University research labs focusing on education, psychology, and cognitive development have been collaborating with museums more and more over the past decade. Nevertheless, cognitive science labs that primarily engage in basic as opposed to applied research may find it difficult to entice museums to collaborate, and existing collaborations may…

This paper describes a research collaboration with Humber Museums Partnership, which explored family museum visiting and early language. Drawing from ethnographic observations and continuous audio recordings, this article examines how very young children make sense in museum spaces. We activate Deleuze and Guattari's concept of the refrain…

This study investigates how family cultural capital, particularly through museum and theatre attendance, is related to the cognitive and socio-emotional development of preschool children. The study included 1285 preschoolers (M = 70.6 months, SD = 4.43) and their parents. Assessments were conducted on children's executive functions, non-verbal…

This is qualitative action research where an immigrant Muslim mother journaled about her Yemeni-American daughters (ages 7 and 13, born and raised in USA), visiting two museums for the very first time. Her reflective journaling recorded mother-child and sibling interactions, when (1) viewing Islamic visual arts during six museum visits, and (2)…

Although children frequently engage in creative activities (in which they make foods and objects by hand), the development and scope of children's thinking about handmade items is largely unexplored. In the present studies, we examined whether 4- to 12-year-old children at a local children's museum (54% girls, 46% boys; 51% White, 11% Asian/Asian…

To explore the potential contribution of parents' causal talk to preschooler's emerging scientific literacy and related interests, we observed 153 parent-child dyads playing together in a museum and in the lab. As in previous work, the frequency with which parents referenced causal information in their speech predicted the strength of their…

Previous research from in and outside museums suggests that the haptic exploration of surfaces and objects have various educational benefits and can positively influence the museum visit experience. However, there is still a need for more research on the potential effects of object handling on museum learning, especially in science museums. The…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2018, organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Modern psychology offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and…