Learning in Children's Museums: Is It Really Happening?

Laurel D. Puchner · Robyn Rapoport · Suzanne Gaskins

54 citations0/0 files storedCurator The Museum Journal

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Museums and Cultural Heritage Early Childhood Education and Development Libraries and Information Services

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examined what children learn while they are interacting with exhibits at a children's museum as well as the conditions that facilitate learning. Using naturalistic observations to get information on the kinds of observable learning that occurred in a variety of settings within the museum, the study found that much observable learning did occur and that different contexts supported different kinds and amounts of learning. Learning was more likely to occur with adult interaction than without, and certain types of exhibits invited more adult involvement than others. Examples of learning of relatively higher levels of cognitive complexity and higher degrees of generalizability were observed more rarely than examples of learning of lower complexity and less generalizability. Implications for children's museums and other settings of informal learning are discussed.

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References

1978Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes 1962Thought and language 1994Reexamining connections: Museums as science learning environments 1996Families Are Learning in Science Museums 1998Describing and Supporting Collaborative Scientific Thinking in Parent-Child Interactions 1997Developing Family‐Friendly Exhibits 1997Models and discourse: A primary school science class visit to a museum 1997Enhancing Family Learning Through Exhibits

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2020Relations between parent–child interaction and children’s engagement and learning at a museum exhibit about electric circuits 2017Parents' and experts' awareness of learning opportunities in children's museum exhibits 2010The Parental Role in Children's Museums 2007The interrelationships between adult museum visitor's learning identities and their museum experiences 2017What Do Caregivers Notice and Value About How Children Learn Through Play In a Children's Museum?

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