Output
1) 2-Day In-Person Conference
The 2-full day (7-8 hours per day) in-person conference will be held in the city of Kaluga, Russia. The choice of the location can be explained by the fact that the space museum is the very first space museum in the history of the mankind.
The museum has 2 sections: the original building and the new adjacent. It has already expressed high interest in being the venue for the conference and possesses all the necessary infrastructure. Moreover, the museum administration has expressed willingness to share best practices and make the field trip to the museum beneficial for visitors by opening up all the insights on making a space museum a successful business unit.
The conference will last for 2 days.
The participants of the conference will be space museum principles, museum guides, heads of the associations representing those who express top interest in space exploration, heads of tourism departments of the cosmodromes, experts in space food production. Those space exploration objects, observatories, thematic parks and space museums and exhibitions that will be classified as the role models will be granted with the invitation to the Conference.
The field visit to the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics is necessary to ensure the practical orientation of the project. As the project focuses on developing space museums and exhibitions as tools for tourism, education, and public engagement, participants need direct exposure to an operating space museum. This is particularly important for APEC economies that do not have space infrastructure and lack practical reference models. The visit enhances the Conference by linking research and policy discussions with real-world practice. It provides a common case study for participants, supports informed peer exchange, and directly contributes to the development of practical, transferable recommendations included in the APEC Guide. The field visit strengthens capacity building by helping economies identify adaptable solutions suitable for different levels of resources and experience.
The agenda for the Conference is as follows:
Day 0 – Arrival and Transfer
- Arrival of participants
-Check-in
Day 1
09:30–10:00 – Opening Ceremony
10:00–11:30 – Session 1: Space Museums as Tools for Education and Tourism Development
11:30–12:00 – Coffee Break
12:00–13:30 – Session 2: Designing engaging, hands-on and accessible Visitor Experiences
13:30–15:00 – Lunch
15:00–16:30 – Session 3: How to Start: Establishing a Space Museum in Economies without Space Infrastructure
16:30–17:00 – Wrap-up Discussion
Day 2
09:30–11:00 – Guided Tour: Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics (Kaluga)
-Introduction to museum concept, visitor flow, and educational programs.
-Exchange with museum curators and education department. 11:00–11:30 – Coffee Break at the Museum Café
11:30–13:00 – Interactive Workshop: Adapting Space-Themed Content for Non-Spacefaring Economies
-Group discussions on challenges and affordable models.
-Practical session: drafting outlines for local science or space exhibitions. 13:00–14:30 – Lunch
14:30–16:00 – Final Roundtable: Drafting Recommendations for APEC Economies
-Presentation of group findings.
-Discussion.
16:00–17:00 – Closing Ceremony
Evening – Free time for informal networking and individual exploration of Kaluga’s cultural sites.
(Participants stay overnight in Kaluga and depart the next day. PO will conduct post-conference survey after the Conference).
2) APEC Guide on Developing Space Museums and Exhibits for Public Engagement (APEC Publication)
This research is conducted for the development of the APEC Guide on Developing Space Museums and Exhibits for Public Engagement. The Guide will provide evidence-based recommendations for APEC economies on how space museums and space-related exhibits can be developed, enhanced, and integrated into tourism and education strategies.
The research will apply a mixed-methods approach, combining desk research with a structured online survey of all APEC economies.
Desk and literature research will be conducted to map existing space museums, planetariums, astronomical observatories, thematic parks, and space-related exhibits across APEC economies, and to identify preliminary best practices in museum organization, visitor engagement, and accessibility. This will be followed by a online survey-based data collection, conducted through an official questionnaire distributed to all APEC economies. Upon receipt, each economy will be requested to circulate the survey among relevant institutions, including space exploration infrastructure operators, planetariums, astronomical observatories, thematic parks, and museums with space exhibits. Participating institutions will complete the survey and submit responses to the Project Overseer (PO) for analysis. APEC economies will be responsible only for collecting and forwarding the information.
The survey will allow the project to:
-Identify Economies belonging to the A and B categories of the project.
Here and further on the reference to A and B economies mean the economies with advanced space programs (“A economies”) and those without such infrastructure (“B economies”).
-Identify selected space museums that can serve as role models.
-Assess local population interest in space exploration.
-Understand the types and number of venues available for visitors in each economy.
-Compare modern space museums and exhibits with those established in the 20th century.
-Estimate the average cost of visits by venue.
-Analyze current visitor interaction opportunities.
-Determine the ratio of local to foreign visitors.
-Identify the number of women involved in making space museums and exhibits accessible to visitors.
The survey will collect information on:
-Accessibility of the infrastructure for the local population.
-Years of establishment.
-Annual number of visitors (locals and foreigners).
-Visitor procedures (safety measures, advance access requirements).
-Exhibits presented to visitors.
-Cost of visits.
-Number and training of local guides.
-Hands-on experience opportunities.
-Level of interaction with professionals involved in space exploration.
-Collaboration and best practice sharing with other museums.
-Status as independent museums or part of science museum complexes.
-Recommendations and barriers to increasing tourism flows.
