Tabling events and pop-up museums are common informal education experiences where institutions set up temporary displays in association with a specific theme. These events typically aim to engage large audiences in a short period of time. Within these informal education settings, participation is voluntary, which implies that visitors are at least…

In this article, Harper B. Keenan investigates the treatment of violence in elementary history education through a case study of a fourth-grade unit on the colonial history of California featuring "the mission project," a long-standing tradition in California's elementary schools that has students construct a miniature model of a Spanish…

The choice to create or renovate museum buildings to green building standards is a growing trend for science museums. With access to green facilities comes the potential to extend informal science learning into the three-dimensional architectural environment. To examine how and if museums with green buildings interpret their buildings for the…

This three-article dissertation specifically examines one challenging element of teaching history to young children: the representation of historical violence and adversity, using fourth grade curriculum and instruction surrounding the topic of Spanish colonization of California as a case study. This era, known as the Spanish mission period in…

Participation in a study circle through the National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) project enabled staff at the California Academy of Sciences to effectively engage visitors on climate change and ocean acidification topics. Strategic framing tactics were used as staff revised the scripted Coral Reef Dive program,…

If we truly wish to promote science or STEM education, then it would seem that the joining of resources and expertise from the communities of formal schooling and informal science education institutions or ISEIs (museums, aquariums, and the like) would be an important early step. Yet creating such connections between teacher and museum remain a…

The urgent environmental issues of today require science-literate adults to engage in business and political decisions to create solutions. Despite the need, few adults have the knowledge and skills of science literacy. This doctoral dissertation is an analytical case study examining the science-learner identity development of Exploratorium Field…

Research in experimental and developmental psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience suggests that tool fluency depends on the merging of perceptual and motor aspects of its use, an achievement the authors call "perceptuomotor integration." Just as expertise in playing a piano relies on the interanimation of finger movements and…

Informal education in museums is structured through movement in space. This article summarizes a range of research that examines the role of spatial layout in shaping the ways in which visitors explore, engage, and understand museums and museum exhibitions. It is demonstrated that behavior patterns are systematically linked to spatial…

This guide is based on findings of a year-long study undertaken by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to evaluate Institute-sponsored programs for youth aged 9-19 between 1998 and 2003, and discussion with the IMLS Youth Action Committee and practitioners about the kind of information needed for planning and implementing effective…

In San Diego, California, 800 public school students from the inner city are attending a program called School in the Park (SITP), for approximately one-fourth of their 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade education. This unique program blends rigorous academic standards (formal learning) with hands-on, experiential curricula (informal learning), using…

In recognition of the fact that science centers and other informal educational institutions can play a role in the reform of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, several major research and professional programs are currently underway. This article discusses one such effort, the Center for Informal Learning and…

School in the Park is an innovative museum-based educational effort to engage students in their community during the school day. Since 1999 several hundred students have been educated each year in museums and the zoo in San Diego. This is more than a field trip, it is changing the way that education is provided. Challenging the Classroom Standard…

The documents enclosed in this report provide a comprehensive and systematic review of the progress made in developing a network organization capable of supporting nanoscience education for the public on a national scale. There is a logic to the studies that were done and to the reports that are included in this notebook. The following are the…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for Sharks and Rays, along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Fifteen course takers from nine states who responded to the annual…