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The last decade has brought considerable progress in our understanding of how institutions like museums affect people's lives. However, there is still a great deal we do not know, and the research challenges ahead sometimes appear quite daunting. In this paper, we suggest that three characteristics of learning, its personal nature, that it is contextualized, and that it takes time, are critical to understanding and investigating the impact that museums have on people's lives. These characteristics have long been recognized, and we believe that recent research has emphasized their importance, but they are yet to be consistently well addressed in research. In the paper, each characteristic is elaborated and its implications for research examined. In particular, we argue that a search for a wider range of learning outcomes, the use of a wider range of research methods, and a greater consideration for, and recognition of, the significance of time are the principles for the future research agenda.

Explores the perceptions, ideas, and understanding about science of the staff and adult visitors to an interactive science center. Involves (n=63) staff and (n=102) visitors through interviews and a survey. Suggests that visitors to the science center have a positive experience and most of them recognize a change in the way they think about science. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/YDS)

Analysis of students' attitudes toward science and science-related careers in Fiji revealed that ethnicity and gender are independent of attitudes toward science. Male students dominated science-related careers due to sex-stereotyping and different career advice. Career advice given on the basis of gender and ethnicity links males to science-related work and higher education in Fiji.