This report summarizes the findings of an evaluation of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Informal Science Education (ISE) program. The program provides support for a variety of informal science education activities, including museum exhibits; television series and programs for youth or the general public; films on science and mathematics topics; exhibits or educational programs at science and natural history museums, science-technology centers, aquaria, nature centers, biological gardens, arboreta, zoological parks, and libraries; and educational programs and activities at community and
This report proposes a comprehensive study to answer the question: How does conversation as a socially mediating activity act as both a process and an outcome of museum learning experiences? The study will examine museum learning across six kinds of museums and across different kinds of visiting groups. This proposal describes a model of museum learning that puts conversation among different kinds of coherent conversational groups at the core of museum learning. It focuses on ways that conversations are elaborated, enriched, and extended as a consequence of museum activity. The model recasts