Do you remember? Memories as experiences and Heritage Learning

(Denmark)

Questions: With inspiration from experiments at the Open Air Museum in Århus, Denmark called “The Old Town” the memory work with elderly people when they re-visit environments of their childhood and youth will be carried out in a structured and controlled form at three Open Air Museums in Northern Sweden.

Data presentation: The plan includes a formal project report and a conference paper to be presented at the spring conference February 2011 at The Nordic Centre for Heritage Learning in Östersund, Sweden.

Principal researcher: Professor Yngve Gustafsson, Umeå University, Sweden

Sites: At the Open Air Museums:

- Jamtli (Östersund, Sweden)

- Murberget (Härnösand, Sweden)

- Gammlia (Umeå, Sweden)

Time span: September 2009 – August 2011

Contact: Project coordinator: Britt-Marie Borgström (Jamtli): britt-marie.borgstrom@jamtli.com

SILVER - Semantic Interactive Learning Visualisation Environment Research

Questions: How can technology best serve education in its numerous forms? Specifically, how can technology aid learning activities in the classroom? For example, how might software aid a teacher in the delivery of a learning activity, such as 'Citizenship' or 'Environmental Sustainability'?

Data presentation - The SILVER team is experimenting with different 'visualisations', methods for outputting data in tangible form to end-users. Visualisations include diagrams, charts, timelines etc.

Principal Researchers: SILVER is a consortium of 3 partners, Lexara (technology partner), Bridgeman Art Library (content partner), and KMI (reasoning partner). All 3 organisations are investigating a broad array of issues related to technology in education. Evaluation happens in focus groups (with teachers) and in the classroom with both teachers and students.

Sites: The SILVER website contains up to date news on SILVER research - www.silvereducation.org

Contact: SILVER Manager - Brian Kavanagh - brian@briankavanagh.com

The use of art and culture images in higher education courses

(UK)

Research questions: The project aims at contributing towards the development of a digital art, history and culture image library for the education sector and, specifically, at improving access to universities and scholars. The main objective is the development of educational user requirements to meet their needs and the implementation of a pilot system, which includes the software, metadata and digital imaging, facilitating the enhancement of the education service.

Data presentation: Report to The Bridgeman Art Library and to the University of the Arts. Papers will be published in peer-reviewed journals, promotional literature will be forwarded to trade newsletters, and pages will be published in the company’s website.

Principal researchers: Kalliopi Vacharopoulou (KTP Associate), Pandora Mather-Lees (Managing Director, The Bridgeman Art Library), David Penfold (Senior Lecturer, London College of Communication)

Sites: The Bridgeman Art Library Limited and London College of Communication, University of the Arts London

Time span: The project initiated in July 2008 and will finish in January 2010

Contact: Kalliopi Vacharopoulou  kalliopi.vacharopoulou@bridgemanart.co.uk  

 

Formative Evaluation: Citizen Science Program

(USA)

Research questions: To what extent do participants:

§  Use and comprehend the scientific method (including rigor) during the program?

§  Develop a sense of pride/ownership over the reserve?

§  Understand how the research will impact decisions made about the nature reserve?

§  With varying levels of commitment to the program experience and understand it differently?

Data presentation: Report for the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico

Principal evaluator: Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.

Site: Hacienda La Esperanza in Manití, Puerto Rico

Time span: March - May 2009

Contact: info@randikorn.com

CONTACT: Communicating Organizations in Networks of Art and Culture Technologies

(Norway)

Research questions: CONTACT will explore education and communication practices in art and cultural history museums through the design of participatory media and innovative communication services. The funding of CONTACT establishes education and communication practices in museums as a distinct and interdisciplinary field of research in Norway.

CONTACT has the following objectives:

* Primary objective: To investigate innovative ICT-based communication practices within museums that are related to mediating art and culture to the public, particularly young people.

* Secondary objective: To explore design approaches and services that support communication and meaning making within various types of museums and cultural heritage organizations and with the public.

* Secondary objective: To develop perspectives on transformations of communication practices in museums and cultural heritage institutions related to digital cultural heritage.

Principal Researchers: Dr. Palmyre Pierroux, Dr. Dagny Stuedahl, InterMedia, University of Oslo

CONTACT will collaborate with the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, the Museum of Cultural History (UiO) and the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Association to investigate the innovative use of digital representations and network technologies in engaging audiences in art and cultural heritage.

