Research on museums & child/family development

Parents' learning about their kids in a children's museum

Significant research has focused on caregiver-child interaction in children's museums, but little is known about what caregivers might be observing or perceiving about their children's learning. This study was conducted by the Children's Museum Research Network. We examined what parents/caregivers observe about their children's learning during a visit to the children's museum. We collected online questionnaires from 223 adults, and conducted follow-up phone interviews with 20 adults, recruited from 8 children's museums across the country. Results were published in the Journal of Museum Education, Vol. 44, Issue 4.

Principal Investigator: Jessica J. Luke, Ph.D.
Research Assistants: Eileen Tomczuk (Museology, Class of 2018), Leonor Colbert (Museology, Class of 2017)
Funder: Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Dates: 2017 - 2018

Play and children's museums

For most American children's museums, play is central to their purpose and often highlighted as an attribute that makes them distinct from other types of museums and informal learning institutions. However, play is also problematic in that it is often ill-defined and ill-understood within society more broadly. This study was conduced by the Children's Museum Research Network, and designed it to better understand how children's museums conceptualize play, and how they position themselves and their work relative to play. We interviewed professionals at 49 children's museums. Results were published in Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 60, No. 2.

Principal Investigator: Jessica J. Luke, Ph.D.
Research Assistants: Leonor Colbert (Museology, Class of 2017), Cat Scharon (Museology, Class of 2016)
Funder: Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Dates: 2016 - 2017

Families and art museums

Many art museums target families by creating "Family Galleries," interactive spaces in the museum explicitly designed to engage families with works of art and launch them into the rest of the museum. We studied these spaces at three art museums - the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; and the Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN - to better understand what parents value about them for their family's art museum experience. We interviewed 2,408 parents/caregivers, and collected online questionnaires from another 1,513. Results were published on our website, Families in Art Museums.

Principal Investigator: Jessica J. Luke, Ph.D.
Research Assistants: Angelina Ong, Claudia Figueredo
Funder: Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Dates: 2007 - 2011

Museums bridging school and parents

Parents have a major influence on children's learning, yet parent involvement remains weak in many communities. In this study, we examined the role that a museum-designed, parent involvement program (Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, PA) played in connecting parents and schools in support of children's learning. Using a grounded theory approach, 20 parents were interviewed approximately 2 years after their participation in the program. Results were published in Visitor Studies, Vol. 15, No. 1

Principal Investigator: Jessica J. Luke, Ph.D.
Research Partner: Dale McCreedy
Funder: National Science Foundation
Dates: 2005 - 2006

Student research on museums & child/family development

Tahlia Segura, Understanding the personal objects that families bring to their art museum visit. MA Museology 2024, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Catherine Garrett, Whistle while you work: The impact of working in a children's museum on teenagers' self-confidence. MA Museology 2022, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Victoria Bonebrake, "This is what white families do on a Sunday:" Investigating the visit motivations of BIPOC families in arts and culture museums. MA Museology 2021, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Shiyu Sun, What asian caregivers observe about their children's learning during a visit to the children's museum. MA Museology 2020, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Emma Cantrell, Teen self-efficacy beliefs and the art museum studio. MA Museology 2018, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Abigail Rhinehart, "Remember when we...:" Personal memory in family visits to history museums. MA Museology 2018, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Melisa McChesney, Youth perspectives on the impact of museum programs on self- efficacy. MA Museology 2017, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Maria Robinson, Don't forget to play: Examining what play looks like in museums for adult visitors. MA Museology 2016, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Catherine Scharon, Long-term impacts of museum school experiences on high school alumi. MA Museology 2016, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).
Julia Miller, Emerging practices: Early learning experiences in art museums. MA Museology 2014, University of Washington (JLuke Chair, Thesis Committee).

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