Every individual has a fundamental right to quality education. Yet there are often huge disparities in the quality of education a rich child can access compared to the education a poor child can access. This is true in India. The Organisation for Awareness of Integrated Social Security (OASiS), a social innovations lab in Madhya Pradesh, embarked…

This anthology places art at the center of meaningful urban education reform. Providing a fresh perspective on urban education, the contributors describe a positive, asset-based community development model designed to tap into the teaching/learning potential already available in urban cities. Rather than focusing on a lack of resources, this…

The Smithsonian Institution's educational mandate has served as the basis for the Institution's growth and development from its inception. This continuing process has led to the development of a center of learning with educational concerns and accomplishments that are broader than those usually connoted by the term "museum." (JN)

Describes "Mystery in Progress," a traveling exhibit which traces the development of Predynastic Egypt. The exhibit provides a time line for Predynastic Egypt, depicts the history of the Hierakonpolis expedition, documents the formation of Egypt's first centralized nation state, and summarizes the emergence of a unified Egypt. (LS)

This booklet outlines the activities of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal funding for libraries and museums. IMLS grants support all types of museums from art and history to science and zoos, and all types of libraries, from public and academic to research and school. IMLS enables libraries and…

Describes the children's museum movement, exhibits common to children's museums, and the role of children's museums in providing interactive environments for young children to complement the learning that goes on in classrooms and at home. Provides contact information for five children's museums. (DR)

Reviews the purposes and programs of the Extensions Division of the Department of Education of a metropolitan museum. Surveys services provided to schools. Gives a sample lesson plan. Highlights thematic exhibitions at the museum. Considers education by means of the art object as the primary goal of the Extensions Division. (CW)

This paper discusses how museums, adventure programs, and discovery activities can become an intrinsically differentiated gifted curriculum for gifted learners. Museums and adventure programs are a forum for meaningful learning activities. The contextual characteristics of effectively designed settings for learning activities can, if the…

Museums are excellent supplements to classroom learning because they enable children to see and experience concepts that are taught in school. This article tells parents how to work with museums, and other cultural institutions in their communities, to shape and carry out programs for children. (PP)

Discusses the role of the museum as a community resource in humanities education for the public schools. Describes several teacher workshops involving use of the museum to enrich the classroom's current humanities curriculum. (DS)

This paper discusses present trends and possibilities in the peace museum field. The document is based on a collection of written opinions of Japanese students on peace museums, visits to peace museums in other countries, and a position on a peace museum and center for peace education in Japan. Peace museums throughout the world show that they can…

Describes the purposes and programs of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Promotes the Socratic method in museum education. Details the docent training program at the museum. Stresses the philosophy that the object is the message. (CW)

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…

Describes the programs and philosophy of the Art Institute of Chicago. Stresses its educational functions and the provisions of access to the museum collection as its primary mission. (CW)

An outreach program for gifted upper elementary students developed at the Hirshhorn Museum is described. Objectives are to teach visual literacy, to present the materials using the inquiry method, to use art history and criticism to develop students' looking skills, and to encourage parents to attend classes and museum visits. (RM)