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Out-of-school science education institutions, such as museums, science centres, zoos and aquaria, have strong potentials to promote sustainability, yet seem to lack an operational definition of sustainability that aligns with their specific characteristics and institutional remit. Here, we use the anthropological theory of didactics to systematically develop such an operational definition, designated as the reference model. We draw on literature from research and practice to account for the features of sustainability science and policy, as well as the different specific strengths of out-of-school science education institutions, to identify unique potentials for sustainability education. These potentials are synthesised and illustrated in a set of institutionally specific guidelines that optimise the organisation of sustainability for each kind of out-of-school science education institution. We conclude by considering the implications of our findings for sustainability education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dedicated science learning spaces such as science museums, science cafes, or science media attract mostly those who seek out science learning experiences. This self-selection represents a major challenge for broadening participation in informal science learning (ISL). In this study, we examine an approach to ISL that aims at reaching audiences who may not ordinarily engage with science. Termed Guerilla Science, this approach blends elements of access, by removing barriers to participation by embedding science into unexpected places, with those of inclusion, by designing activities that speak to the learning identities of participants. Our research investigated whether such ISL experience are indeed able to attract and engage 'new' audiences. In this study, Guerilla Science events were featured at the Oregon Eclipse Festival, a large multi-day music and arts festival. We conducted a multi-method study that included participants of the Oregon Eclipse Festival who engaged with Guerilla Science events, and those who did not, with a focus of understanding whether these two groups were different in key characteristics associated with their interest in, and engagement with science. The full range of festival goers, from those with little connection and interest in science to science enthusiasts, who participated in Guerilla Science, were similar to festival goers overall, indicating the effectiveness of the approach for engaging adults from beyond the science choir. Providing access points to science engagement within non-science cultural contexts and designing the science experiences to align with cultural identity of the audience represents an evidence-based practice for broadening participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice to create or renovate museum buildings to green building standards is a growing trend for science museums. With access to green facilities comes the potential to extend informal science learning into the three-dimensional architectural environment. To examine how and if museums with green buildings interpret their buildings for the public, this study used photographs systematically taken by researchers in eight science museums across the United States. Results show that recycling, water, energy, green materials, and eco-landscaping were the top five green building themes interpreted by museums. Moreover, all museums use the passive strategy of educational signage to communicate green building themes, though several museums attempted to provide more active, hands-on learning opportunities. The analysis additionally uncovered a series of distinct strategic choices museums made concerning centralized versus decentralized displays, media types, passive versus active engagement, and targeting a range of visitor outcomes from green knowledge to behaviors. The potential for enhancing green building education in museums with certified green buildings is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While multiple valid measures exist for assessing outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs, the field lacks a comprehensive and logistically feasible common instrument that can apply across diverse programs. We describe a participatory effort for identifying and developing crosscutting outcomes for Environmental Education in the twenty-first Century (EE21). Following extensive input and debate from a wide range of EE providers and researchers, we developed, tested and statistically validated crosscutting scales for measuring consensus-based outcomes for individual participants in youth EE programs using confirmatory factor analysis across six unique sites, including two single-day field trip locations, four multiday residential programs and one science museum in the United States. The results suggest that the scales are valid and reliable for measuring outcomes that many EE programs in the United States can aspire to influence in adolescent participants, ages 10–14. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, science is a major part of western culture. Discussions about the need for members of the public to access and understand scientific information are therefore well established, citing the importance of such information to responsible citizenship, democracy, socially accountable scientific research and public funding (National Research Council [2009] Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits. National Academies Press). In recent years there has been an increased interest in investigating not just what visitors to informal environments have learnt after a visit, but also how visitors interact and engage with exhibits during the visit (Davidsson & Jakobsson [2012] Understanding interactions at science centers and museums: Approaching sociocultural perspectives. