Chapter 5 opens by asking readers to consider the audience in an informal learning venue. What might those people want from the demonstration that a reader is developing, and what might be most appealing about it? The ideal conversation considers both where the expert, regardless of level, is coming from and where the audience, regardless of goals, is coming from. Brief description of goals that such audiences might have refers to a study of science center visitors. The study identified people looking to feed their general curiosity, people looking to learn about a specific topic, people helping others learn (such as parents or teachers), and people looking for new and fun experiences. Readers are encouraged to look for and embrace these and other differences in whatever public they interact with, which differences can reflect types of venues and local populations. Discussion of two demonstrations exemplifies these points. One demonstration is on the linguistic elements in dinosaur names, and the other is on stressed syllables in Spanish. The chapter also tackles exclusion, as when a museum is unaffordable or signage is monolingual.

Chapter 1 introduces the book’s structure and emphases, noting what is and is not directly addressed. It links successful science communication to two critical lessons from the language sciences and motivates the need for public engagement by experts in the language sciences. One lesson concerns cooperative conversations in which all parties listen to and learn from each other. Another lesson concerns information structure where familiar (given) information precedes unfamiliar (new) information. This chapter also highlights free choice and diversity of audience while defining and exemplifying informal learning venues, and it asks readers to consider their expectations for working in such venues. Also included are suggestions for the use of each chapter’s opening and closing worksheets: The opening worksheets are designed to encourage individual and personal reflection, and the closing worksheets are designed to help readers develop interactive and engaging demonstrations of their own topic areas. This chapter’s Worked Example introduces the book’s authors, their research and teaching areas, the kinds of public engagement they have done, and their reasons for doing this work.