The processed survey results will form the basis for the APEC Guide on Developing Space Museums and Exhibits for Public Engagement.
This Guide will be the first comprehensive examination of the availability of space infrastructure, planetariums, observatories, thematic parks, and space exhibits for tourists in the APEC region. The Guide will focus on:
(a) space museums in APEC available for tourists (including such types of visitor sites as planetariums, astronomical observatories, thematic parks), as well as space exhibits as part of museum complexes with a focus on best practices of their organization;
(b) details on how to open up a space museum and a space exhibit (c)insights and recommendations from the offline conference.
(d) a reference to a wider audience in the region on how cooperation between A and B economies (the reference to A and B economies mean the economies with advanced space programs (“A economies”) and those without such infrastructure (“B economies”)) in the field of organizing space museums can be boosted, as well as on sharing best practices on how to increase tourism flows to existing space museums and space exploration objects.
Description of the Guide and Target Audience
The APEC Guide on Developing Space Museums and Exhibits for Public Engagement will present a structured overview of space-related museums, exhibits, planetariums, astronomical observatories, and thematic parks across APEC economies, with a focus on their role in tourism development, education, and public engagement.
The Guide will include:
-An overview of the current landscape of space museums and space- related visitor sites in APEC economies;
-A typology of economies based on different stages of space-sector and museum development (A and B categories);
-Analysis of best practices in museum governance, visitor experience design, accessibility, digitalization, and integration into tourism strategies;
-Case studies of selected role-model venues identified through the research;
-Practical step-by-step recommendations for economies seeking to establish space museums or space exhibits despite limited space infrastructure;
-Policy-oriented recommendations to enhance accessibility, visitor interaction, and tourism flows to existing space-related venues;
-Key insights and recommendations generated during the Conference and field visit.
-The minimum length of the Guide will be 50 pages (excluding annexes).
-Target audiences of the Guide include:
-Tourism policymakers and government agencies responsible for cultural, educational, and science-based tourism development;
-Local and regional tourism organizations and destination management bodies;
-Museum operators, curators, and science center professionals;
-Space-related institutions seeking to engage the public through visitor experiences;
-Educational institutions and NGOs involved in science communication;
-APEC fora and international organizations working at the intersection of tourism, education, and innovation.
Outcome
1) Enhance participants’ awareness of different development stages of APEC economies in the context of space museums and exhibits as tourism facilities, promote sharing of best practices and facilitate collaboration among APEC economies. This will be measured through final report and the list of specific recommendations accumulated as an outcome of the Research and the Conference.
2) Increase understanding and awareness of the economies that currently do not possess the possibilities to provide hands-on tourism experience in space exploration available to the local population. Make sure the economies are engaged and empowered to develop space-related tourism facilities. This will be again measured via the Final report and the post conference survey.
Beneficiaries
The primary target audience includes tourism policymakers, cultural and educational tourism developers, museum and science center professionals, and other stakeholders across APEC economies interested in creating or enhancing visitor experiences through science-themed attractions.
The project will deliver practical benefits through two main outputs – the APEC Guide on Developing Space Museums and Exhibits for Public Engagement and the Conference and field trip to Tsiolkovsky space museum in Kaluga, Russia. Tourism policymakers and government agencies will receive evidence-based insights on how science- and space-themed attractions can broaden tourism offers and strengthen cultural and educational tourism strategies.
Museum and science center professionals will gain access to best practices in exhibit design, visitor engagement, and cost-effective digitalization, with opportunities for hands-on learning during the field trip.
Destination managers and tour operators will learn practical approaches for integrating space-themed museums into tourism routes to enhance visitor experience and stay duration.
Educational institutions and NGOs will explore models for promoting public interest in science and technology through tourism.
Overall, the project will strengthen capacity, foster collaboration, and support the development of affordable science-related tourism experiences across APEC economies.
The APEC Guide on Developing Space Museums and Exhibits for Public Engagement will be particularly valuable for:
–Government agencies and tourism boards looking to expand cultural tourism offers, especially in regions without direct access to major space infrastructure;
–Museum operators and curators seeking replicable models for engaging science exhibitions;
–Destination managers and tour operators aiming to include space-themed experiences in regional tourism products;
–Educational institutions and NGOs involved in science communication and public engagement through tourism.
The findings will support capacity building and cross-border exchange of practical knowledge, helping economies - especially those with limited resources - develop affordable and innovative science-related tourism experiences.
As far as the secondary beneficiaries are concerned (those who indirectly gain from the project’s outputs – not the main target participants, but still influenced by the results or knowledge shared) they are seen as:
-Local communities and visitors who will benefit from improved museum experiences, educational opportunities, and more engaging cultural tourism offers.
-Students and young people who will gain increased access to informal science learning through future museum initiatives inspired by the project.
-SMEs and tourism-related businesses (e.g., tour guides, local crafts, hospitality providers) that may see increased visitor flows and new collaboration opportunities linked to science-themed attractions.
-APEC working groups and fora (e.g., HRDWG, PPSTI) that can use the project’s findings to inform cross-cutting initiatives in education, innovation, and sustainable tourism.