Now that you have finished reading this journal issue and understand what interpretive planning is and when to apply it, how can you get started and just "do" it? This article provides an annotated list of practical handbooks and internet resources that provide guidelines for museum practitioners to engage in interpretive planning at institutions…

This is a study of the opportunities currently provided by interactive science and technology centres for visitors' engagement in the field of acoustics. E-mails, requesting a description of exhibits on acoustics (sound and hearing) in use, were sent to members of staff of interactive science and technology centres around the world as well as to…

Stockholm House of Science, focusing on astronomy, biotechnology and physics for students and teachers at school, is based on the proven concept of Stockholm Science Laboratory, which was mainly devoted to physics. The House of Science has become a popular and important resource and meeting place for teachers and students, stimulating interest in…

Although teachers in principle are prepared to make use of science centers, such excursions often fail to facilitate learning processes. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the link between science centers and schools. The design and evaluation of valuable outreach projects may enhance students' out-of-school science learning. In our study, we…

In this paper, we examine the interactional ways that families make meaning from biological exhibits during a visit to an interactive science center. To understand the museum visits from the perspectives of the families, we use ethnographic and discourse analytic methods, including pre- and postvisit interviews, videotaped observations of the…

The focus of this article is on ten 5-year-old children and their teacher visiting a "Way of the water" exhibition (a large scale model showing the flow of water from the mountains to the sea) at a science centre and a later follow up discussion at a circle-time back at pre-school. The aims of the study were to analyse, describe and…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and present results from the fourth year of a five-year collaborative research project between an interactive science center and a local college. The purpose of the project is not only to recruit and train approximately 50 highly qualified science teachers who will teach in New York City public schools, but…

Design-Based Research (DBR) has been a tool of the learning sciences since the early 1990s, used as a way to improve and study learning environments. Using an iterative process of design with the goal of reining theories of learning, researchers and educators now use DBR seek to identify "how" to make a learning environment work. They then draw…

This study examines the historical conditions that fostered significant reform in science education. To understand these conditions, we employ a framework drawn from the new institutionalism in organization theory to study the founding and early development of the Exploratorium--a prominent science center that greatly impacted the field of science…

Educators have identified four categories of "productive pedagogies" that are considered to lead to authentic student engagement and learning in the classroom. This study was designed to explore and extend these pedagogies in the context of learning in natural environments, in particular, through the programmes of Queensland…

Many science centers have partnerships with schools, universities or scientific industry. This article will describe a unique collaborative project between Liberty Science Center, Wagner College, and Picatinny Center (a government research center) that has college interns working with and learning from science center staff and real scientists in a…

This research aimed to examine the effects of visiting exhibitions and participating in the activities offered by science centers on raising the interest of second level students of primary education in science and improving their academic achievements. Thirty one 8th grade students chosen randomly from primary schools participated in the research…

The "Learning Lab: The Cell" exhibit was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Museum and the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS). Specially designed for middle and high school students, the Learning Lab provides museum visitors of all ages with fascinating insights into how our living cells work. The…

What meaning visitors make from their interactions with science center exhibits--and "how" they do so--is an issue of enduring interest in the field of learning in informal contexts. In order to explore what resources schoolchildren bring to bear in making meaning, this study used video clips taken during school trips to prompt…