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Visitor Feedback, By Blog Post
In our socially networked world, posts about museums make the rounds fast. These posts are often applauded, decried, or laughed at. But they are useful for something more: we can mine these posts for...
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Why Should Schools Visit Museums?
A current project of mine calls for a very specific justification of school visits to museums. I believe strongly that school groups should visit museums, and that museums should provide great programs...
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The Business of Museums
In a recent on-line discussion, I found myself enmeshed in a prickly debate about whether museums should be operated as businesses. Some great points were made on the “pro-business” side: museums need...
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Status Update: Facebook as a Reflection Tool
The Schools and Museums series has featured a variety of perspectives on what field trips might mean for students. This post, by David Bowles, takes on that question from a slightly different angle,...
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What is the role of research in museums’ K-12 programming?
This guest post is from Michelle Grohe. For the past ten years Michelle has been the Director of School & Teacher Programs at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, where she...
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What are useful ways to think about museum research?
This week’s guest post is by Christine Baron, Assistant Professor Social Studies and Education at Columbia Teachers College. Chris is a former high school history teacher and museum educator, and...
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When does the risk of misunderstanding outweigh the value of an activity or...
Franke L. Smith is an Education Coordinator at Hickory Hill, a Watson-Brown Foundation historic home, near Augusta, Georgia. At the American Alliance of Museums conference in May, Franke and I began a...
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Schools and Museums: Interview with Sarah Schertz
Sarah Schertz has a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education from New York University. She was a part of the 2015 Peoria Playhouse Teacher Team. She teaches...
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What happens when parents join their kids in play, exploration and museum...
This week’s post is by Amanda Nobis, a junior at Bradley University, and the first Research Intern at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum. This summer I had the opportunity to help form a...
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What is a “good” science demonstration?
Recently I saw a video of a science demonstration in a children’s museum, and found myself wondering if the children were learning anything. What is the purpose of science demonstrations in museums?...
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What data do we use to define success?
On Tuesday we are hosting a cocktail party for major donors – people who, over the 15 years of building the PlayHouse, have donated $5000 or more. The goal of this event is to thank them for what they...
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What did I learn in my first year?
The Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum turned one year old last week. Amidst the birthday celebrations and thank you emails, I have been reflecting on the question: What did I learn from my first year...
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Where and What Do We Learn About Research? An Investigation Into a...
A few months ago I stumbled upon an IMLS blogpost sharing research about the impact of informal learning environments on academic achievement. Deanne Swan, formerly a researcher for IMLS, mined a large...
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What does a successful maker space in a children’s museum looks like?...
“Maker Spaces” are currently in vogue: they are now a fairly standard component of children’s museums, and many art museums have drop-in spaces for children and families to create art during their...
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What does it take to create a great education program?
As we plan for 2018 at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum, we have decided to reduce the number of programs we offer, holding workshops and home-school programs monthly instead of semi-monthly, and...
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Play and Learning: What can children tell us?
This week’s guest post is by Nicole R. Rivera, Ed.D. Nicole is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at North Central College. She is also the Academic Research and Evaluation Partner of the DuPage...
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My last post, on the role of education research in planning museum programs, sparked debate in person and on LinkedIn about whether museums emphasize content knowledge or an understanding of pedagogy...
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How can museums measure social impact? Interview with Johanna Jones
Johanna Jones is the Director of Evaluation and Visitor Insights at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). Johanna leads the Museum’s audience research, evaluation, and social impact measurement...
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