Learning in the Museum

by George E. Hein

Learning in the Museum examines major issues and shows how research in visitor studies and the philosophy of education can be applied to facilitate a meaningful educational experience in museums. Hein combines a brief history of education in public museums, with a rigorous examination of how the educational theories of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and subsequent theorists relate to learning in the museum. Surveying a wide range of research methods employed in visitor studies is illustrated with examples taken from museums around the world, Hein explores how visitors can best learn from exhibitions which are physically, socially, and intellectually accessible to every single visitor. He shows how museums can adapt to create this kind of environment, to provide what he calls the 'constructivist museum'. Providing essential theoretical analysis for students, this volume also serves as a practical guide for all museum professionals on how to adapt their museums to maximize the educational experience of every visitor.

Genres: Museums, Museology, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1998

Reviews

[Alina Manevskaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is orientated towards museum professionals. Here museums are presented as signs of history, preservers of culture, monuments of the Renaissance and also as contemporary study centers where visitors combine studying objects with being studied by professional psychologists.
The source combines historical and psychological approaches. A chapter entitled “Early Visitor Studies” deals with the history of education in museums, which is suitable for my research because of its emphasis on the power of government in first museums. Education became the prime function of museums in the nineteenth century , and it is only in the nineteenth century that a shift in the definition of education and its importance in museums took place.
From psychological point of view, learning is analyzed as an interactive process within the discipline of visitor studies in museums, which appeared only in the twentieth century. The authors put a special emphasis on the behavior of visitors. There is a study of what visitors do in museums and how much time they spend there. The whole process of learning changes how our minds work. This is perfectly illustrated in an example of a Chinese proverb, which says: “Give me a fish and I eat every day. Teach me a fish and I eat forever” .
Visitors’ studies are closely related to psychology, particularly to behaviorist theories, where the difference is emphasized between the formal activities, carried out in order to increase our understanding of human behavior and practical work, intended to improve exhibits in museums . However, a study of children pouring the same amount of water from large glasses of equal volume into smaller glasses seems to be a little bit isolated: it is not clear how this study influences the issues of learning in museums.
In the last chapter an imaginary, constructivist museum becomes a fascinating structure, which should be accessible, familiar and interactive. In this chapter there is a particular evidence of the author’s optimistic view on the development of collaboration between museums and educational institutions in the future.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Theory by someone who probably never actually worked in a museum or historic site. Trying to read this was like watching paint dry. I'll stick to Freeman Tilden and stuff published by the National Association for Interpretation.