Designing exhibits that catch and hold people's interest -- particularly easily distracted children -- is a key challenge for science centres. Here we apply situational interest (SI), a model from educational psychology and STEM education, to understand characteristics exhibit designers use to trigger and/or maintain interest, evoke emotions and…

The "Children's Engagement Behaviour Framework" was developed to describe young children's engagement with science exhibits and how their behaviour is related to learning about the exhibits. The "Framework" was synthesised from frameworks in research literature related to family learning and the nature of play. It describes…

Science centres generally strive to increase awareness, interest, capability and participation by citizens in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This review of Scitech's professional learning (PL) strategy was designed to analyse quantitative and qualitative feedback about the professional learning activities delivered by…

The relationship that exists between students and science and technology (S&T) is a complex and important one. If it is positive, then social, economic and environmental consequences are to be expected. Yet, many problems of interest/motivation/attitude (I/M/A) towards S&T have been recorded. A lot of research has been conducted on this…

In June 2009 Pamela Melrose was a recipient of a "Premier's Energy Australia Scholarship". Her study tour took her to Scandinavia. This paper is an account of that tour. In her report Pamela argues for the use of authentic studies in science teaching. She cites examples from museums, nature schools and research establishments to…

Educators have identified four categories of "productive pedagogies" that are considered to lead to authentic student engagement and learning in the classroom. This study was designed to explore and extend these pedagogies in the context of learning in natural environments, in particular, through the programmes of Queensland…

The purpose of this study is to provide case studies of co-operation between education and industry in the Northern Territory in particular; the study also provides exemplars of co-operation between education and industry in Australia and worldwide. The existence of such co-operation is not surprising as education and industry share many common…

Year Eight students that underwent novelty-reducing pre-orientation to the physical environment of an interactive science museum and had prior experience visiting the museum learned more than their counterparts. Those exhibits most frequently recalled shared a combination of characteristics such as large physical size, prominence in the exhibit…

This report is a summary of experience gained on international study tours and conferences about ways to increase young people's interest in science and technology and to change girls' attitudes towards technology by presenting the subject in a more interesting way. The document begins with some general thoughts about the significance of…

Describes a center for education, research, and passive recreation in wetland settings operated by a community conservation organization in cooperation with the state and a local university. Discusses the philosophy, on-site programs (formal and nonformal), the outreach program, and community involvement in ornithological research of the center.…

The Science and Mathematics Education Centre (SMEC) at the Western Australian Institute of Technology offers two graduate courses: Graduate Diploma in Science Education and the Master of Applied Science (Science Education). Three distinct groups of students engaged in these SMEC programs can be identified based on their interests/expertise in…

The Science and Mathematics Education Centre (SMEC) was established in 1979 in the Division of Engineering and Science at Western Australian Institute of Technology. The establishment of an autonomous SMEC, physically located in a science/mathematics environment, is helping to bridge the gap between secondary science/mathematics teachers and…