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers). Within the field of school visits to science museums, however, interactions between students and museum educators (MEs) remain relatively unexplored. In our study of such school visits, we are mainly interested in the interactions that take place between three agents—the students, the museum educator and the physical setting of the exhibit. Using moment‐to‐moment fine grain analysis of multiple interactions allowed us to identify recurring patterns between students and the museum educators around exhibits, and to examine the MEs' mediational role during the interactions, and the practices they employ to engage students with exhibits. Our study revealed that most interactions between MEs and students consist of technical explanations of how to operate the exhibits. The interactions that do move past this stage often include two main practices, which the MEs use to promote students' engagement with the exhibits: physical instruction and engaging the students emotionally. Understanding what is actually happening in the learning process that occurs during students' interactions with exhibits can help museum educators and exhibit designers improve the experiences of students on school visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists can reap personal rewards through collaborations with science and natural history museums, zoos, botanical gardens, aquaria, parks, and nature preserves, and, while doing so, help to advance science literacy and broaden participation in the natural sciences. Beyond volunteer opportunities, which allow scientists to contribute their knowledge and passion within the context of existing programs and activities, there are also opportunities for scientists to bring their knowledge and resources to the design and implementation of new learning experiences for visitors to these informal science learning organizations (ISLOs). Well-designed education outreach plans that leverage the expertise and broad audiences of ISLOs can also enhance the prospects of research grant proposals made to agencies such as National Science Foundation, which encourage researchers to pay careful attention to the broader impacts of their research as well as its intellectual merit. Few scientists, however, have had the opportunity to become familiar with the pedagogy and design of informal or “free-choice” science learning, and fewer still know how to go about the process of collaborating with ISLOs in developing and implementing effective programs, exhibits, and other learning experiences. This article, written by an experienced science museum professional, provides guidance for individual scientists and research groups interested in pursuing effective education outreach collaborations with science museums and other ISLOs. When prospective partners begin discussions early in the proposal development process, they increase the likelihood of successful outcomes in funding, implementation, and impact. A strategic planning worksheet is provided, along with a carefully-selected set of further resources to guide the design and planning of informal science learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science museums have made a concerted effort to work with researchers to incorporate current scientific findings and practices into informal learning opportunities for museum visitors. Many of these efforts have focused on creating opportunities and support for researchers to interact face-to-face with the public through, for example, speaker series, community forums, and engineering competitions. However, there are other means by which practicing scientists can find a voice on the museum floor—through the design and development of exhibits. Here we describe how researchers and museum professionals have worked together to create innovative exhibit experiences for an interactive science museum. For each example: scientist as (1) data providers, (2) advisors, and (3) co-developers, we highlight essential components for a successful partnership and pitfalls to avoid when collaborating on museum exhibits. Not many museums prototype and build their own exhibits like the Exploratorium. In those cases, there may be similar opportunities in more mediated offerings such as public demonstrations or lectures or in other formats that allow for direct interactions between scientists and visitors. We believe there are many opportunities for researchers to share natural phenomena, to advise on exhibit development and interpretation, to provide much needed materials, and to otherwise incorporate authentic research into the learning experiences at museums, no matter what the format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research suggests that emerging adulthood—the stage between adolescence and maturity marked by a lengthy process of identity development—constitutes a window of opportunity for museums to influence adults' lifelong science learning trajectories. The current study sought to explore the impact of a single museum visit on emerging adults' science self-efficacy, beliefs about their own abilities to learn or do science. A repeated measures design assessed the science self-efficacy of 244 emerging adults before, immediately after, and three months after a science museum visit. Results from surveys and interviews indicate that self-efficacy increased after the visit, but only females maintained their elevated self-efficacy three months after the visit. Increases were associated with the visit and with self-reports citing mastery at exhibits, vicariously watching others at exhibits, and positive emotional experiences within the museum. The article discusses the study's limitations as well as implications for research and museum practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Electrónica de Enseñanza de las Ciencias is the property of Revista