As museums are increasingly asked to demonstrate not only their cultural, but also their educational and social significance, understanding how museum visitors learn becomes ever more important. And yet, learning can be conceptualised and investigated in many ways. Coming to terms with how theories about learning interact with one another and how they relate to ‘evidence-based learning’ can be confusing at best.
Museum Learning makes sense of multiple learning theories, whilst focusing on a set of core learning topics in museums. It draws attention to the development of theory and its practical applications in museum contexts such as aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens and historical re-enactment sites, in addition to more traditional art, science, and social history museums. Importantly, it considers learning not just as a cognitive characteristic, as some perspectives propose, but also as affective, taking into consideration interests, attitudes, and emotions.
This volume will be of interest to museum studies students, practitioners and researchers working in informal learning contexts, and will help them to reflect on what it means to learn in museums and create more effective environments for learning.