Museum education is a field of practice that is guided effectively by traditions of practice addressing museums' purposes and expected audiences, and rarely explicitly refers to the numerous models of curriculum theory that are available to guide educational practice in the school setting. But curriculum models can be useful both for describing…

Museum education and progressive education both arose at the same historical period, approximately a century ago, and share not only a common history but also common features. Both emphasize pedagogy based on experience, interaction with objects, and inquiry. They also share a social vision of serving the entire society, including underserved…

Defines the British National Trust as it marks its centenary. Known for its work in protecting historic buildings and places of natural beauty, a major focus is now education. Schoolchildren may attend curriculum-based special programs when visiting historic houses and the countryside. Others use open-space sites with no specific education…

This paper focuses on field trip-based experiences across the disciplines of art, culture, and science. The author addresses gaps in the learning sciences' research about children learning both art and cultural content as well as how they learn cross-disciplinary practices. She offers one strategy, video-based interpretive case studies (VICS). By…

Describes a series of new Discovery Programs called Family Zoo Adventures conducted at the Minnesota Zoo for elementary students. The series reflect a '90s approach to nontraditional teaching, focusing on the process of personal discovery and interactive learning. (LZ)

This article presents contributions from teaching artists about Teaching Artist professional development across the country in theater programs and through museum programs. In the process, the authors have come to realize how much they still have to learn about what is available (how badly they need a funded research project to inventory the state…

Besides being a content expert, it is critical for today's museum educator to be a marketer, a collaborator, and to understand how people learn best in a museum environment. This article provides a list of six books that the author recommends as essential references for today's museum educator who must wear many hats. (Contains 3 notes.)

The composer of an opera for elementary students describes his composition and the process of taking it out to the schools of southern Ohio. This article is part of a theme issue on opera. (SJL)

Depicts adolescents' lively, voluntary involvement in constructive alternatives to the counterproductive teenage ventures filling the morning's newspapers. Successful youth organizations adopt a firm and flexible approach, empower rather than infantilize youths, and have clear goals and membership rules. Many out-of-school settings share features…

This study developed and tested a framework to analyze 20 lifelong learning settings. Four groupings of approaches were identified: school-type, leisure time, bottom-up change movements, and top-down, national-level change movements. (JOW)

Outlines a cognitive model of visitors based on the concept of mindfulness/mindlessness. Presents an analysis of data on visitors to forestry centers in the United Kingdom. Results support the mindfulness approach as an appropriate cognitive model of visitors. (Author/CW)

Describes the events, and educational strategies used in the events, that make up the Nature Bowl, California's largest third- through sixth-grade competition focusing on regional ecology, natural history, environmental issues, and natural resources conservation. (LZ)

Today museum educators are playing expanded roles that contribute to institutional change. At the heart of museum education are the core values of accessibility, relevancy, and inclusiveness, which are critical for developing the museum's civic engagement endeavors. As educators practice these values in their work and pursue community engagement…

In an educational program conducted by the Center for Family Studies (Chicago, Illinois), families meet together with a group leader who helps them identify what is important about family life and explore what is special about their own families. Meeting themes and activities are discussed. (PP)

Describes some of the educational programs offered by Saint Andrew's Gallery to its local elementary and secondary schools, both at the gallery and in the schools. (SJL)