Time span: June 2009-20013

Contact: Palmyre Pierroux, Postdoc, InterMedia, University of Oslo, PO Box 1161 Blindern

0318 Oslo  tel: +47 22 84 07 37 palmyre.pierroux@uv.uio.no http://www.intermedia.uio.no/display/Im2/CONTACT

Knowledge Transitions from the Continuing Professional Education Classroom to the Workplace (working title)

(Canada)

Research Question: This project explores the experiences of graduates of the Cultural Resource Management Program (University of Victoria) as they seek to apply their learning in museums and other cultural heritage workplaces. Through this research, I hope to identify the personal and organizational factors that influence the application and/or adaptation of knowledge and skills acquired as a result of continuing professional education.

Data Presentation: A dissertation in fulfillment of the PhD Program in Social Foundations in Education at the University of Victoria

Principal researcher: Joy Davis, University of Victoria

Research sites: An online survey of Cultural Resource Management Program graduates across Canada, the US, and beyond, followed by up to four on-site interviews with graduates and their colleagues; locations across Canada and the US to be determined on the basis of the survey.

Time span: The survey is underway and interviews for case studies will be conducted in the Fall of 2009. Analysis, interpretation and writing are planned for Spring of 2010.

Contact: Joy Davis, joydavis@uvic.ca ; 250 477 0072

If They're Going To Tell Me What To See, What's the Point? Inviting Teenagers To Engage With and Interpret Museum Art

(USA)

Research questions:

§  What occurs when a group of urban high school students experience a collaboratively developed language arts based art interpretation curriculum?

§  What pedagogical strategies personally engage high school students in the museum and classroom setting?

§  What can classroom and museum educators learn from the narratives of students’ encounters with museum art?

Data presentation: The qualitative data of my thesis is presented in the form of students' narratives of learning (student writing, discussions, and podcasts). Their adolescent processes of museum art interpretation are analyzed in my discussion section. Conclusions and recommended strategies for engaging teens in exploring their own unique museum interpretation experiences are shared.

Principal researcher: Heather Dexter Chelmecki, Master of Arts In Art Education Graduate Researcher

Site: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Time span: August 2008 – March 2009

Contact: hhdexter@gmail.com

H5N1 - The evolution of an influenza virus, A study into the effects of an exhibition and an on line serious game as means of science communication

(The Netherlands)

Research question: Can an exhibition and an on line serious game contribute to knowledge and attitude with a general public about the threat of an avian influenza virus causing a human influenza pandemic?

Data presentation: In an article the authors will compare the effects of the exhibition and the on line game, by measuring knowledge and attitude of participants before and after visiting the exhibition or playing the on line game.

Principal researchers:  Fred Balvert, MSc (Science Communicator at Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands); Midori Takahashi, PhD (Research Assistant at National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan)

Website where research is conducted: www.thegreatflu.com

Time span: March, 2009 until October 25, 2009

Contact: f.balvert@erasmusmc.n

Methodology and social sciences research in Museology

 (Spain)

Research questions: This project tries to diffuse the main instruments assigned in social sciences and its application in the development of Museology. The study pretends solve the lack of knowledge in Spanish museums´ staff, and connect from the social investigation to the usual practice at  museum.

Data presentation: This project will get the DEA certificate at University of Murcia

Principal researcher: María Jesús Vega-Leal Cid (researcher, PhD student)

Evaluators: María Teresa Marín Torres and Conchita de la Peña

Site: University of Murcia (Spain)

Time span: 8 months November 2008- June 2009

Contact: vegalealcid@hotmail.com

Visitor studies in Austrian museums

 (Austria)

Research questions:  1. Survey of the status quo of (informal) visitor research in Austrian museums (type of projects, methods of collecting data, target audience, customer satisfaction, relevancy to practice, application of the results, significance of the project, tbd.) 2. comparative analysis of case studies

Data presentation: The statistical and qualitative analysis will be available as an academic paper (master thesis) and made public online or through publication.

Principal Researcher: Beate Steiner

Site: Department for Image Science, Danube University Krems / Department für Bildwissenschaften, Donau-Universität, Krems

Time span: May 2009 to Dec. 2009

Contact: Beate Steiner   beate.steiner@gmx.at  

Designing towards Museum Community Engagement in Exhibitions

(Finland)

Research questions: The main topics for my research are how to create design that encourages community participation in the museum and what to expect from such participation .

