Proposes a model of interactivity that can be used to plan museum exhibits in a broad range of subjects. Examines two alternative ways of examining task, visitor motivation, and cognitive mode. Assesses benefits of each. Presents eight distinct ways to design an interactive exhibit for African-American children. Offers case studies illustrating…

Presents a research and exhibit development aimed at increasing the understanding of family learning in science museums and identifying the characteristics of successful family learning exhibits. Concludes that using the seven characteristics of successful family exhibits as a guide to exhibit development proved to be an effective strategy for…

Contributes to scholarship on agenda-building and public controversies, and on print media coverage of controversial art by examining media coverage of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography exhibit and the controversy that emerged surrounding National Endowment for the Arts funding. Finds two ironic outcomes of the controversy: increased museum…

Explores the design choices for Network Earth, a museum exhibit that introduced the general public to computer networks and related issues (and was designed by a team with no formal training). Notes that although the design process and general goals were similar to those at other sites studied and in the literature, certain practices differed…

A test item exhibits differential item functioning (DIF) if students with the same ability find it differentially difficult. When the item is administered in French and English, differences in language difficulty and meaning are the most likely explanations. However, curriculum differences may also contribute to DIF. The responses of Ontario…

This essay considers the current impetus toward "democratizing" contemporary art exhibition practice with regards to Deweyan/Shusterman pragmatist aesthetics. The author proposes that Dewey might regard fondly new initiatives at museums and art centers such at the Tate Modern and the Baltic, both which, through various curatorial and programming…

School library media centers should be warm and inviting places where the environment entices children to read and explore. Creative bulletin board and case displays along with other exhibits help to make the library media center an exciting place. Bulletin board displays that promote authors, books, and exciting ideas motivate children to find…

Several initiatives were announced at the Special Libraries Association (d.b.a. SLA) conference, June 4-9, at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. A petition drive resulted in formation of a Competitive Intelligence (CI) Division from the former CI Section of the Leadership and Management Division. The board encouraged the member-driven…

At the annual, all-day events-sponsored by Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) and held in nearly every state across the country each September--students participate in interactive activities and exhibits to learn about water resources and explore how human behaviors, such as development and recreation, can affect the quality of the…

In this paper, I address some of the unique challenges of studies of learning in museums through a microanalytic case study of meaning-making among a group of youth and a curator. Through an examination of youths' forms of participation in one exhibit, I illustrate local meaning making achieved through multiple modalities--by doing, talking, and…

Recently, science centers have created issues-based exhibitions as a way of communicating socioscientific subject matter to the public. Research in the last decade has investigated how critical issues-based installations promote more robust views of science, while creating effective learning environments for teaching and learning "about" science.…

In this article, the author shares with the reader some of the insights he has gained through his experience of using photographs as a research tool during a year-long investigation of cultural events at three universities and schools in the Midwest of the United States. The article is divided into two alternating sections: the ones in plain text…

Focused on the role of curriculum theory in museum education, this essay considers William Pinar's suggestion that curriculum be understood as a "complicated conversation." An examination of "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War," an exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Behring Center, offers an example of how…

Introducing the tale--A young girl about eleven years old appeared on the TV screen. She stood in an art museum expounding upon the painting hanging behind her. She talked about the artist and what the image portrayed. With an air of elitist prissiness that suited the museum environment, the girl delivered her presentation to a group of…

In September 1990 UCLA's Wright Art Gallery opened an exhibition entitled Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation 1965-1985 (now usually referred to as CARA). While CARA was one of several national events displaying nonmainstream art, it was also distinctive in its politics of self-representation. The artists participating in CARA insisted that…