ABSTRACT Museums are often viewed as a natural fit for older visitors interested in cognitive health and lifelong learning; however, adults aged 60 and older are the least likely of any age group to visit museums. As a result, many North American museums – particularly cultural heritage institutions with limited creative arts programming – struggle to engage and serve this population. To address this gap, this study employed a participatory action research approach grounded in adult learning theory to examine how community engagement can lead to more meaningful experiences for older learners. Six volunteers, 55 years and older, participated in four workshops facilitated by a museum educator to co-develop an outreach program for seniors. Findings from interviews and observations revealed multiple benefits for participants, including new knowledge and skills, cognitive stimulation, transformative learning, social interaction, a stronger sense of community and identity, and deeper connections to the museum. These outcomes highlight the value of collaborating with older adults and the potential of program co-creation as an effective learning and engagement strategy for this audience.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the development of museum education for schools with mid-twentieth-century Sweden as an empirical example, focusing on the Nordic Museum (Nordiska museet) and the Swedish Museum of Natural History (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet). At the Nordic Museum, more advanced educational practices and outreach activities emerged rapidly during the interwar years, whereas at the Museum of Natural History, comparable changes occurred first in the 1960s. The study analyses how the two museum institutions’ goals, activities and modes of audience engagement shaped their educational programmes and interaction with schools. It identifies how the relation with schools evolved from small-scale, locally supported initiatives in the 1930s and 1940s to broader, state-supported national networks in the 1960s as museums were integrated into a national public education framework to support the realisation of the democratic welfare society.

ABSTRACT Museums have been increasingly empowered with multiple responsibilities to support meaningful social works around care and social engagement, extending beyond the traditional collection and exhibition roles. There is a growing need for museums to inspire care and healing, support well-being awareness, and contribute meaningfully to social life. University-affiliated museums play important roles in connecting communities, bridging academic research and public engagement, advocating socially concerned topics, and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations. This article discusses how a university-affiliated museum positions care-centered programming at the heart of its programs, and creates meaningful museum educational experiences through intentional interdisciplinary collaborations. By applying third place theory to the collaborations between the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art and UNLV Jean Nidetch Care Center, this article aims to analyze how shared program authorities, flexible facilitations, accessible program design, and care-focused collaboration transformed the museum into a supportive third place. Museum educators will learn how to collaborate ethically with on-campus care-centered departments to create an inclusive and care-centered environment.

ABSTRACT Guided tours are an established part of photography exhibitions, but little is known about how visitors use them, what they expect from them, and which formats they find helpful. This exploratory online survey examined 461 respondents, including 345 participants who reported attending guided tours in exhibitions of artistic photography at least once. The findings show that guided tours are not used regularly by all visitors, but they are evaluated positively by those who attend them. Visitors especially value background information on the works, insights into photographers’ biographies, distinctive stories, and information on artistic techniques. They are less interested in guided tours as primarily social events. The study identifies three visitor profiles: curious art explorers, reserved art skeptics, and reflective art experts. These profiles suggest that guided tours can serve different educational functions, including initial access, focused orientation, and deeper interpretive engagement. For museum educators and exhibition teams, the findings support compact, context-rich, and target-group-sensitive guided tours that combine selected works, clear contextual framing, and opportunities for dialogue.

ABSTRACT Teaching via museum artifacts and experiences is an effective way to add depth to learning. Moreover, traveling exhibitions have the potential to narrow the experience gap of students with different socioeconomic backgrounds and/or from remote regions and to introduce museums’ learning resources to schools. However, it remains unclear how to integrate traveling exhibitions meaningfully into classroom curricula. We aimed to explore the aspects that support or hinder the use of traveling exhibitions in schools as educational resources. We present a case study from Estonia’s Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, where a traveling exhibition with accompanying teaching materials was created and sent to 11 schools in 2022. We acted as practitioner-researchers, collecting field notes and interviewing four schoolteachers and two museum professionals. We conclude that if the aim is to integrate exhibitions into students’ everyday learning, good-quality, curricula-related teaching resources and personalized communication are crucial. However, thoughtful planning and a sustainable approach to partners’ intellectual input, funding, logistics, and technical details are also needed. Also, differences in school cultures and individual teachers’ agency should be considered to ensure students’ equal access to this method of museum education.

