This study developed a wearable mixed reality (MR)-based mobile learning system and applied it to museum learning activities to explore whether the proposed system can effectively improve university students' learning outcomes, situational interest, and cognitive load. Four museums were selected as the informal learning sites, and 64 university…

Scientist-led K-12 outreach offers many benefits to scientists, teachers, and students; however, many of these programs are top down rather than collaborative. Our team facilitated a museum-based scientist-teacher partnership to co-design a lesson on shark biology for middle school students. Following the implementation of the lesson, we conducted…

Civic engagement in environmental issues creates opportunities for students to explore and combine interests in the environment and community action as well as to develop new perspectives related to social justice issues. This manuscript examines the outcomes of a yearlong eco-civic fellowship for undergraduates representing a variety of cultural…

The COVID-19 pandemic cause global social and cultural disruptions that caused institutions like museums to suddenly close. Stay-at-home orders forced organizations to restructure their now-remote staff, laying off, furloughing, or firing entire departments like museum education. The literature in the field suggests museum educators were fired or…

This is a case study of a hearing-impaired researcher who was coparticipant in a study of learners with sensory and intellectual impairments in six European museums. The fieldwork for this project was based in London, Madrid, Oviedo (northern Spain), and Vienna, with partners and technological and university partners in Spain, Serbia, Austria, and…

Since its inception in 2011, Museum Teen Summit (MTS), a youth-led collective dedicated to better understanding and transforming the role of young people within museums, sought to act as a bridge between teens and cultural organizations. Over eight years, MTS built an impressive network of youth and adult professionals interested in specialized…

This paper is a reflection on Bobby Habig, Preeti Gupta, and Jennifer Adams' article "Disrupting deficit narratives in informal science education: Applying community cultural wealth theory to youth learning and engagement" (EJ1307485). The article examines the significance of community cultural capital and the need for informal STEM…

Authentic participation involving jointly undertaken analysis of data and dissemination of findings is rarely evident in participatory research involving disabled people. This paper examines analysis and dissemination which offers greater participation, providing a theoretical underpinning for this approach. This conceptualization arises from…

Museums have become an important institution for learning activities especially for young visitors as it provides significant function towards educational benefits and knowledge enrichment. The actual outcomes from learning experience need to be encountered in order to indicate satisfying experience level from museum visiting. However, the…

This qualitative case study explored the experiences of two teachers participating in a visual literacy online professional development course sponsored by a state-funded art museum. As the world becomes more visual, there is a continued need for teachers to develop the skills needed to foster visual literacy in their students; therefore, the goal…

"Parkopolis," the life-sized board game, was designed to promote conversation and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning. We investigated whether this exhibit also prompted questioning. Caregivers' and children's STEM-related question-asking was compared between Parkopolis (i.e., experimental group) and a…

When the pandemic temporarily closed U.S. museums in March 2020, it also halted on-site museum tours. Some museums responded by developing or expanding their virtual programs, including online tours. The author, an in-gallery docent at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, trained during the pandemic to give virtual tours. Comparing in-person with…

Significant research has focused on caregiver-child interaction in children's museums, but little is known about what caregivers might be observing or perceiving about their children's learning. This study was conducted by the Children's Museums Research Network, and examines what caregivers observe about their children's learning during a visit…

The compensation pendulum is a pendulum that is constructed in a way that its length does not vary by changes of temperature. As the temperature of the air around the clock goes up, the rod of a regular pendulum clock mechanism expands and the clock runs slower. Historically, it has proven easier to compensate for changes in the ambient…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a machine learning (ML) integrated science curriculum implemented within the Science Research Mentorship Program (SRMP) for high school youth at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) over 2 years. The 4-week curriculum focused on ML knowledge gain, skill development, and self-efficacy, particularly…