Museums: They're Not Just for Field Trips Anymore

Abstract

Although both museums and schools are learning environments, their strategies for reaching learners are very different. It is these differences that can be valuable for schools trying to implement science standards and improve their overall level of science instruction. Based on research about how students learn best, the new national science standards emphasize the need for teachers to provide students with more hands-on, real world experiences related to science topics and to act as a facilitator of student learning rather than a dispenser of knowledge. By working together, museums and schools have found numerous ways to benefit from each other's expertise in teaching and learning.