Electronica de Ensenanza de las Ciencias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Self-regulated learning (SRL) in the museum was explored by 2 investigations. The first one investigated 233 visitors on their goals and intended learning strategies by questionnaire before they visited the science museum. Results indicated visitors’ learning goals can predict their intended deep-learning strategy. Moreover, visitors can be clustered into 4 groups and their cluster identity can also predict the intended learning strategies. The second investigation asked 244 visitors about their actual learning strategies and motivational appraisals (self-efficacy and control beliefs) after visiting. In all, 5 kinds of learning strategies were found: elaborating, help-seeking, effort-making, reorganizing, and surface-learning. These strategies can further predict their motivational appraisals. The characteristics of SRL in the informal learning context were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT This international investigation was designed to determine if, and under what circumstances experiences at science centers, significantly correlated with a range of adult general public science and technology literacy measures. Given the complex and cumulative nature of science and technology learning, and the highly variable and free-choice nature of science center experiences, an epidemiological research approach was used. Quantitative surveys were administered to 6,089 adults living in 17 communities located in 13 countries; all with active science centers. Data collection and analysis protocols ensured a representative sampling based on age, education, and income from each of the 17 participating communities. Results showed that individuals who used science centers had significantly higher understanding, interest and curiosity, participation in free-choice leisure activities, and identity relative to science and technology than did individuals who did not visit; even when potential self-selection biases such as income, education level, and prior interest were taken into consideration. These findings significantly strengthen the argument that the presence of one or more healthy and active science centers within a community, region, or country represents a vital investment for fostering and maintaining a scientifically and technologically informed, engaged, and literate public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the scientific disciplines conduct practical work in different ways, all consider practical work as the essential way of connecting objects and phenomena with ideas and the abstract. Accordingly, practical work is regarded as central to scienceeducationas well. We investigate a practical, object-based palaeontology programme at a natural history museum to identify how palaeontological objects prompt scientific activity among upper secondary school students. We first construct a theoretical framework based on an analysis of the programme’s palaeontological content. From this, we build our reference model, which considers the specimens used in the programme, possible palaeontological interpretations of these specimens, and the conditions inherent in the programme. We use the reference model to analyse the activities of programme participants, and illustrate how these activities are palaeontologically authentic. Finally, we discuss our findings, examining the mechanism by which the specimens prompt scientific activities. We also discuss our discipline-based approach, and how it allows us to positively identify participants’ activities as authentic. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Body Worlds exhibitions include human skeletons and tissues preserved through a method of plastination, displayed through striking poses that have both intrigued and incensed visitors. Controversies around these exhibitions have included ethical concerns about the procurement of human remains, legal questions about the ownership and transport of human organs and skeletons, and cultural and religious concerns about the respect afforded to humans after death. Body Worlds exhibitions have toured North America since 2005. Because of their controversial nature, the initial introduction to the U.S. included a thorough ethical review by the inaugural host site, the California Science Center. This article describes the community review process carried out in Phoenix before the exhibition first appeared at the Arizona Science Center in 2006. It raises the question of how science centers can follow a mission of educating and informing the public with controversial exhibits while still respecting the cultural sensitivities of the communities it serves. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conceptualized by the self-determination theory, this interpretive study examined 23 museum educators’ perspectives from five Chinese science museums to understand their work motivation in relation to their professional practice of working in museums. Research outcomes showed that, Chinese science museum educators’ work motivation followed a common extrinsic–intrinsic pattern, in which extrinsic motivation was valued and seemed to be more influential in career decisions than intrinsic motivational factors. This finding was found to be different in a number of ways to most museum educator studies conducted in Western cultural contexts. Furthermore, sociocultural factors regarding museum educators’ backgrounds and experiences as well as their institutional contexts had differential impacts on extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. This study has implications for museum-education-related researchers, policy makers, and administrators to reconsider the recruitment criteria, in-service motivating mechanism, and professional training system for museum educators in China and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exhibit