Describes the children's museum movement, exhibits common to children's museums, and the role of children's museums in providing interactive environments for young children to complement the learning that goes on in classrooms and at home. Provides contact information for five children's museums. (DR)

Describes construction and operation of an inexpensive and portable educational hallway exhibit on color mixing. (JRH)

Describes the Colorado Scale-Model Solar System, a display illustrating the sizes and distances to the Sun and the nine planets on the campus of Colorado University. Discusses the model's educational value and uses for the classroom and the community. (MDH)

Reviews two exhibits of visual art at the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Art Museum, "Works by African-Americans," which showcases the contributions of nineteenth- and twentieth-century African-American artists; and "Pertaining to Philadelphia," acquisitions from the collection of Julius Bloch, an artist and mentor to many African…

Recommends that art therapists inform themselves about the many art-and-healing activities available throughout the country and interact in useful ways for the profession. Urges therapists to claim their role as artists by entering the art world more actively through writing in art journals, speaking at art forums, and increasing the number of…

Studies how visitors use mechanical interactive exhibits: how they respond to interactive controls, problems encountered, and how museums can best solve those problems through redesign of controls and exhibits. Problems are described under the following headings: (1) Visitors' Understanding of Exhibits; (2) Design of Interface Controls; (3)…

Reviews the results of an in-depth investigation of research on learning in children's museum settings. Focuses on how young children aged 4 and 5 engage with exhibits and how this might lead to learning. The investigation yielded not-very-surprising findings and some coding categories that may be useful to museum researchers and designers. (PVD)

This article explores the potential and reality of using the academic library Web site to market library resources and services, for fundraising, and to market special events. It explores such issues as the placement of a link to academic libraries from institutional home pages and the use of a library Web site to include links to news, exhibits,…

This article discusses the provider fair that delivers the free tutoring under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In Los Angeles, the provision of the federal law is opening doors for students and making demands on the school district. For low-income families in the Los Angeles Unified School District, this provider fair is their first chance…

Today's thriving art museums--and the various processes that deliver both their overt and covert missions--are likely to have a greater impact on society than ever before. With such potential, it seems especially important at this juncture to examine critically the art museum as process; to deconstruct that which has been "constructed as a symbol…

This essay presents an account of a whole-school faculty designing and teaching a five-month whole-school curriculum based on an exhibit of modern American art, "In the American Grain," in a public school in the Pacific Northwest, grades 6-12. This account is a case-study of a successful attempt of teachers, students, and administrators at one…

This monograph details the results of a large, systematic study of the short- and long-term impacts of liberal arts colleges and liberal arts education using two longitudinal datasets that together contain information on more than 6,500 students and alumni from more than 40 institutions located throughout the country. The longitudinal nature of…

This essay begins by considering museum studies in relationship to curriculum studies and new museology. The author notes that traditional museum and school learning modes have focused more on measurement than meaning, while curriculum studies and new museology urge a broader exploration of the social purposes of education. Drawing on the work of…

Over the last two decades, the role of education in museums has shifted from being the purview of a specific set of individuals charged with creating programs and activities for school children and other visitors to being the central purpose of our institutions. This new paradigm distributes education responsibilities across the museum. Given this…

Colleges and universities around the world are enacting sustainable initiatives. Some are signing the American College and University President's Climate Committment, while others are being recognized by STARS (Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, & Rating System). Despite what level of dedication to sustainability an institution might have, it…