It was widely expected that the academic year 2020-2021 would be a different experience for all involved in educational processes. Everybody had to readjust and reimagine their practice in order to respond to the new reality of teaching university courses online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article focuses on the challenges and opportunities…

In this article, we describe some of the common misconceptions guests have expressed while visiting a Museum of Natural History and Science, along with ways in which museum educators had reacted to and/or responded to guests' misconceptions. Correcting commonly held misconceptions can be difficult, especially when guests are emotionally invested…

Using the case study of an unstaffed, interactive making space at the Portland Museum of Art, this article explores the potential for museums to facilitate visitor to visitor learning without the in-person assistance of a gallery educator. It offers concrete steps to design activities, environments, and supporting resources which prompt close…

Lippitt House Museum developed its "Immigration & Change in Rhode Island's Golden Age" program to benefit the literacy learning goals of adult English Language Learners (ELL) while furthering the mission of the museum to contribute to the community as a source of public education and civic engagement. This article focuses on the…

Hands-on workshops in museums have become ubiquitous. What is the best approach to leading these materials-based experiences and how might they relate to gallery teaching? This article outlines best practices for facilitating museum workshops. Describing a framework for designing activities, giving feedback, and sharing information, it draws…

Meaningful interactions with works of art are often absent from education. Across the country, art museums are intent on changing this situation. But to incorporate art viewing into an educational milieu that does not value art, art museum educators are constantly forced to justify the educational value of their programs. One common argument to…

Thinking about three- to six-year-olds rarely brings to mind an image of young children engaged in conversation in the formal setting of an art museum, yet these are actual comments made by preschoolers and kindergartners who spend time on the Mall in Washington, DC, visiting museums as part of their early childhood program. Today, an increasing…

A three-year national study of adult museum programs used a qualitative research approach and naturalistic inquiry and interviewed 508 museum program participants, 75 instructors, and 143 museum program planners in all types and sizes of museums, including art institutes, natural and cultural historical museums, science centers, historic houses,…