experiences at most museums are designed to be self-guided rather than facilitated; and it's certainly a good goal to make exhibit interpretation clear enough to be understood on one's own. The primary rationale for not staffing exhibits is the ongoing personnel cost, but that should be weighed against the value of 'on the floor' staffing in terms of visitor experience. This study at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) investigated three modes of presenting a Science On a Sphere exhibit: staff-presented 'shows' (18-20 minutes at scheduled times, scripted, audience on benches); staff 'facilitating' with individual visitor groups; and visitors looking at the Sphere on their own, called 'auto-run.' The findings of this study underscore the appeal of staffing to visitors as well as the educational benefits; however, each mode had advantages and disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Children's Gallery in the Science Museum in London opened in December 1931. Conceived partly as a response to the overwhelming number of children visiting the Museum and partly as a way in which to advance its educational uses, the Gallery proved to be an immediate success in terms of attendances. In the Gallery, children and adults found historical dioramas and models, all of which aimed at presenting visitors with the social, material and moral impacts of science and technology on society throughout history. Also, there were numerous working models with plenty of buttons to press, handles to turn and ropes to pull. Controversial visitor studies carried out in the 1950s revealed that the historical didacticism was more or less lost on the children who came to the Gallery. Consequently, the New Children's Gallery that opened in 1969 had to some extent abandoned the historical perspective in favour of combining instruction with pleasure in order to make the children feel that ‘science is a wonderful thing’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we use the occasion of the design of a learning space (The Idea Zone) in a science center setting, the Museum of Science and Industry, to illustrate the importance of attending to communication issues in the design of a process to design the space. We explore communication processes in the conceptual design phase, with specific attention to bringing Needfinding to a participatory design framework. Use of the World Café is made to create a conversational space for the participatory design process. We reflect on the recursive nature of designing communication process for participatory design of the Idea Zone and offer seven principles that integrate the theories and practices of both communication and design, bringing particular attention to generative metaphors, reflective practice, and emergence of a “third language” for designing together with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a growing number of research articles in recent years have treated the role of informal settings in science learning, the subject of the history of science in museums and its relationship to informal and non-formal education remains less well explored. The aim of this review is to assemble the studies of history of science in science museums and explore the opportunities for the further use of the history of science in science museum education practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians of science have recently become increasingly involved with collections and scientific instruments. This creates opportunities for a more significant role of history in museums of science, as well as more meaningful and contextualized exhibitions and educational programmes. However, complementing the mainstream focus on universal scientific principles with history requires structural and cultural changes in museums' approaches and practices. In this paper we draw from recent collaborative work with historians of science at the University of Lisbon to reflect on the challenges museums face as they prepare for a more meaningful historical approach to science. We argue that documentation is crucial both before objects enter the museum and as regular collections practice. We propose a conceptual and methodological framework comprising two operational levels: documenting individual objects and documenting collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the medialization and communication of innovative knowledge as a key aspect of participating in a society. Topics discussed include importance of innovative knowledge in maintaining society's vitality and its contribution in knowledge driven economies, communication of knowledge in scientific society through workshops, seminars, and science centers and museums being communication arenas of science innovation.

Museums are in a unique position to engage the public in conversations about science topics that matter. However, when we attempt to systematically study the representation and dissemination of science in museums, we are confounded by the numerous and diverse conditions and constraints that influence those processes. As a response, we adapt a framework from the field of science didactics, the framework of didactic co-determination, to the museum context. We illustrate how the framework can be applied to a case of exhibit development to understand the influences that shape the final product. We then offer our perspectives on the framework, and suggest how its utility may go beyond the local application described here. