In prior research, museum attendance has been shown to positively impact educational outcomes for children, teens, and adults, yet little has been documented about who is attending and how often. This paper is the first to provide comprehensive descriptive and regression analyses to explore museum attendance among youth (5 to 18 year-olds) in the…

Science museums are key locations for informal education. They also enable research that explores how families structure their activities and conversations and how these contribute to learning experiences. The aim of this exploratory study, using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, was to analyse the process of family interactions during…

Peace museums play an important role in peace education by offering visitors informal and non-formal education. As sites of remembrance, peace museums are rich pedagogical spaces for experiential learning and reflection. Educating children in the spirit of peace, tolerance and harmony between nations has been central to the work of the Museum of…

The need for well-designed learning experiences about modern, anthropogenic climate change is great. In light of this need, many scholars have looked towards museums, arguing that as trusted institutions of informal learning, museums are uniquely positioned to support public engagement with contentious, impactful issues like climate change.…

Science museums (SMs) are important places for informal science learning, with visitors' self-directed social interactions affecting their learning outcomes. Analyzing group conversations with varying compositions in SMs can reveal visitor interactions characteristics, knowledge construction process, and emotional experiences during their visits.…

The term social participation is widely used and has various meanings in different contexts. This article aims to enhance the understanding of social participation in science museums. The research was conducted using a cultural-historical perspective in six steps: (1) survey to identify the meanings attributed to the term social participation and…

Informal science learning centers (ISLCs) like zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens are trusted community assets and perceived as critical sites for learning outside the classroom for multigenerational learners. Moreover, their role in engaging the public in critical topics, such as climate change is widely recognized. As extreme weather events…

Background: Research is needed to better understand the specific challenges for autistic learners in informal STEM learning settings. This study aimed to increase inclusion in STEM museums, with a larger goal of increasing the impact (i.e., learning and application of knowledge during and after visits) of informal STEM learning settings for…

This paper examines the praxeology of informal educational practices (i.e. how participants produce setting-specific practices to make a tour happen) in the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra through close analysis of a video-recorded excerpt of a guided tour. Guided visits in informal science settings are…

Promoting science education to all continues to be a key focus for many individuals and organizations. Informal science education settings such as museums have been shown to have a positive influence on student attitudes and interests toward science. Unfortunately, many underrepresented groups do not frequent museums as frequently as other…

Theoretically framed by public pedagogy, the study explores teachers' use of public sites for undocumented migrant children. The findings demonstrate that teachers utilized various non-school, informal, and public spaces including libraries/museums, open marketplaces, and public parks/squares as powerful platforms to foster children's learning,…

While prior research has demonstrated the importance of narratives as tools for young children's science learning, limited research has considered how narratives can be integrated into the design of science learning environments to support opportunities for children to engage in science practices. We designed four [approximately] 30-minute…

Children's multiple interests intersect with their participation in informal learning practices in dynamic ways. Using a theoretical framework illustrating interest as a multifaceted construct that has different forms and a range of scope and durability, this study investigates how children's situational interests and individual interests are…

Interest affects learning; it also affects students' attitude towards science and career choices. It is therefore urgent to increase students' interest and improve their attitude towards science to face the complex challenges of the future. This study transformed cutting-edge induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) research into an informal science…

On 25 June 2021, the State Council issued the new "Outline of the National Action Scheme for Scientific Literacy for All Chinese Citizens (2020-2035) (Outline of Scientific Literacy)." In order to provide reference for its implementation, this study analyzes the achievements and obstacles in the implementation of the old "Outline of…