ABSTRACT This article examines how Chinese museums deploy affective pedagogies to cultivate citizenship and moral subjectivity. Drawing on ethnographic research at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, it explores how sound, touch, and spatial design translate ideological values into embodied experiences of national belonging. Focusing on collective performances and craft workshops, the study shows how participants are guided to ‘feel properly’, expressing reverence, pride, and gratitude as moral emotions aligned with the state-oriented citizenship ideals. Integrating concept of emotional governance with affect theory, the article argues that museum education operates as a form of affective governance, transforming emotion into a technology of civic formation. At the same time, participants’ ambivalent responses, from sincere engagement to pragmatic enjoyment, reveal the nuanced negotiations through which civic values are sensed, enacted, and reinterpreted within China’s post-socialist cultural institutions.

ABSTRACT This study presents the development of a collaboratively generated collection of museum learning experiences intended to reflect core principles of museum education across institutional types. Drawing on literature in constructivist, experiential, and sociocultural learning theory, the authors employed a modified Delphi method with a national panel of 34 museum educators representing diverse museum contexts. Across three iterative survey rounds, panelists refined and consolidated an initial list of 33 learning experiences into a final collection of 17, organized by degree of visitor agency: museum-directed experiences, visitor-initiated exploration, visitor-generated contribution, and community or relational engagement. Findings indicate strong consensus regarding the value of a shared framework to support program design, reflection, benchmarking, and professional development. By translating broad theoretical constructs into a practical taxonomy grounded in field expertise, this study offers a common language for articulating museum learning and provides a foundation for future research, collaboration, and adaptation across varied museum settings.

ABSTRACT This article explores the contemporary visitor experience in museums at contrasting colonial geographies with a focus on exhibitions of colonial history, specifically comparing the ‘Slavery’ exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Kura Hulanda Museum in Curaçao. Through expert interviews, TripAdvisor reviews, and content analysis of media and museum publications in 2020 and 2021, the article identifies discrepancies and similarities in how visitors experience the representation of colonial history at both exhibitions. The article shows that the Kura Hulanda Museum maintains a traditional museum pedagogy and lacks a local perspective in the narratives and representation, which hampers the stimulation of an inclusive visitor experience. Contrastingly, the Rijksmuseum's ‘Slavery’ exhibition employs a contemporary, multivocal approach with personal narratives and multisensory methods, creating a more diverse and emotional visitor experience. The article suggests that museums in both colonial geographies should integrate oral history, personal and individual storytelling, and multiple interpretation methods to enhance visitor engagement and to focus on providing a holistic, inclusive and authentic experience. By addressing these aspects, museums can better connect with contemporary societies and ensure museums remain meaningful and resilient in the future, catering to the diverse needs and expectations of their visitors.

ABSTRACT The Talk with Me Toolkits project illustrates how museum resources can be leveraged through intentional, interdisciplinary collaboration to support early childhood development and family engagement. Developed by the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology in partnership with the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy (Penn State University) and Family Place Libraries™, the Toolkits are free digital resources designed to promote language-rich interactions between caregivers and young children. Each Toolkit features thematic Smithsonian images and media paired with conversation prompts, hands-on activities, and children’s book recommendations. This article examines the benefits each partner brought to and gained from the collaboration. The Smithsonian strengthened family-learning offerings through early-literacy expertise and library-based field testing. The Goodling Institute shaped real-world digital tools while reaching families in new settings. Family Place Libraries enhanced early learning services by incorporating authentic museum materials and modeling new informal learning approaches. Together, these organizations demonstrate how cross-sector partnerships expand museum education’s reach and relevance, particularly for underserved families and early learning audiences.

