Local implementation of science reform efforts in part relies on science teacher leaders (STLs) to improve science instruction in classrooms and beyond. The lack of science-specific professional learning resources drives STLs to act as boundary spanners to locate resources outside their local context to fill that gap. Museums and other informal…

Science centers such as museums and planetariums have used stereoscopic ("three-dimensional") films to draw interest from and educate their visitors for decades. Despite the fact that most adults who are finished with their formal education get their science knowledge from such free-choice learning settings very little is known about the…

What effects do different setups of museum exhibits have on visitors' conversations and interactions? The study reported here is an investigation of the role that labels and associated materials play in visitors' conversations and interactions at a heat camera exhibit. After we introduced a label to help visitors explore the insulating properties…

Museum educators have a longstanding presence in museums and play a significant role in the institutions' educational agenda. However, research on field trips to science museums has predominantly explored teachers' and students' perspectives with little acknowledgment of the museum educators who develop and implement the educational programs the…

The effect of humor on retention of information was examined at the planetarium at Ohio's Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH. Results showed that the visitors who saw a humorous show retained less of the instructional material and scored lower on the test than the visitors who saw a nonhumorous show. (Author/DKM)

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.…

Reports on an exploratory study of how people see and explain a prominent exhibit (Tornado) at an interactive science museum (the Exploratorium). Data was assembled using a novel, technically mediated activity system (Video Traces). Argues that Video Traces is an effective tool and discusses an expanded Video Traces system. (Author/DKM)

Examines the science museum literature in light of the new emphasis for museums to become a unique partner with schools to enhance science literacy. Museums are believed to provide opportunities for students to be active learners by manipulating real objects in a stimulating environment. Asserts that additional research in this area is needed to…

Reports on a study of parent-child interactions in a children's museum demonstrating that parents shape and support children's scientific thinking in everyday, nonobligatory activity. Finds that when children engaged an exhibit with their parents, their exploration of evidence was observed to be longer, broader, and more focused on relevant…

Reports on part of a larger study of how 11- and 12-year-old students construct knowledge of electricity and magnetism by drawing on aspects of their experiences during the course of a school visit to an interactive science museum and subsequent classroom activities linked to the science museum exhibits. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes a program in which teenage students serve as the explainers of the displays in a museum. Reports on a study designed to determine whether such programs can significantly affect students' social development, their attitudes toward science, and their interest in science, teaching, and museums. (TW)

This journal issue, presenting review of 1990 science education research, is divided into categories, including among others Conceptual Change and Achievement; Problem Solving; Science Process/Inquiry Skills; Cognitive Development and Logical Reasoning Skills; Assessment and Research Design; the Nature of Science; Science, Technology, and Society;…