The current study, which uses a survey approach, aims to identify middle school students who visit BILSEMs (Science and Art Centers) in terms of their creativity and learning preferences and to look into the impact of various factors on these traits. In the 2021-2022 academic year, 214 fifth, sixth, and seventh graders were chosen using the…

To increase engagement with science and technology, young people around the world are encouraged to attend activities at science centers. But how effective are these activities? Since women have weaker ability beliefs and interest in technology than men, it is especially important to learn how science center visits affect them. In this study, we…

Scientist-led K-12 outreach offers many benefits to scientists, teachers, and students; however, many of these programs are top down rather than collaborative. Our team facilitated a museum-based scientist-teacher partnership to co-design a lesson on shark biology for middle school students. Following the implementation of the lesson, we conducted…

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the applications conducted in the science center within the scope of the science lesson "Solar System and Beyond" unit of the 7th-grade students in the secondary school, on the perceptions of the students about the out-of-school learning environments (OSLEs). In the quantitative part of the…

The purpose of this research was to design and evaluate the efficacy of a gesture-based exhibit with augmented reality (AR) for understanding complex scientific concepts. In particular, this study focuses on the effect of differently guided conditions in a gesture-based AR. We first present the design and development of a gesture-based AR exhibit…

This study aims to examine the effect of the instructional plan which includes workshops pedagogically modelling the exhibitions at science centres for an effective field trip, on high school students' learning the concepts on 'Simple Machines: Pulley and Levers'. In this study, a semi-experimental design with the pre- and post-test control group…

One of the objectives of science education in science centres has been the enhancement of interest in science. However, museum fatigue has a negative impact on interest. Museum fatigue has been described as physical tiredness or a decrease in visitors' interest in a museum. The learning experience of students in science centres is also influenced…

This study investigated the gifted students' analogical perceptions of science and arts centres (SACs). Qualitative research method has been adopted. The data were collected from 4th and 5th graders selected through the purposive sampling through an interview form developed by the researchers. The participant students' analogical expressions for…

Many museums attempt to connect museum activities to classroom learning goals by creating "before" and "after" suggestions for the classroom teacher. Therefore, when doing out of school activities it is common to organize and plan such activities from a before, during and after perspective. The present study primarily rests on…

The goal of this research was to explore cognitive, self-determined learning and autonomous motivational effects in the context of a mobile science exhibition (N = 256) in Finland. The pupils were sixth-graders with an average age of 12 years 6 months. Autonomy experience, as measured by the Relative Autonomy Index (RAI), had an effect on how the…

This study aims to determine the effect of using out-of-school learning environments in science teaching on motivation for learning science. It is a quasi-experimental study and it has been designed as pre- and posttest experimental study. The study was carried out with seventh grade students enrolled in a secondary school in the city centre of a…

The next generation of STEM professionals needs to understand interconnections between human and Earth systems to be able to address complex, multifaceted, emerging global environmental issues. Interest in STEM fields and professions can begin in middle school. To educate and connect middle school students to Earth systems and STEM fields, we…

Participation and engagement are important factors in students' academic achievement and in increasing interest and motivation in the learning process. This study evaluates participation and engagement in circle formations in both outdoor and indoor education settings. Over a four-week study period, four instructors collected data on different…

This research explores learning in science museums through the most common activity in a science museum--interaction with exhibits. The goal of this study was to characterize the learning behaviors exhibited by students as they engage with interactive exhibits in order to draw insight regarding the design of the exhibits. In order to do so, we…

This study aims to evaluate middle school students' views about science centers as out-of-school learning environments. The study surveyed 195 5th-, 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students attending Hatice Salih Primary School and Ahmet Cabuk Middle School in Province Bursa. It used a qualitative cross-sectional and longitudinal research design. For…