The development of understanding of nature of science (NOS) can be seen as one of the educational goals of natural history museums. In these museums, guides take on the role of educators responsible for shaping the content and style of guided tours. They play a crucial role in making scientific knowledge and narratives accessible to visitors,…

A couple of years prior to the pandemic, as the director of American Indian studies at The Ohio State University, Christine Ballengee Morris was contacted by museums, schools, and city officials regarding their desire to express a land acknowledgment in recognition of the Native American lands their institutions had colonized. What I (CBM) noticed…

This research explores the process of a Participatory Research (PR) project that brought together university researchers with museum practitioners to create reflective tools that can be used to better understand real practical challenges. This project followed Bourke's (2009) definition of PR, viewing the process as a collaborative endeavour…

This study examines the impact of a single science museum visit on the science self-efficacy (SSE) of emerging adult learners. Building upon previous research, which showed a significant short-term impact of a museum visit on SSE, our study aims to replicate these findings and gain deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms contributing to…

Natural history museums with their huge collections and exhibits seem to be particularly well suited to create an understanding and awareness of biodiversity. Mounted specimens are typical learning objects in natural history museums. The visual sense obviously plays a role here, but the haptic exploration of certain elements can also be conducive…

The general purpose of this research is to examine the objects in the Güzelyurt Archeology and Nature Museum in the context of museum education. Answers to the following questions were sought: which archeological objects are in this museum in line with this general purpose? Can these objects be used in museum education activities in line with the…

This comprehensive volume highlights and centers untold histories of education at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) from 1937 to 2020, using the critical voices of artists, scholars, designers, and educators. Exploring these histories as transformative and paradigm-shifting in museum education, it elevates MoMA educators as vocal advocates for…

This article discusses the considerable work has been carried out over the past few years at the Jane Austen's House museum with the aim of centering the visitor experience on Austen herself, and her writing. This might sound very obvious, and exactly what it should always have been, however, to walk through the House before this work took place,…

Curating temporary exhibitions with high visual appeal and compelling historical narratives is central to the work of museums. Yet what exhibitions teach as historical truth tends to concentrate on heteronormative masculine histories, reinforcing superiorities and whitewashing centuries of patriarchal oppression, control and violence. In response,…

This field note shares the work of Gendermuseum (Museum of Women's and Gender History Museum), the only interactive non-governmental museum in Ukraine and post-soviet Eastern Europe. We trace its antecedents and feminist adult education aims and practices. Framed through the lens of feminist adult education, we discuss how it uses exhibitions and…

As the "Journal of Museum Education" reaches its fifty-year publication milestone, this article traces the roots of the Museum Education Roundtable (MER) and the organization's resulting journal, both critical to professionalizing and shaping the field of museum education. Central to this publishing effort were the relationships amongst…

The Never Again Education Reauthorization Act of 2023 was put in place to reauthorize the Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to support Holocaust education programs, and for other purposes. The Act includes the following sections: (1) Short Title; and (2) Reauthorization, which amends the Act by striking ''each of the 4…

Advances in technology have enabled museum curators to employ equipment that can measure visitors' physiological responses, offering a means to monitor these responses, while, at the same time, potentially engaging visitors. However, it is unclear whether these devices genuinely promote a positive experience or, conversely, are perceived as…

Critical thinking is a vital skill set that can be learned and applied across contexts. This experimental study tested the effects of feeling awe on adults' critical thinking about art in an art museum visit. A total of 153 adults were interviewed at two different art museums in Copenhagen, Denmark. Adults were randomly assigned to either an…

In this paper we explore the idea of an equity of imagination in the context of learning in the art museum. We mean by this a shared mental space in which artworks and publics are afforded mutual agency and power to generate meaning, with opportunities to conjure new meanings for shifting and changing contexts. We focus on how this can emerge…