Conceptualized by the self-determination theory, this interpretive study examined 23 museum educators' perspectives from five Chinese science museums to understand their work motivation in relation to their professional practice of working in museums. Research outcomes showed that, Chinese science museum educators' work motivation followed a…

This article examines the journey of museum educators at the Chicago History Museum in understanding the Common Core State Standards and implementing them in our work with the school audience. The process raised questions about our teaching philosophy and our responsibility to our audience. Working with colleagues inside and outside of our…

Thematic art museum education programmes--programmes where visitors make meaning of various artworks in relation to a specific preselected theme--are conspicuous within interactive museum education on both sides of the Atlantic. How do thematic programmes influence visitors' experiences with art? In this article, I explore this question based…

As access to high speed internet connections and digital tools increase, many museums are incorporating online and/or blended (a combination of onsite and online) programming in their portfolio to deepen work with existing audiences and/or reach new ones. To leverage the potential of ongoing innovation in the tech sector, museum educators will…

The present study, aiming to develop nature culture in primary school students and to help them to become acquainted with their close environment, is a quasi-experimental study. Museum education activities were conducted with the study group which consisted of 128 fourth-grade primary school students. At the end of the study, the students gained…

How can history museums incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities while preserving their missions and identities? How do interdisciplinary experiences lead to learning? A cross-institutional exhibit development and evaluation team wrestled with these ideas as they developed "Create.Connect," an National…

Since museums are cultural, educational, and social institutions, providing access to people with disabilities has increased in recent decades. This research examines the need and development process of the educational program, the Nature Senses Traveling Trunk, to serve children with Autism Spectrum disorders and visual impairments at the Lubbock…

Museums offering archaeological programs often attempt to use the "sandbox approach" to simulate archaeological excavation work. However, in light of the definition of simulation, and given the realities of actual professional practice in archaeological excavation, the author argues that the activity of troweling for artifacts in loose sand places…

This article explores how to ensure visitor engagement with art objects at exhibition spaces in art museums through relational aesthetics, which focuses on the intersubjective relationship that art objects arouse in visitors. In the 1990s, Bourriaud coined the term "relational aesthetics" in reference to interactive installation art, but…

In this article, we discuss a museum program for teens located in an urban environment. The participants were high school students from public, private, religious and home schools. The program allowed learning to occur in an informal setting and united teens from one city through a common interest in visual art. Also, it was an opportunity for the…

The increasingly sophisticated field of visitor studies, audience research, and evaluation, the growing professionalism of museum education training and practice, and the advocacy role of "Journal of Museum Education" and other publications has transformed the museum landscape. So, too, have dramatic changes in technology and in the larger…

This project sought to understand guest engagement during great ape demonstrations conducted at the "Regenstein Center for African Apes" in the Lincoln Park Zoo. We were interested in how these demonstrations engaged audiences, relative to a non-demonstration-viewing experience, as well as how they compared to each other. In 2012 and…

Hands-on workshops in museums have become ubiquitous. What is the best approach to leading these materials-based experiences and how might they relate to gallery teaching? This article outlines best practices for facilitating museum workshops. Describing a framework for designing activities, giving feedback, and sharing information, it draws…

This research starts by analysing the current state of artistic heritage in Italy and studying some examples in Europe: we try to investigate the scope of non-formal learning in artistic context, mediated by advanced technology. The framework within which we have placed our investigation is that of lifelong learning and lifedeep learning. The…

The theories of cultural reproduction and cultural mobility have largely shaped the study of the effects of cultural capital on academic outcomes. Missing in this debate has been a rigorous examination of how children actually acquire cultural capital when it is not provided by their families. Drawing on data from a large-scale experimental study…