Data presentation: It is a doctoral dissertation that it might be published by the University of Art and Design Helsinki, as it is the practice in our institution. The data collected came from three case studies in which I create and develop interactive pieces for museums in which visitors, staff and external collaborators could participate by leaving digital comments on the exhibition content.

Principal researcher: Mariana Salgado

Sites: The case studies were conducted in three museums in Helsinki area: Ateneum, Kunshall and Design Museum.

Time span: The research project started actively in 2005 and I plan to deliver the thesis in September 2009.

Contact: mariana.salgado@taik.fi

Museum education - the insider's view

 (Romania)

Research question: The survey is investigating the role of the education in museums worldwide, as it is seen by the people inside. It is a worldwide survey, based on previous investigations. Some of the questions the inquiry addresses are: which are the relationships between the educational department and other departments of the museum, which are the educational activities that museums develop and which is their impact.

Data presentation: academic papers

Principal researcher: Alexandra Zbuchea, assistant professor, PhD, National School of Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest, Romania

Site: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Nkyo1x3byUu_2beCLbM0HcSg_3d_3d

The online questionnaire is meant to be filled in by the education manager in each museum.

Time span: the survey is online during March 2009

Contact: alexandra.zbuchea@comunicare.ro

Understanding the Tree of Life

 (USA)

Research questions: Do all informal science institutions use tree of life diagrams? What forms of evolutionary tree diagrams are used? Are there historical trends or patterns in the use of trees?

Data presentation: Part of PhD dissertation in the School of Education at the University of Kansas, and NSF-funded Understanding the Tree of Life project.

Principal researcher: Teresa MacDonald

Sites: trees are being collected from institution across the US.

Time span: completed by summer 2010

Contact: Teresa MacDonald, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, tmacd@ku.edu

Play and Learning in Museums

(USA)

Research question:  This project seeks to explore the relationship between play and learning in a child's development and how museums have addressed the link between play and learning through interactive exhibits and educational programming.

Data Presentation: The research will be submitted as a report to the Director of the Graduate Program in Museum Studies at Syracuse University.

Principal Researcher: Eleanor M. Mattern

Sites: Syracuse University, online survey sent to museum educators

Time Span: Spring 2009

Contact: Nora Mattern  emmatter@syr.edu 

Summative Evaluation of the Skyline Exhibition

(USA)

Research Questions: (1) Does the exhibition help facilitate family learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts related to how buildings stand up?, (2) Does the exhibition help build caregivers’ confidence and skills in facilitating their children’s learning?, (3) Does the exhibition help facilitate caregivers’ and children’s awareness of their own STEM-based learning?

Data presentation: An evaluation report for the Chicago Children’s Museum and at the 2009 AAM CARE Marketplace of Ideas.

Researcher: Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.

Site: Chicago Children’s Museum

Time span: June 2008 – August 2008

Contact Information: info@randikorn.com  

Moments of discomfort and conflict: Museums as agents of change (

(USA)

Research questions: How does training and professional development programs and permanent exhibits at museums, such as the United States Holocaust Museum challenge existing cultural practices of individuals, and organizations, and bring to light past events that have consequences for future generations?

Data presentation: Global Change and HRD: A Special Issue of the Journal of Change Management

Principal researcher: Robin S. Grenier

Site: Conceptual with the USHMM as a case example

Time span: summer/fall 09

Contact: Robin S. Grenier, 249 Glenbrook Rd. Unit 2093 Storrs, CT 06269  Robin.grenier@uconn.edu 

Supporting student learning at history museums: the practices of teachers and museum professionals

(USA)

Research questions: What are the current practices of teachers and museum professionals in working with students? How do museum professionals and teachers perceive the value of museums in the support of students’ learning? In what ways can teachers and museum educators collaborate in order to support student learning?

Data presentation: Journal publication and conference presentation

Principal researchers: Alan Marcus and Robin S. Grenier

Sites: State of Connecticut

Time span: began 6/08 completing data collection and analysis spring 09

Contact: Robin S. Grenier, 249 Glenbrook Rd. Unit 2093, Storrs, CT 06269 Robin.grenier@uconn.edu  or Alan.marcus@uconn.edu 

Open up

(Czech Republic)

Research questions: How can young people help the art museum open up to local community? How can they themselves benefit from this process?