Introduction: Conventional pathology museums are invaluable resources for teaching the pathophysiology of disease through preserved pathological specimens. However, their use has declined due to the rise of web-based learning and logistical constraints such as limited time, fixed schedules, and staff shortages. Aim: To modernise pathology museum teaching by designing, developing, and implementing innovative digital practices and to compare their effectiveness with conventional pathology museum-based teaching. Materials and Methods: The present prospective interventional study was conducted at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Kattankulathur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Phase II MBBS students were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group (n=63) received QR codeassisted teaching, while the control group (n=63) received conventional museum-based teaching on cutaneous malignant tumours. An E-learning module was developed using the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) model, which comprises analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation stages, and was integrated with Kern’s six-step approach to curriculum development. Learning effectiveness was assessed by comparing pretest and post-test scores. Categorical outcomes were analysed using the Chi-square test, while ordinal outcomes and multigroup comparisons were evaluated using Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA). Results: Among the participants, 69 students (54.7%) reported visiting the pathology museum rarely. The E-learning group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in mean knowledge scores (4.57±1.97) compared with the conventional teaching group (3.24±1.97) (p=0.0001). Confidence in the effectiveness of E-learning pedagogy was high, with 65 students (51.58%) expressing positive perceptions. Conclusion: Technology-enhanced learning was significantly more effective than conventional teaching methods in enhancing pathology knowledge acquisition. Digitalisation should therefore complement physical pathology museums by preserving the tactile and visual benefits of specimen-based learning while leveraging technology to improve accessibility, engagement, and educational effectiveness.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the Ecos del Mar exhibition, an immersive museography initiative developed by the University and Coorporation in Medellín, Colombia, to foster marine conservation awareness through innovative exhibition strategies. Rooted in community engagement and environmental advocacy, the project integrates sensory technologies, participatory storytelling, and local ecological knowledge to create impactful museum experiences. By bridging scientific research and cultural interpretation, Ecos de Mar seeks to shift public perceptions of marine ecosystems and inspire sustainable behaviors. The article situates this case within broader debates on the social role of museums in environmental education, arguing for co-creative museography as a powerful tool for conservation in regions facing ecological and social vulnerability.

This study explores the development and evaluation of an Augmented Reality (AR) Museum experience at the NEUST Museum, employing an agile development approach and adhering to ISO/IEC 25010 software quality standards. The research aims to assess how AR can enhance visitor engagement, learning, and overall satisfaction by integrating features such as virtual reconstructions, interactive storytelling, and multisensory elements. Through qualitative and quantitative evaluations involving IT experts and end-users, the findings demonstrate that the AR system effectively improves visitor interaction and educational outcomes, although challenges such as device compatibility and performance optimization remain. The study contributes to the broader field of digital heritage preservation and museum education by providing insights into user-centered AR design, iterative development processes, and the potential for advanced features like multi-user experiences and AI-driven personalization. These findings underscore AR’s transformative role in creating immersive, accessible, and engaging cultural experiences, offering a scalable model for future digital heritage initiatives and educational applications.

ABSTRACT Many medical schools rely on educators from local museums to provide visual arts education to foster skills of observation, communication, and empathy. Published data, however, are limited regarding the components that lead to successful museum-medical school partnerships. A mixed methods approach of surveys and semi-structured interviews was therefore employed to describe the experiences of ten art museum educators with medical school partnerships. Museum educators reported overwhelmingly positive relationships with medical schools. Courses were adapted from existing programming, typically involving conversations around artwork with varying degrees of clinical application. Challenges to maintaining the partnership included working around rigid student schedules and obtaining buy-in from medical students and institutional leadership. Important to sustaining museum-medical partnerships were student and faculty instructors' feedback and research efforts demonstrating the benefits of such courses. Museum educators reported low costs but stressed having committed medical educators who continually advocate for the course. Additional benefits of this education were promotion of student wellness and facilitation of cross-disciplinary and socially-conscious learning. These data, based on the experiences of museum educators, add to the growing body of literature that museum/medical school partnerships offer a viable and valuable approach for fostering clinical, professional, and relational competencies of medical students.

Introduction . The integration of virtual reality (VR) platforms into educational museum spaces plays a crucial role in preserving and promoting traditional music. However, the declining interest among young people in traditional Indonesian musical instruments emphasises the need for innovative pedagogical strategies. Museum-based VR platforms offer a promising tool to enhance interactivity, accessibility, and relevance in learning. Aim . The present study aims to identify the key factors influencing the implementation of VR technologies in the educational processes of museums, utilising the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. Methodology and research methods . The study employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to examine the influence of technological competence, cultural factors, behavioural attitudes, and pedagogical knowledge on the effectiveness of using VR. Results and scientific novelty. The critical role of teacher training in enhancing their technological and pedagogical qualifications was confirmed. The PLS-SEM results demonstrate that technological competence and pedagogical knowledge significantly influence behavioural intentions, which, in turn, are the strongest predictors of the actual use of VR technologies. Practical significance . Practical recommendations are provided for educators, developers of educational programmes, and specialists in cultural heritage concerning the integration of VR into learning and exhibition contexts. It is demonstrated that the pedagogically informed application of VR technologies to culturally significant materials enhances engagement and learning effectiveness, thereby contributing to the preservation of traditional Indonesian music.