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Family interactions are common phenomenon at visits to science centers and natural history museums. Through interactions the family can support each other as the members individually and collectively learn from their visits. Interaction is particularly important between child(ren) and parent, which may be facilitated by media provided to parents. The author's research focused on the value added of print resources or video resources designed to support parent interactions with their child(ren) during a visit to a science center. What the author found was a variety of need and expectations for the support media that limited the usefulness of what was provided to the visitors. During the research the author also observed some variations in how parents interacted with their child(ren) based on the configurations of the families. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a theoretical and methodological approach to identify the educational dimension present in socio-technical systems. It specifically explores how this dimension is configured in the conceptualization, building and appropriation processes of interactive artifacts in museums and interactive centers of science and technology; which objectives are to to popularize techno-scientific knowledge. Methodologically, the article presents a case study based on three theoretical components: A social constructivist framework, reflections of the feminist critique of technology and Freirean pedagogy. The paper closes with some reflections about the tackled problem and suggests key points for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women educators played an essential role in transforming public museums that had been focused on collections and research into effective educational and informational sites that engaged broad publics. Three significant innovators were Delia Griffin of St. Johnsbury Museum in Vermont who emphasized hands-on learning, Anna Billings Gallup who shaped a distinctive model museum for children in Brooklyn and Laura Bragg of the Charleston Museum who established strong collaboration with the local public schools. Joining museum curatorial staffs and professional associations that were largely male, these women educators and their peers typically provided pedagogical insights and teaching skills that enabled them to work effectively with school systems, teachers, pupils and parents. Genuinely interested in natural science, they shaped careers which included opportunities to engage with science, provided a considerable degree of autonomy and enabled them to experiment with hands-on learning. They built networks of museum educators and influenced the young American Association of Museums. Women museum educators created a bridge between semi-public natural history establishments for collection, preservation and scientific research and an active audience of teachers, pupils, visitors and patrons. Their efforts transformed museums into sites for education and broad public access to science in the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American women scientists of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era were largely sequestered into the backwaters of professional science. In responding to this challenge, some women scientists affiliated with museums proved especially adept at synthesising women’s traditional responsibilities as moral reformers with a ‘masculine’ scientific knowledge that allowed them to discourse with professionals and those with political power. By cultivating lay and amateur interest in science – and in the biological and environmental sciences in particular – the museum women facilitated a transfer of knowledge and information throughout the public sphere. Club activities in particular provided museum-affiliated women such as botanist Alice Eastwood, bryologist Elizabeth Knight Britton, agrostologist Agnes Chase, anthropologist Alice Fletcher, horticulturist Kate Sessions and ichthyologist Rosa Smith Eigenmann with an opportunity to act as both environmental scientists and women. Thus the ‘museum synthesis’, a convergence of cultural expectation and scientific practice, offered a solution to women scientists who for various reasons were not accepted as full-fledged members of their institutions or disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although learning science in informal non-school environments has shown great promise in terms of increasing interest and engagement, few studies have systematically investigated and produced evidence of improved conceptual knowledge and cognitive skills. Furthermore, little is known about how digital technologies that are increasingly being used in these informal environments can enhance learning. Through a quasi-experimental design, this study compared four conditions for learning science in a science museum using augmented reality and knowledge-building scaffolds known to be successful in formal classrooms. Results indicated that students demonstrated greater cognitive gains when scaffolds were used. Through the use of digital augmentations, the study also provided information about how such technologies impact learning in informal environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the project Man and the Environment, a pilot project for the networking of research, museum documentation and teaching, and which is funded and promoted by the ministry for science and culture of the German federal state of Lower Saxony, and was scheduled to take place between 1 July 2009 until 30 June 2012. Topics discussed include details on the project, the cooperation between the universities, museums, and schools, and the promotion of knowledge among the public about the theme of the environment.

The article discusses on structural stylistics of exhibition in science museums. Lack of attention paid by critics of museum architecture from the rhetorical tradition remains disappointing. Understanding material aspects is difficult to establish in relation to science museum exhibitions for both contemporary exhibition practices a scientific discourse operate in hermetic fashion, seemingly politically decontextualized by virtue of self referential transparency.