Data presentation: case study, gallery education publication

Principal researcher: Irena Ellis, Teen Team, Education Department, National Gallery in Prague, Veletrzni palac, Dukelskych hrdinu 47, 170 00 Prague, Czech Republic

Site: Veletrzni palac, National Gallery in Prague

Time span: May 2009 - Sept 2010

Contact:  Irena Ellis, Education Department, National Gallery, Veletrzni palac, Dukelskych hrdinu 47, 170 00 Prague, Czech Republic  irena.ellis@gmail.com  

The design and development of a museum exhibit on animal adaptations to darkness

(Denmark)

Research question: What is the nature of the constraints and opportunities that govern the putting-into-exhibition of a specific object of biological knowledge?

Data presentation: The study is reported in a manuscript currently submitted to a science education journal.

Principal researcher: Marianne F. Mortensen

Site: Experimentarium, a Danish science centre in Copenhagen

Time span: Project was completed in 2007-2008

Contact: mm@ind.ku.dk 

Alternative Settings for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Professional Placements

(UK)

Research questions: 

• What are the training benefits for student teachers undertaking some of their professional placement (teaching practice) within a museum and/or education department?

• How does the mentoring of student teachers in museum and/or gallery education departments enhance the professional development of museum educators?

Data presentation: Formal report to the commissioning funding body (UK Training and Development Agency – TDA); Dissemination and professional development materials for Museum Educators and ITT providers; Academic and/or professional journal paper 

Principal researcher: Philip Stephenson, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education 

Sites: Bedford Museum (linked with the Pilgrim Training Partnership), Fitzwilliam Museum (linked with the University of Cambridge), Museums Luton (linked with the University of Bedfordshire), Norwich Castle Museum (linked with the University of East Anglia), Verulamium Museum (linked with the University of Hertfordshire)

Time span: April 2008 to June 2009 in the first instance with additional funding to sustain the programme into 2009/10 and beyond.

Contact: Philip Stephenson at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PQ, UK Telephone - 44 (0) 1223 507278  e-mail - ps233@cam.ac.uk 

New Canadians, Language Learning & Museums: A National Survey

(Canada)

Research question: In 1992, a cross-Canada survey was conducted to ascertain the level of service provision extended to new Canadians by museums, specifically in the area of language-based programming.  Elizabeth Todd Doyle, who conducted this initial survey, is re-visiting the question of the level and type of service provision for new Canadians in Canadian museums and comparing today’s results with those gathered in 1992.

Data presentation: Results of the new research will be presented at the 2009 Canadian Museums Association conference in Toronto (Thursday, March 26, 2009) as part of a session entitled "Speaking with Authority: New Paradigms, New Canadians". Results will also be available in report form shortly thereafter, to be announced in the Museum Education Monitor or by contacting Elizabeth Todd Doyle directly tdheritage@rogers.com  or elizabeth.todd-doyle@lac-bac.gc.ca .

Principal researcher: Elizabeth Todd Doyle (Todd Doyle Heritage Services, in conjunction with the Portrait Gallery of Canada)

Sites: Online survey; links to survey sent to education departments of cultural institutions in cities with significant immigrant populations.

Time span: Survey conducted in February with preliminary results ready in March, 2009

Contact: Elizabeth Todd Doyle, tdheritage@rogers.com  (613-730-5982) or elizabeth.todd-doyle@lac-bac.gc.ca  (613-943-1916)

Public Perception Of Nanotechnology -Taking a look at it from childhood, adolescence and youth

(Brazil). [Originally MEM October 2006]

Now available

- Murriello,S.; Knobel,M. Encountering nanotechnology in an interactive exhibition. Journal of Museum Education, v.33,n.2,summer 2008,p.221-230.

- Murriello, S.E, Contier, D., Knobel,M NanoAventura, an Interactive Exhibition on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology as an Educational Tool. Journal of Nanoscience Education (to appear).

