Empirical work has shown how mathematics education exhibits certain tensions between its value as being practically useful to production and consumption on the one hand and in offering access to scarce resources on the other hand. These tensions can be ultimately traced to the contradictions in the way mathematical knowledge enhances the use value…

Operating a museum in a high poverty, underserved area creates many challenges related to accessibility, programming, and funding. Over the course of nearly a decade, the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery (OVMoD) has identified several organizational practices that help mitigate these challenges. Located in the southeastern corner of Appalachian…

Science education reform focuses on learner-centered instruction within contexts that support learners' sociocultural experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore Hispanic mothers' experiences as accompanying adults at an informal science center within the context of culturally sustaining experiences, which include the fluidity…

Museum exhibits can be a tool in experiential learning. While instructors have documented various methods of experiential learning, they have not sufficiently explored such learning from museum exhibits. Museum researchers, however, have long found a satisfying cognitive component to museum visits. This paper narrates the author's design to…

This semester-long activity for a "Gender Fair" project helps undergraduate students gain an appreciation of gender as a social, historical, and cultural construction that is constituted intersectionally (with race-class-sexuality, at minimum) and fundamentally through communication practices. Specifically, upon completing this project,…

Lakeview Schools and the Art Center of Battle Creek, both located in Michigan, have worked together on several beneficial projects. This partnership has resulted in the sharing of valuable material and human resources. In addition, the use of innovative technology has provided a meaningful learning experience for the entire community. As the…

Libraries are constantly challenged to find ways to demonstrate their value to their institutions. Can hosting a National Library of Medicine (NLM) exhibition increase a library's impact? In 2012 the University of Toledo engaged their constituents by hosting and developing programming for the NLM exhibit Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science,…

When undergraduates work with college faculty on complex research projects, the students are often asked to take on the role of "secondary-level" gatherers of data. This can be legitimate: the students have no graduate training and the faculty mentor is more experienced in research design and analysis. This study, however, offers an…

Prompted by the passage of Alabama House Bill 56, I organized the museum studies course I taught for Auburn University at Montgomery in the 2013 spring semester around an exhibition on immigration. The course offered the opportunity to engage students, faculty, and the community in discussion of an important, timely, and controversial topic.…

The concept of learning outside of the traditional, formal classroom setting is an important component of family and consumer sciences (FCS) educational pedagogy. Methods of learning beyond the FCS classroom include visiting museums, accessing archives--both in person and virtually--and participating in field studies (Roehl, 2013). Although many…

The tension among the different models for understanding the relation between the artist and the artwork is brought most explosively to light when legal battles erupt between artists and institutions. This can be found in both the "Tilted Arc" controversy of the 1980s and in a recent dispute involving the Swiss installation artist…

This essay considers the rhetoric of space in a rapidly transforming culture. Using Michel Foucault's concept of "heterotopias" to understand the rhetorical power of a building's disposition, it is argued that the Jewish Museum Berlin contains two heterotopias, one within the other. The first is Daniel Libeskind's original building…

Many airports have transformed empty waiting spaces into mini malls, children's play areas, and displays of beautiful art, making a long wait a bit more pleasant. For the modern airport, showcasing art has become an important component, with perks including a built-in global audience, as well as the vast spaces of modern architecture. For the art…

This article will discuss how museums may serve as community anchors by catalyzing and helping to sustain significant behavioral and attitudinal changes among the public. When museums integrate research, deep community roots and trust, and a museum and arts-based pedagogy, they are uniquely positioned to effect change. The article will review a…

Public protests. Sensational headlines. Scathing editorial cartoons. Sloganeering posters. Are these signs of upheaval and disorder? Or are they evidence of a healthy public debate--one that could lead to legislation dramatically changing American life? In this article, the authors incorporate historical photographs taken by Lewis Hine between…