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

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis 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.