Aesthetic Sustainability and STEAM at Museums

The aim of this article is to examine how aesthetic sustainability, as a theoretical concept and analytical framework, can elucidate and expand the science-technology-engineering-arts-mathematics (STEAM) approach to learning at museums, advancing it conceptually and practically. STEAM denotes an inter-disciplinary educational approach in which traditional boundaries between scientific and humanistic disciplines are deliberately blurred, allowing knowledge from each to intersect with and inform the other. The approach seeks to strengthen learners’ capacity for critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving, while fostering awareness of the environmental, social and cultural implications of human action. It highlights how interdisciplinary and sensuous engagement with heritage materials may lead to transformative learning outcomes that connect scientific reasoning with aesthetic reflection. The article’s overall argument is developed through analysis of four cases from the STEAM at Museums development project in Central Denmark Region (2023–25).