The museum blogosphere in the past few weeks has been filled with postings related to the work of museum educators and the role of museums as educational institutions. Rebecca Herz has posted a number of articles and interviews with teachers and museum educators on her blog Museum Questions. Rebecca is examining from many angles the…
For some months now museum educator, consultant, and blogger Rebecca Herz and I have been exchanging thoughts on the roles and future of museum educators, mostly by email. But we’ve also been talking about making our conversations more public. Rebecca’s recent thoughtful post, What Does a Museum Educator Do? (And Do We Need Them?) offers, I…
“Science learning in non-formal setting” catches my ear like anything. Subhajit What I love to do is to become surprised and curious. Rajat I want to eradicate that problem which I faced in childhood, not understanding science properly from merely school education and this is the place where I can best fulfill my mission. Subhalaksmi…
In a series of posts over the past year on next steps for museum educators, I’ve expressed disappointment at the over-identification of museum learning resources and experiences with the methods of formal education – too many lesson plans, tests and reading assignments–all of which are fine in themselves but not our forte. One promising trend in …
A little background… Museum maker spaces—either permanent installations or public programs—are all the rage right now, at least in the U.S. Picking up on the popular Maker Faire phenomenon launched by MAKE Magazine in San Mateo, CA in 2006, museums are moving to create hands-on tinkering and innovation spaces that reflect the…
In my first two posts regarding what’s next for museum educators (September 17 and October 1) I promised to take a look at some of the skills educators should be cultivating so that they can contribute more effectively to the museum’s role as an informal space for learning and engagement. It happens that I’ve been talking with Allison Wickens, an energetic…
The Summer 2012 issue of the Journal of Museum Education contains a variety of interesting articles that assess recent practice in museum education and explore potential directions for the field. This in a context that is both worrying and exciting: an uncertain economy; a shifting cultural landscape; debates about museum authority; the explosion of digital…
I’m currently reading a terrific book, Letting Go? Sharing Historical Authority in a User-Generated World, edited by Bill Adair, Benjamin Filene, and Laura Koloski. Although this book is about history museums, a number of articles, especially ones by Nina Simon, “Participatory Design and the Future of Museums,” and Kathy McLean, “Whose Questions, Whose Conversations?” made…
I have been thinking for some time about museums’ propensity to imitate and reinforce the environments and methods of formal education. I think they need to refocus on what they do best: create informal environments for learning (very broadly defined) and enjoyment. Importing a Classroom Mentality I entered the museum field from the classroom over 30…