ABSTRACT Technological advances in the study of the human genome have led to increased understanding of the complexity of genetic variation and the role of genes and the environment in shaping human phenotypes. Accurate interpretation of modern genetic data will require increased support for science teachers to update their curriculum to teach more complex genetics. In this paper, we analyze the co-design process of one middle school science teacher working with museum educators to develop professional learning activities for science teachers to update their curriculum to include more complex genetics. This representative case study describes the science teacher’s organizational sensemaking as she engaged in the co-design process with limited understanding of genetic complexity. We identified the sources of pedagogical and conceptual ambiguity the teacher surfaced and the available resources she leveraged to work through that ambiguity. Sources of ambiguity included a lack of empirically based examples of complex traits to hook students’ interest, word choice in the activity, order of activities to support conceptual development, and relationship between genes and the environment in determining phenotype. The teacher leveraged her understanding of how children learn science, the social network of the museum educators, and observations of other teachers engaged in the activity to develop and iterate on her activity design. These findings suggest that co-design teams should surface both pedagogical and conceptual ambiguity related to the teaching of new science content throughout the design process and include opportunities for sensemaking with scientists and other science teachers.

ABSTRACT In recent decades, museums have increasingly become active in social debates, developing tools to tackle global inequalities and highlighting the difficult cultural heritages of the past. This work may raise uncomfortability in the museum field and link museum education to transformation and transformative learning. This narrative literature review of 42 recent articles examines museum research from the viewpoint of perspective transformation, exploring the uncomfortability that this process may induce. It draws upon transformative learning theory as its theoretical basis. Results show that museums actively aim at collective and individual transformations, though transformativity is rarely explicitly defined in the research. Additionally, the uncomfortability inherent in transformative processes is rarely considered. Thus, a unified terminology is urgently needed as well as a robust theoretical foundation for research on transformation in and around the museum context.

The article substantiates the theoretical and practical foundations for the development of polyartistic competence of future music teachers in the context of the modern educational paradigm transformation. The relevance of the study is driven by the implementation of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) principles, which require a transition from a narrow-specialized "musician-performer" model to a "teacher-culturologist" profile. This shift is necessitated by the polysensory nature of information perception by the modern generation of students, where auditory images are closely integrated with visual and tactile experiences. The phenomenon of polyartistic competence is defined as a complex integrative quality of a teacher's personality. It encompasses a deep understanding of the genetic and functional links between music, visual arts, literature, theater, and choreography. The author details the structure of this competence, which includes: a cognitive component (knowledge of the laws of artistic synthesis), an emotional-value component (aesthetic sensitivity and motivation for interdisciplinary creativity), and a functional-reflexive component (the ability to implement integrated pedagogical technologies). The study highlights innovative methods of professional training. Particular emphasis is placed on the method of synesthesia (the development of "seeing sound" and "hearing color" abilities) and the project-based approach, including the creation of multimedia installations and synthetic art projects. The role of museum pedagogy and theater-based training in the extracurricular activities of students is analyzed as a tool for creating an immersive cultural environment. The research concludes that a high level of polyartistic competence enables a music teacher to move beyond the reproductive transmission of knowledge. It allows for the modeling of a holistic aesthetic picture of the world in students, activating various channels of their perception and fostering critical thinking in a globalized cultural space. The practical significance of the findings lies in the possibility of their application in the process of designing integrated courses for higher artistic education institutions.

