Literacy—Bridging Science, Culture and Society. Microbial Biotechnology 18(8). doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.70222
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