There are relatively few studies examining cooperative learning during laboratory activities in a science museum. This study aims to explore such activities to better understand the nature of cooperative learning, if any, in that setting. The participants in this study were 60 fourth-grade students who visited a science museum lab as part of a…

This study examines the entanglement of affects that occurred during a short episode at a science museum. The episode involved a small number of children and a teacher who had come to the museum in the context of a school field trip. It took place inside an exhibit called 'Hmong House', which reproduced various components of a traditional house of…

Learning how to teach in a hybrid space, such as a museum, opens up possibilities for preservice teachers to expand their definitions of literacy and experience teaching and learning with adolescents in new ways. This two-year study reports findings from a university-museum partnership in which preservice teachers (N = 81) worked with sixth-grade…

This comprehensive study explores the experiences of underrepresented students who have participated in informal science education programs at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Using qualitative methods, including interviews and participant observations, the research uncovers transformative insights shaping the educational landscape.…

Background: Museums have been paying an increasing attention to the design of experiences conducive to informal learning. While spontaneous inquiries in museums often pique visitors' intrinsic motivation to learn, certain structures or scaffolds are needed to facilitate sense making in museum learning. Two promising approaches are identified:…

Informal learning environments can be a fun and effective means of introducing visitors to a variety of topics in evolution. Our study examined 120 sixth-grade students' conceptualisation of evolutionary ideas following three evolution-themed "Science Days" at 'Nature Campus'--an informal learning environment in Central Israel comprised…

Narratives, or stories, are used every day by people as a way of making sense of and communicating events in the world. Narratives can be highly useful as a learning tool in science education. Though research on narrative-based pedagogy in science education and communication is very common, most of that research was done in formal settings. Our…

This research examines the same 12 school-students making repeat visits over a three-year-period to a science museum. We used a qualitative approach, analysing video recordings of museum visit and interviews with students, focusing on the way students use their former engagement in a science museum using a retrospective view that can offer insight…

Mill City Museum and Wilder Research collaborated to facilitate focus groups with local elementary school educators to learn about their experiences with virtual in-school programs, what motivates them to consider and schedule a program, and what barriers prevent or deter them from pursuing these types of programming options. This report presents…

The qualitative multiple case study approach was utilized to describe the impact African-American cultural museum educational experiences have on redefining the identity of select African-American 5th grade boys matriculating at an urban elementary school. My research study posed one primary research question: How do African-American museum…

This article describes dance/STEAM-based educational workshops for 3rd and 4th graders at a local science museum led by the artistic director and members of a professional dance company and supported by a large university research community. The overarching pedagogical goal was to use dance to learn about science and science to learn about dance.…

The wide dissemination of technology in museums is gradually establishing the need for a critical validation of its use in the process of sustaining the learning process. This paper examines the results of the use of a Virtual Reality application with the aim of teaching the subject of Arts Education to the pupils of the Fifth grade of Primary…

Art classrooms and museums are places where teachers and students talk about artworks. However, there is a lack of empirical research into dialogue--the most basic component of classroom teaching and the most used education strategy in museums. I investigated the development and experimentation of a dialogue-and-questioning framework for art…

This mixed-method research focuses on how school children visiting a science museum with their class perceive the overall experience of their visit to the science museum and which aspects of the science museum experience they recall as significant. The study participants were seventy two 4th grade students (age 9-10) who came to the museum with…

Traditional museums of culture and history are failing to develop or make effective use of augmented reality (AR) technology. To address this deficit, the present study sought to develop online and offline experiential AR learning tools that would enable children to more fully explore museum artefacts. The study approach was based on the Blended…