Caring for many objects is one of the more challenging aspects of the museum profession. In museums that collect cultural belongings, utilizing best care practices ensures that objects of cultural heritage can be studied and appreciated by the peoples whose cultures they represent. Thus, providing collections care is necessary to support learning…

Curated sites of learning--places that are created by people to promote formal and informal knowledge and knowledge production practices (such as schools and museums)--are deemed foundational by many societies in assisting children to become knowers. However, curated sites of learning can also uphold ways of knowing that can cause harm to people…

This study explored the effects of a self-adapted mobile concept mapping-based problem-posing (CMPP) approach applied in a virtual museum context. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a quasi-experimental design was applied to compare the critical thinking tendency, meta-cognition tendency, problem-solving tendency,…

Background: Research is needed to better understand the specific challenges for autistic learners in informal STEM learning settings. This study aimed to increase inclusion in STEM museums, with a larger goal of increasing the impact (i.e., learning and application of knowledge during and after visits) of informal STEM learning settings for…

Out-of-school science education is important for students' emotional outcomes, such as their interest in science. Not all students, however, have access to real outdoor environments for hands-on learning. To address this issue, live streaming technology allows for real-time interaction and video-based instruction, which can enhance students'…

Research on the educational value of play tends to focus on active players, especially when evaluating novel interaction technologies. However, a long history of scholarship underscores observing communal practice as a primary means of enculturation and learning. This paper demonstrates learning opportunities available within a range of…

Museums are traditionally considered public service settings with educational functions and practical learning resources for students. Early childhood teachers' intention to implement class visits to museums is still very low. This paper synthesizes the theory of planned behavior model (TPB) and core determinants of the technology acceptance model…

To truly fulfill their missions and make positive strides toward the conservation of our ocean, aquariums need to reach diverse audiences and reflect their local communities. Reaching audiences not adequately represented at our facilities takes work and time. It requires building relationships and trust. We need to understand which audiences are…

This research brief describes recent methodological initiatives with the Public Libraries Survey. It describes how starting with the 2022 data, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) updated geographic identifiers to better align Census Bureau geography types with the library's legal service area, with the goal of enabling data users to…

Inquiry can be an effective educational strategy for building critical thinking and student agency, but it is also a catalyst for scientific research. This study built upon a foundation of inquiry as 25 adolescents participated in a nine-week guided inquiry curriculum focused on smartphones and digital responsibility. As participants developed…

The last few decades have seen a growing trend toward the analysis of creativity and flow experiences in pedagogy, but we have only a limited knowledge of how cultural institutions can contribute to flow experiences in learning processes. Our study argues that the effectiveness of learning might be enhanced by the experiential accumulation of…

Local implementation of science reform efforts in part relies on science teacher leaders (STLs) to improve science instruction in classrooms and beyond. The lack of science-specific professional learning resources drives STLs to act as boundary spanners to locate resources outside their local context to fill that gap. Museums and other informal…

The transformation of natural history and science museums from receptacles (temples) to facilitators (forums) of knowledge fosters discourse around issues relating to science and society, known as social scientific issues (SSI). To assist guests with enhanced object-based learning, extended reality (XR) technologies are thought to leverage the…

This article addresses the need to bring the museum environment closer to the students of the Faculty of Education at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). The motivation for this stems from an observed lack of artistic education among these students, specifically evidenced by a lack of familiarity with the resources and learning…

Virtual museums are the answer a digital society, a new cultural, social, and economic system and a tool for educational innovation and digital learning. This article aims to collate all relevant evidence in virtual cultural museums with a teaching approach and detect what is published using the following question "What is published about…