-Murriello,S. Evaluación de exposiciones: una experiencia brasilera. Decisio- saberes para la acción en la educación de adultos,n.20, mayo-agosto 2008 ,México. http://tariacuri.crefal.edu.mx/decisio/d20/sab9-1.php

-Murriello, S.E, Contier,D., Knobel,M. "Challanges of an exhibition on nanoscience and nanotechnology" / “Desafios de uma exposição sobre nanociência e nanotecnologia” Journal of Science Communication (JCOM), v.5, n.4. Dec.2006. http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/05/04/Jcom0504%282006%29A01/ 

Contact: Sandra Murriello. sdrnano@gmail.com

 

Use of the Museums for Educational Purposes: School-Museum Days Museum Education Program

(Turkey) [Originally MEM April 2007]

“My paper about Istanbul Archaeological Museum Project is publishing in the International Journal of Inclusive Museum Online. This paper presents an evaluation of the museum education program entitled 'School Museum Days' which has been developed under the project heading 'Use of Museums for Educational Purposes' under the joint administration of Yıldız Technical University Museum Studies Graduate Program and Istanbul Archaeological Museums.” http://ijz.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.177/prod.37
- Tezcan Akmehmet, K., Museum-Community Partnership in Istanbul Archaeological Museums: School-Museum Days, The International Journal of Inclusive Museum, Vol. 1, No 2, ISSN 1835-2014, 126-138 Avustralya: Common Ground Publishing, 2008.

Contact: Kadriye Tezcan Akmehmet kadriyetezcan@gmail.com

Investigating Brazilian children’s concept of insect

(Brazil/U.K.)

Research questions: Children 4, 5, 6 year olds attending public schools in northwestern Brazil were asked to draw on a sheet of blank paper a representation of what “insect” meant to them. Later they were interviewed to spontaneously say the name of as many insects they know, where they found out or saw them everyday at school or “around” and their sources of knowledge. Drawings analyses show salient features mainly wings, antennae, legs and elongated body. The youngest children drew fewer species and some older also drew non-insect invertebrates. A few children reproduced human faces on their specimens, and recalled few names of insects. The most mentioned were butterfly, bee, beetle and surprisingly caterpillar. Children reported home, family and friends observation as the more numerous source of knowledge, less school although garden and farm visits were featured. Media was the least cited source of knowledge and the most often cited was real life. Therefore, learning about insects endemic to the country where pupils live is part of their learning about science in the everyday world.

Principal researchers: Amauri Bartoszeck, Univ. of Paraná, Brazil; Bernadete R. da Silva, Rio Branco, Brazil; Sue Dale Tunnicliffe, Univ. of London, UK.

Time span: Start mid -2008, hope to finish end of 2009

Contact: Lady Tunnicliffe  lady.tunnicliffe@mac.com

Culture of the Countryside

(UK)
Research and evaluation questions:
· exploring ways of bringing world culture and a global dimension to the rural areas of Norfolk and Suffolk
· evaluating processes of community network building centred on schools in village and towns
· investigating cultural diversity and how identities are changing in the contemporary rural environment
Data Presentation: end of project report; culture of the countryside website
Principal researchers: Dr Jacqueline Watson & Dr Veronica Sekules
Sites: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in partnership with artists, schools and community groups in the Norfolk and Suffolk region.
Time span: 1st January 2008 – 31st December 2010
Contacts: Dr Jacqueline Watson Jacqueline.watson@uea.ac.uk
Dr Veronica Sekules v.sekules@uea.ac.uk
Yasmin Keyani (Project Assistant) y.keyani@uea.ac.uk

Research centers in museums - redefining a regional museum to become a center of national importance

(USA)
The dissertation will look at whether the addition of a research center by a museum to cover an area of expertise or in conjunction with a particular collection will bring prominence to a regional museum and enable it to stand out nationally. The dissertation will be based on a case study of the Nevada Museum of Art.
Data presentation: The data will be presented in a dissertation.
Principal researcher: Rosalind Bedell, MA in Museum Studies through the University of Leicester
Time span: September 2008 - March 2009
Contact: Rosalind Bedell bedell@nevadaart.org

How Science Museums Affect and Contribute to Early Childhood Learning

(USA)
Research questions: How do the exhibits in the designated preschool area in the NY Hall of Science support early childhood learning in three key developmental areas: psychomotor, social, and language skills
Data presentation: Conferences, journal
Researchers: Ellen Giusti and Alice Stevenson
Site: NY Hall of Science's Preschool Place
Time span: Dec. 08 - March 09
Contact: Alice Stevenson, Senior Manager of Family Programs and Preschool Learning
New York Hall of Science astevenson@nyscience.org