Do objects of science need a permanent theatre in the University? In a multidisciplinary and multicampus university, is it a good solution to think about the development of collections through the creation of a museum? An alternative would be access to the collections in a successive, partial and temporary manner, in other words through choosing Nomadism -- the concept of Nomadism involving small movements that renew the interest of the place. We will study the conditions necessary for attracting diverse audiences, as well as keeping the character of events for these temporary exhibitions in various premises. Thus, we will try to define the concept of academic, as neither virtual nor permanent, but a Nomadic museum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In considering the appropriate use of the terms "science" and "scientific instrument," tracing the history of "mathematical instruments" in the early modern period is offered as an illuminating alternative to the historian's natural instinct to follow the guiding lights of originality and innovation, even if the trail transgresses contemporary boundaries. The mathematical instrument was a well-defined category, shared across the academic, artisanal, and commercial aspects of instrumentation, and its narrative from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century was largely independent from other classes of device, in a period when a "scientific" instrument was unheard of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intriguing development is taking place in several European science museums: the move of university research laboratories into the space accessible to visitors. Seen as a means to encourage the public understanding of research and to render research practice more accessible to visitors, such laboratories-in-the-museum have been set up in museums in Munich, Berlin, Milan and Gothenburg. This paper is concerned with the changes that the laboratory undergoes through this relocation - namely a transformation of its social and material architecture; an extension of its object-world; and a change in, and multiplication of, the roles of researchers. The laboratory-in-the-museum not only represents, displays and explains a particular kind of space - the laboratory - but it is also designed to create space for dialogue and discussion between researchers and visitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate how parents support children's learning at an exhibit on evolution, the conversations of 12 families were recorded, transcribed, and coded (6,263 utterances). Children (mean age 9.6 years) and parents visited Explore Evolution, which conveyed current research about the evolution of seven organisms. Families were engaged with the exhibit, staying an average of 44 minutes. Parents' and children's explanatory, nonexplanatory, and evolutionary conversation was coded. Overall, substantive explanatory conversation occurred in 65% of parent utterances, whereas nonexplanatory conversation occurred in 21% of the utterances. We found substantial use of exhibit text by parents (12.9% of utterances) who read it aloud and reframed the text for their children. Parents also used evolutionary terms and evolutionary concepts (10.2%), showing that such an exhibit is a valuable way to introduce this difficult topic to elementary-school-aged children. Parents' use of explanatory conversation positively related to their children's use of explanatory and evolutionary conversation, indicating that a dialogic interchange was occurring. Parents' attitudes toward the exhibit content, particularly the issue of human evolution, related to the museum experience. Overall, this analysis shows that parents and children are having nuanced discussions and illustrates the potential of informal experiences in supporting children's learning of a complex topic. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 720-744, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate primary students' learning through participation in an out-of-school enrichment programme, held in a science centre, which focused on DNA and genes and whether participation in the programme led to an increased understanding of inheritance as well as promoted interest in the topic. The sample consisted of two groups (245 students in the experimental group and 150 students in the control group) of upper primary students (Grade 5) from six schools in Singapore. Two instruments were developed-a 15-item multiple-choice test to measure learning gains and a 17-item survey form to measure student feedback. Pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests were administered. Results showed statistically significant gains in learning for the experimental group that appeared to be stable as well as high levels of interest stimulated by the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms were first described by van Leeuwenhoek in the 17th century. Later, Pasteur and Koch related them to diseases. Since then, the scientific community has striven to extend awareness of the many functions of microorganisms. Science museums provide an excellent setting in which to disseminate such knowledge, but the presentation of living microorganisms is a challenge. We describe an approach to the exhibition of living microorganisms pursued in a science museum in Barcelona (CosmoCaixa Barcelona). In two exhibits, the museum shows photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and Winogradsky columns, which provide an example of living microbial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciência da Informação is the property of Instituto Brasileiro de Informacao em Ciencia e Tecnologia (IBICT) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research pertaining to science museum exhibit design tends to be articulated at a level of generality that makes it difficult to apply in practice. To address this issue, the present study used a design-based research approach to understand the educational potential of a biology exhibit. The exhibit was considered an educational environment which embodied a certain body of biological knowledge (Biological Organisation) in a certain exhibit type (Museographic Organisation) with the intention of creating certain learning outcomes among visitors. The notion of praxeology was used to model intended and observed visitor outcomes, and the pattern of relationship between the two praxeologies was examined to pinpoint where and how divergences emerged. The implications of these divergences are discussed at the three levels of exhibit enactment, design, and conjecture, and theoretically based suggestions for a design iteration are given. The potential of the design-based research approach for educational exhibit design is argued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]