Museum collections are indispensable for understanding biodiversity including parasites, hosts, and their interactions. Technological advances have revolutionized modern museum practices, changing the skills future scientists need to engage with museums and utilize their resources to address global environmental and health challenges. Concurrently, museum specimens and digital resources are becoming more accessible and relevant to formal classroom education, fostering the development of critical thinking, data analysis, and problem-solving skills among students. Parasitology collections offer unique insights into host-parasite dynamics and support training in systematic classification and diagnostic methods, counteracting the decline in organismal biology courses and expertise. In this review, we explore the evolving role of museums in parasitology education, highlighting current resources available and identifying areas for further development. We begin by uncovering the historical connections between early parasitology collections and teaching, where instructors collected specimens for educational purposes and students gained hands-on training and expertise in diagnosis and identification through creating their own collections. We describe how modern parasitology collections embody aspects of the extended specimen concept by incorporating comprehensive information about hosts and interactions along with parasite specimens. We outline the need for specialized education and training in museum methods for undergraduate students in parasitology. This includes planning and designing field collections with the extended specimen concept in mind, as well as preserving, curating, databasing, digitizing, and georeferencing specimens. We identify the positive impact of museum resources on enhancing educational opportunities, including Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). As more parasite specimens and collections become accessible through digitization, instructors can integrate virtual specimen images, data, inquiry-based teaching modules, CUREs, and mentored curatorial or research experiences in their classrooms and laboratories. We suggest that museum-based teaching materials can address knowledge gaps in biodiversity literacy, quantitative skills, and critical thinking, ultimately preparing students for future careers in parasitology and related fields such as conservation biology, ecology, natural resources, and veterinary and human medicine.

ABSTRACT Museums provide opportunities for connecting personal perception with cultural and ecological understanding. This study examines how museum-based learning can foster engagement in conserving Japan’s native Kiso Horse. Using the complete skeletal specimen of the last purebred Kiso Horse at Nagoya University Museum, we investigated how exhibitions and interactive programs shape visitor awareness. Survey results showed that while the Kiso Horse is widely recognized as cultural heritage, it is often perceived as part of an “extraordinary” world, limiting personal connection. To address this, we developed the Sense–Science–Significance (S-S-S) model, an educational framework focusing on the horse’s body parts as well as the history and environment surrounding it, integrating sensory interaction, scientific interpretation, and reflection on value. By linking direct experience with reasoning and cultural meaning, the model fosters inquiry, enhances conservation literacy, and encourages visitors to recognize their role in sustaining heritage. Engagement with the Kiso Horse illustrates the interconnectedness of history, culture, and environment, underscoring the broader relevance of regional heritage. Drawing on this case and related educational practices, the S-S-S model is proposed as one possible framework for museum education.

Against the backdrop of China's deepening education reform, oriented towards core competencies and the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, basic education has gradually shifted from a "knowledge-oriented" model to a "competence-oriented" one. The educational value of museums, often referred to as the "second classroom," has become increasingly prominent. In 2021, the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Ministry of Education jointly issued a document providing policy support for the integration of museums and schools. As a significant natural science venue in Northwest China, the Shaanxi Natural History Museum, with its rich physical exhibits and immersive experiences, has become a key informal learning site for primary school students. However, there is a lack of specialized research on the impact of this museum on the cognitive and social development of local primary school students aged 6-12. This study focuses on the offline exhibition and education scenarios of Shaanxi Natural History Museum, targeting primary school students aged 6-12. Based on the theories of constructivism and situated learning, this study examines the impact of the museum's educational functions on students' cognitive and social development, as well as the key factors that restrict it. The results show that through the integration of physical exhibits, context construction, and task-driven approaches, the museum effectively promotes the transformation of students' cognition from a superficial "naming-classifying" understanding to an in-depth "evidence-explaining" scientific thinking. Additionally, the dual models of "peer collaboration" and "parent-child co-learning" significantly enhance students' communication and collaboration abilities as well as their social quality. Meanwhile, the study reveals several problems in the museum, including the imbalanced utilization of exhibition and educational resources, a lack of hierarchical design in academic activities, underutilization of parental guidance, and an incomplete evaluation system for educational effects. In conclusion, museum education plays a positive role in promoting the cognitive and social development of primary school students. It is necessary to optimize educational functions by implementing age-appropriate and tiered courses, strengthening museum-school collaboration, and improving parents' participation capabilities. The research results can serve as a reference for educational innovation in similar natural history museums in China.