MAPDD: Museums Afterschool: Principles, Data, and Design

(USA)
Research Questions: Are there common design principles driving successful informal STEM programs in afterschool settings? what strong teaching and learning strategies exist that cut across all types of settings? What strategies may be a particular strong suit of OST settings? How can be documentation be used to illuminate these strategies and principles?
Data Presentation: Conferences, Web-published findings
Principal Researcher: Bronwyn Bevan; Director, Center for Informal Learning and Schools
Sites: Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Children's Museum of Houston, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), Explora, Exploratorium, National 4-H Council, Pacific Science Center, Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, Saint Louis Science Center, Salvadori Center, Science Museum of Minnesota, TRACE
Time Span: 2008-2010
Contact: Noah Rauch; Project Coordinator, Center for Informal Learning and Schools; nrauch@exploratorium.edu

Interpreting the Senses at the Science Museum

(Germany)
Research questions:
· What cultural model(s) and meanings of the senses does the museum convey?
· How do museum staff incorporate, appropriate and negotiate those meanings?
· What are the staffs' individual paths of knowledge and experience (esp. during guided tours) and how do they relate to the exhibition's sensory geographies?
Data presentation: PhD Dissertation (2010), Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikanistik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Principal researcher: Susanne Barbara Schmitt
Sites: Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden, Germany Time span: 2007-2010
Contact: susanne-b-schmitt@web.de

Forming Preschoolers’ Environmental Attitude: Lasting Effects Of Early Childhood Environmental Education

(Canada)

Research questions: Does an environmental education preschool program have lasting effects on children's environmental attitudes that can be measured several years later?

Data presentation: Master of Arts thesis - Environmental Education & Communication thesis

Principal researcher: Jim Robertson

Sites: Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada; Royal Roads University

Time span: 2007–2008

Contact: Jim Robertson, Kerry Wood Nature Centre, 6300 - 45 Avenue Red Deer, AB T4N 3M4 Canada jimrobertson@platinum.ca

UPDATE: Culture Craft Saturdays: Engaging At-Risk Audiences

(USA) [originally listed MEM Jan. 2008]
Now available: “Final Evaluation Report - Arizona State Museum: Culture Craft Saturdays—Serving At-Risk Populations August 1, 2007 – July 31, 2008” by Lisa Falk & Stephen Powers
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3f/67/54.pdf

Indigenous Communities as a Museum Public: From Being Displayed to Being Involved

(Canada)
Principal researcher: Haley Shanoff, MMSt Candidate, University of Toronto
This paper looks at the practice of involving indigenous communities in all aspects of the museum world, such as curating, consulting, participation in programs, and as visitors. The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongerawa are used as case studies of two contrasting approaches to involving indigenous communities in the museum world.

Haley Shanoff has kindly given MEM permission to make the following research paper available to MEM readers. It will be available to subscribers only until Nov. 15 after which time please contact Haley directly at haley.shanoff@utoronto.ca

Museums in Flanders and 16-25 year olds

(Belgium)Research questions: Why is this target group important for museums? What benefit is there for the target group with regards to visiting museums that cannot be gained elsewhere? Is there a tendency in the kind of museums that appeal to this target group? Is there a tendency in the kind of museums that are popular with this target group? Why should museums try to reach the target group?
Data presentation: Master thesis which will be presented at the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)Principal researcher: Researcher: Susanna Flores / Evaluator: Prof. Dr. Karin NysSites: Museums in FlandersTime span: October-May 2008-2009Contact: Susanna Flores, Kipdorp 35, 2000 Antwerp; susanna.flores.campos@vub.ac.be sus_flores@hotmail.com

The Socially Networked Museum and the Question of Community

Research questions: How are museums in the early twenty-first century using the Web to shape and achieve the goal of “community,” and to what ends? Also, by networking themselves into the everyday spaces and times of life, are flows of symbolic, cultural, and social capital that have long served to make museums seem off-limits from wider society disrupted?
Data presentation: dissertation
Principal researcher: Amelia Wong
Sites: potentially the Brooklyn Museum, National Museum of African American History & Culture, and Megomuseum.com
Time span: undefined
Contact: Amelia Wong, awong22@umd.edu

Museums, Culture and Social Inclusion

(Canada)
Research questions: What resources and information would be valuable for museum professionals interested in the field of social inclusion and the museum? What projects are currently or recently being done in this field in museums in the Greater Toronto Area? What would be an effective community engagement strategy for Markham Museum?
Data presentation: workshop, community engagement strategy
Principal researcher: Britt Braaten, under Lynne Teather
Site: Markham Museum, Ontario, Canada
Time span: September - December 2008
Contact: britt.braaten@utoronto.ca , 416-456-4610

