Synopses & Reviews
The first book to take a "visitor's eye view" of the museum visit when it was first published in 1992, The Museum Experience revolutionized the way museum professionals understand their constituents. Falk and Dierking have updated this essential reference, incorporating advances in research, theory, and practice in the museum field over the last twenty years. Written in clear, non-technical style, The Museum Experience Revisited paints a thorough picture of why people go to museums, what they do there, how they learn, and what museum practitioners can do to enhance these experiences.
Synopsis
The first book to take a "visitor's eye view" of the museum visit, updated to incorporate advances in research, theory, and practice in the museum field over the last twenty years.
About the Author
John H. Falk is a leading figure in free-choice learning, museum research, and science education in the United States. Currently, he holds the position Sea Grant Professor of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University. He is founder and Director Emeritus of the well-known museum research firm, Institute for Learning Innovation, in Annapolis, Maryland and has worked at a variety of other key positions in the museum world, including 14 years at the Smithsonian Institution. Falk earned a joint doctorate in Biology and Education from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of over one hundred scholarly articles and chapters in the areas of biology, psychology and education, co-author with Lynn Dierking of The Museum Experience, Learning from Museums: Visitor experiences and the making of meaning, and Lessons without Limit: How free-choice learning is transforming education, with Beverly Sheppard of Thriving in the Knowledge
Table of Contents
Foreword (1st Edition)Foreword (2nd Edition)PrefaceIntroduction: The Contextual Model of LearningI. Before the Visit 2. The Personal Context: Identity-Related Motivations3. The Sociocultural Context: Museums within Society 4. The Personal Context: Prior Experience, Interest and KnowledgeII. During the Visit5. The Physical Context: Exhibitions6. The Physical Context: More than Exhibitions7. The Sociocultural Context: In the Museum8. The Interplay of Contexts: The Museum as GestaltIII. After the Visit 9. The Museum Experience Remembered10. Measuring the Learning Impact of MuseumsIV. Beyond the Visit 11. The 21st Century MuseumAppendixReferences