Since the late 1980s, a network of community museums has spread throughout Oaxaca (Mexico), serving as an autonomous force for broad-based cultural development, supporting the maintenance and revitalization of local Indigenous cultures, countering Western cultural hegemony, and involving Indigenous communities in museum development and related…

The development, implementation, and observational evaluation of focused learning activities developed for students visiting the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Israel are discussed. The activities stimulated interest and motivation in most of the subjects, who were from five seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade classes. (TJH)

Described is the network and activities that accompanied the JASON Project in 1988. Discussed are the curriculum, broadcasts, and projections of future projects. Project sponsors and network members are listed. (CW)

Informal, museum-based technology education is discussed. A program in which family groups work together and learn robotics is described. Projected gains in technological and scientific literacy are highlighted. (CW)

High school students who visit museums have many diverse life experiences, and instructors must understand that the experience is tremendous preparation for looking at art. The article explains how to encourage students to respond to art rather than talk at them about what they should know. (SM)

Sunrise Museum's Science Hall in Charleston, WV, offers 30 hands-on exhibits that introduce children to science. Museum programs use a 9-foot soft-sculptured, unzippable doll to teach children about nutrition and basic anatomy and recruit representatives from local businesses and industry to conduct weekend science workshops. (LP)

A public curriculum is inherent in the orderly images in art museums. This voluntary public access curriculum offers challenges and useful metaphors for educators working in more structured settings. The parallel roles of school and art museum educators are traced. (SLD)

Describes the evaluation of four hypertext microcomputer-based software packages for use in a browsing system on a medical or health topic for the South African Medical Research Council exhibit in the South African Museum. Evaluation criteria are explained, and 40 examples of screen displays are included. (four references) (LRW)

Presents a brief overview of the evolution of documentary material of Native American cultures and problems confronted by researchers in locating relevant information. Bibliographic sources for research are discussed and a directory of major repositories of Native American art documentation is provided. (EA)

Reviews the work of the Program Evaluation and Research Group (PERG) at Lesley College in evaluating informal, nonschool science programs for elementary students. Compares PERG's findings with other published literature about elementary school programs in extraschool science institutions and discusses issues that apply to all such programs from…

Contends that there has been a movement in Europe away from the concept of didactic or teaching museums to include emotional and intellectual appeals to patrons. Concludes that long-term research is necessary to determine whether people who visit museums as students continue to do so as adults. (CFR)

Describes the history of automation at the Harvard University Art Museums, the collaboration between the museum and a vendor in developing a collections management system, and the current status of the project from the museum's perspective. Topics include imaging technology and image management; file structure; and management of change. (LRW)

Describes an informal discussion between a museum docent and a group of students visiting the museum. Compares the instructional strategies used in museum education and the regular school classroom. Concludes that students would gladly take responsibility for their own learning if textbooks and curriculum guides did not constrain them. (CFR)

Argues that student field trips should provide students with learning experiences rather than entertainment. Gives examples of science demonstrations that engage the student in the scientific process using hands-on experiences. (MDH)

Compares the effectiveness of two types of art museum tours, the lecture and the inquiry/discussion tour, in promoting learning by college-aged students. Finds that both were equally effective in helping subjects acquire information, but neither encouraged retention; both types were equally enjoyable. Highlights the inconclusiveness of the…