Engaging Contested Histories Through Education: Métis at the Royal Alberta Museum

Research questions: How do disparate histories come to coexist in museums? How can the museum act to engage these contested histories in conversation?The working hypothesis for this study is that skilled and conscientious educational programming, conducted both within and between exhibits, may help address some of the challenges of presenting incongruent histories.Data presentation: Masters thesis, Department of Anthropology and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Canada.Principal researcher: J. Joanne Kienholz, B.A., under the supervision of Dr. Susan Rowley, Dr. Jennifer Kramer, and Dr. Patrick Moore, professors of anthropology at the University of British Columbia.Site: Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Time Span: September 2007 - August 2009.Contact: Joanne Kienholz at the Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, 6303 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1 or by e-mail at kienholz(at)interchange.ubc.ca.

Creating intercultural dialogues:The response of Catalan museums to recent waves of immigration

(Spain)
Research question: In the wake of large waves of immigration from non-european countries, how are museums of Barcelona and Catalonia coping with and responding to new visitors? What educational programs exist or could exist to respond to new (and old) audiences? How do/can museums create intercultural dialogue?
Data presentation: Thesis for a masters in Visual Cultural studies that will compile interviews and case studies in conjuction with theoretical perspectives.
Sites Primarily in the Museum of the History of Immigration to Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain), as well as other museums of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Time span: October 2008-June 2010
Contact information: email - mdezember@gmail.com

An investigation into the Generic Learning Outcomes attained by students participating in Techniquest's Mathamagic workshop

(UK)Research question: This research examines how students benefited from participating in Mathamagic, a mathematics-themed workshop for secondary pupils run by Techniquest, and how teachers perceived their students to benefit. The benefits for students were assessed using Hooper-Greenhill’s (2002) Generic Learning Outcomes (GLOs) as this approach allows for both cognitive and affective learning to be considered. Data was collected from both pupils and teachers using questionnaires, interviews and observations.Data presentation: Dissertation for the degree of MSc in Science, Media and Communication, Cardiff University, Wales.Principal Researcher: Ms Frances JaySite: Techniquest Science Discovery Centre, Cardiff, WalesTime span: June-Sept 2008Contact: Frances Jay frances.jay@hotmail.co.uk

Material representation in science centers: How does 'stuff' in a museum become memory and context for learning?

Research questions: How are the families experiencing the organized setting of the Exploratorium as a particular context for activity? What do visitors explain as their understandings of the Exploratorium in relation to their material experiences there? How are these material experiences related to the institutional history of the museum?
Data presentation: Data consist of large (5 foot long) sketch-maps drawn by visiting families and video recorded interviews of the families talking about what they drew and why they drew it. Study also draws from an institutional history conducted earlier and to be published in Science Education (Ogawa, Loomis, Crain, in press).
Principal researcher: Rhiannon Crain, Dissertation, Center for Informal Learning and Schools
Sites: Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA/ Bancroft Library, Berkeley, CA
Time span: 2005 - June 2009
Contact: Rhiannon Crain, Center for Informal Learning and Schools Fellow, University of California, Santa Cruz, Education Department rcrain@ucsc.edu

Children's learning about animals and plants from observation of wildlife dioramas

Research questions: What is the visual impact of the dioramas on the mental model of children? How is this expressed in drawing and conversation? What kind of learning occurs from such experiences?
Data presentaion: pre-, post test drawings will be analysed qualitatively and quantitatively; themes and categories will be elicited from them and quantified. Data will be presented grafically following statistical analysis.
Researchers: Edward Mifsud, Sue Dale Tunnicliffe
Site: Natural History Museum, Malta.
Time span: Oct 2007 - June 2011
Contact info: emifsud@ioe.ac.uk

Inside Out: A Conservator’s Investigation of Museums, Visible Storage, and the Interpretation of Conservation

(Canada)

Research questions: What are the experiences of museums in Canada, USA, England, and Scotland which use visible storage and other means of enabling visitor access “behind-the-scenes” ?

Data presentation: MA dissertation in Preventive Conservation for Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK
Principal researcher: Dee Stubbs-Lee
Sites: Evaluation on site and by distance of seven museums in Canada, USA, England, and Scotland
Time span: Research completed in 2007 - 2008
Contact: Dee Stubbs-Lee deestubbs@hotmail.com