Exploration, Explanation, and Parent-Child Interaction in Museums
Volume 85, Issue 1, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
By Maureen A. Callanan, Cristine H. Legare, David M. Sobel, Garrett J. Jaeger, Susan Letourneau, Sam R. McHugh, Aiyana Willard et al.
Included in this issue:
Abstract
Young children learn about causality through everyday family conversations and activities. In this multi-site project, Callanan and colleagues investigated children’s developing causal thinking through family interaction at gear exhibits in three US children’s museums. The investigators documented children’s exploring, parents’ explanations, how these behaviors unfolded in time, and how they related to follow-up measures of children’s causal thinking about gears. Children’s systematic exploration predicted their causal thinking. Parents’ causal language, when well-timed with children’s actions, predicted children’s systematic exploring. The coordination between exploration and explanation differed across interaction styles between parents and children, based on who set goals for the play at the exhibit. The authors use an integration of constructivist and sociocultural approaches to development as a framework for interpreting their data, and discuss practices for supporting parent-child interaction in museums.
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About the Authors
Maureen Callanan, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Cruz
Cristine H. Legare, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Austin
David M. Sobel, Ph.D.
Brown University
Garrett J. Jaeger, Ph.D.
LEGO Foundation
Susan Letourneau, Ph.D.
New York Hall of Science
Sam R. McHugh
University of California, Santa Cruz
Aiyana Willard, Ph.D.
Brunel University London
Aurora Brinkman
Washington State University
Zoe Finiasz
Cornell University
Erika Rubio
University of Southern California
Adrienne Barnett
Thinkery
Robin Gose, Ed.D.
MOXI: The Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation
Robin Meisner, Ph.D.
Boston Children’s Museum
Jenni Martin
Children’s Discovery Museum
of San Jose
Janella Watson
Independent Consultant
Commentaries
Deepening the Research-Practice Conversation in Informal Learning Environments by Katie McMillan Culp
Developmental Science Research with Children’s Museums, Not Just at Them by Catherine A. Haden
Videos
Overview: Exploration, Explanation, and Parent-Child Interactions in Museums
David Sobel, Ph.D. (Professor, Brown University) describes how children learn from play with their families, and how museums might scaffold such playful interactions.
Timing is key for parents who want to help children learn
Children’s museums can be a challenging environment for parents who feel the urge to explain the science behind all the novel activities that dazzle youngsters. New research suggests that timing is key to supporting children’s learning in these environments. Created by University of California, Santa Cruz.
Methodological Lesson: Developing Successful Collaborations in Museum-Research Partnerships
How can researchers and museum staff join together for successful collaborations? Maureen Callanan (Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz) and Jenni Martin (Director of Strategic Initiatives, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose) discuss the benefits of partnerships, the ways they’ve encountered and persevered through obstacles, and the keys to successful researcher-museum partnerships.
