This book takes a look at the affordances of engaging second/foreign language students in educational projects that bridge the gap between the classroom and the museum. Studies on language learning and teaching beyond the classroom have shown that students learn in different settings and through different types of activities and that their…

This book offers a remarkable range of research that emphasises the need to analyse the shaping of curricula under historical, social and political variables. Teachers' life stories, the Cold War as a contextual element that framed curricular transformations in the US and Europe, and the study of trends in education policy at transnational level…

Informal science education (ISE) experiences can provide powerful opportunities for people with disabilities to experience and learn about science. When designed to be inclusive, such experiences can lead people with disabilities to feel competent and empowered as science learners, generate excitement and enthusiasm for science, and be equitable…

One issue of interest to practitioners and researchers in science centres concerns what meanings visitors are making from their interactions with exhibits and how they make sense of these experiences. The research reported in this study is an exploratory attempt, therefore, to investigate this process by using video clips and still photographs of…

Mobile devices have been increasingly utilized in informal learning because of their high degree of portability; mobile guide systems (or electronic guidebooks) have also been adopted in museum learning, including those that combine learning strategies and the general audio-visual guide systems. To gain a deeper understanding of the features and…

Informal science education (ISE) experiences can provide powerful opportunities for people with disabilities to experience and learn about science. When designed to be inclusive, such experiences can lead people with disabilities to feel competent and empowered as science learners, generate excitement and enthusiasm for science, and be equitable…

Observed visitors (n=154) to a science museum discovery space as they interacted freely with the exhibits. Reports that attraction levels were highest for exhibits with concrete presentations, holding power was highest for exhibits with high interaction and concrete presentation, and engagement levels were highest for high interaction exhibits.…

The competence of interpreters, so called "docents," influences visitors' learning in museums. The study reported in this paper investigated 16 interpreters' perceptions about: the educational goals of the science museum in Taiwan, the function of the interpreter in the science museum, the requirements for a competent interpreter, and…

In this paper, the director of The United States Society for Education through Art (USSEA) child art exhibitions presents some issues for future exhibition promoters to consider. A clear, concise list of qualifications and information, should be provided when requesting public submissions of work. Information required may include: name of country;…

A study was conducted during fall semester 1981 and spring semester 1982 at Parkland College, a 2-year community college in Champaign, Illinois, to determine the influence of a book display on circulation in an academic library. The study was based on previous experiments conducted by Herbert Goldhor in public libraries. A group of 100 books was…

This research paper advocates that there is no apparent common language among museum exhibit literature that will facilitate those wishing to develop a display. The development process of a display is the same, regardless of the items on display. To address this problem of a common terminology, the recommendations need to be developed for a model…

Educators and museum evaluators are attempting to understand the influence science museums have upon science education and the kinds of learning experiences visitors have in the multisensory, informal learning environments of science museums. The problem investigated in this study involved the effectiveness of the exhibit interpreter. The study…

Education is identified as one of the major goals of zoos. Research studies of the educational goals of different audiences associated with zoos and aquaria are reviewed in this report. These audiences include: (1) the zoo staff; (2) volunteers or docents; (3) general community members in formal programs; (4) students (elementary through graduate…

Maintains that presenting history to the public is a goal most historians enthusiastically endorse. Concludes that reuniting scholarship and emotion, objectivity and empathy, fact and feeling may be the biggest challenge that historians face in a new scientific and intellectual world. (CFR)

Relates history and process by which 12 historic wampum belts were turned over to representatives of Onondaga Nation (New York), one of six Indian tribal communities of Iroquois Confederacy. Describes history of belts from pre-Columbian times to modern times. Compliments both the New York State Board of Regent and leaders of the Onondaga Nation…