Explores the lives of the Issei, the Japanese who came to Hawaii, and the U.S. mainland between 1885 and 1924. Examines the immigrants' problems with discriminatory laws in the United States. Discusses the establishment of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles (California). Describes some of the exhibits on display at the museum.…

Compares Getty Center for Education in the Arts-affiliated and non-Getty-affiliated museums to examine if and how Discipline-Based Art Education has influenced contemporary art museum education practices. Finds that relationships between art education and museum education are more explicitly developed among Getty-affiliated art museums than…

Describes how a survey of 1,500 museums in six European countries and case studies in three countries were used to develop a guide to good practice and a Web site on informal education in museums. (SK)

Discusses the development and results of a naturalistic study of the instructional-design process for three permanent museum exhibits. Examines design goals, design resources, design techniques, constraints such as budget and scheduling, how museum staff makes decisions during the design process, and implications for instructional designers.…

Describes a teenage journalist's visit to the Newseum in Washington, DC, the world's only interactive museum dedicated to news. Describes visiting the Interactive Newsroom, the huge News Globe, the News History Gallery, and the Broadcast Studio. Describes also a brief visit to Freedom Park and the Newseum Education Center. Notes the enthusiasm of…

Describes an exhibit called Kid's Kitchen, built within a major exhibit called Biodiversity: Life Supporting Life, in order to discuss environmental prompts hidden within the kitchen designed to surprise students and get them thinking. (ASK)

An analysis of interactions between 154 visitors to a science museum revealed significant differences between age group and the holding power of exhibits. No significant differences were found for gender or social grouping and attraction, holding power, and engagement levels. (PR)

Examines the debate about how science should be re/presented in informal science settings, specifically the possibility of science centers and science museums addressing socio-scientific issues. Situates the debate within the current science education literature on the nature of science (NOS) and science, technology, society and environment (STSE)…

Virtual museums focus on a specific curriculum theme and showcase electronic museum-type collections such as artifacts, paintings, photographs, numerous databases, and Web links to resources around the world. Museums of all types include vital teaching tools that help students make discoveries and form connections with the past, present, and…

This article describes the artistic carving, "Period Room from Damascus." The room dates to the early eighteenth century, reflecting the tastes of Syrians under Turkish Ottoman rule. The article highlights notable historical, cultural, and artistic elements about the room and provides questions to consider.

Egyptian artifacts and treasures mesmerize nearly all museum visitors. A careful look at ancient Egyptian art can tell us a great about Egyptian culture and artistry. The ancient Egyptians believed that in the afterlife, the spirit (or ka) of the deceased returned to the body. It was important for the body to be preserved to ensure that the ka had…

Science museum staff face a constructivist dilemma as they design their public spaces: the exhibits should facilitate science learning, yet they also need to support a diverse visiting public in making their own personal choices about where to attend, what to do, and how to interpret their interactions. To be effective as teaching tools, exhibits…

The University of Wisconsin (UW) Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program serves as a model for introducing leading research into public and pre-college educational settings through a university-museum partnership. Such collaborations can be rewarding endeavors that communicate cutting-edge science and technology to the general…

Formal and informal education is increasingly pursued by all ages through the Internet, television, and public cultural programs. Museums, libraries, and public television stations, as significant sources of public information, should be especially cognizant of and responsive to societal changes. By their very nature, these three types of…

Artemis is a late Hellenistic Greek marble sculpture of the huntress, running in a flowing garment, now lacking arms, legs, and head, and about three-quarters life-sized. The llama is a remarkable hollow male figure of smooth thin gold, and about two inches tall, and was made by the Inca before the Spanish conquest in 1532. This narrative is just…