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Reading Lists

• List 1: Basic Family Learning Information
• List 2: Exhibits, Labels, and Family Learning

Basic family learning information reading list

We've used many of these articles and books to provide us with a basic understanding of family learning. Many of the studies and research projects take place in science or children's museums but our Team feels the basic family learning information is transferable to other types of museums.

• Beach, Barbara Kres and Nina Freelander Gibans. "Family Affair." Museum News, 71 (January/February 1992): 57-59.
  
  
• Blud, L. (1990). "Social Interaction and Learning Among Family Groups Visiting a Museum" Museum Management and Curatorship, 9, 43-51.
  
  
• Blud, L. (1990). "Sons and Daughters: Observations of the Way Families Interact During a Museum Visit." Museum Management and Curatorship, 9, 257-264.
  
  
• Borun, M. (2002). "Object-Based Learning and Family Groups" In S. Paris (Ed.), Perspectives on Object-Centered Learning in Museums (245-260). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  
  
• Borun, M., M. Chambers, and A. Cleghorn. 1996. "Families are Learning in Science Museums." Curator, 39 (2): 124-138.
  
  
• Borun, M., Cleghorn, A, & Garfield, C. (1995). "Family Learning in Museums: A Bibliographic Review" Curator, 38 (4), 262-270.
  
  
• Borun, M., J. Dritsas, J. I. Johnson, N. Peter, K. Wagner, K. Fadigan, A. Jangaard, E. Stroup, and A. Wenger. Family Learning in Museums: The PISEC Perspective. (Philadelphia: The Franklin Instittute, 1998).
  
  
• Butler, B., & Sussman, M. (1989). "Introduction: The Family-Museum Connection" In B. Butler & M. Sussman (Eds.), Museum Visits and Activities for Family Life Enrichment. 1- 6, New York: The Haworth Press.
  
  
• Dierking, L. (1987). "Parent-Child Interactions in a Free Choice Learning Setting: An Examination of Attention-directing behaviors." Dissertation Abstracts International, 49-14A. (University Microfilms No. 8809628).
  
  
• Dierking, L. (1989). "The Family Museum Experience: Implications for Research." Journal of Museum Education, 14 (2), 9-11.
  
  
• Dierking, L. (1989). "What Research Says to Museum Educators about the Family Museum Experience." The Journal of Museum Education. Spring/Summer.
  
  
• Dierking, L., & Falk, J. (1994). "Family Behavior and Learning in Informal Science Settings: A Review of the Research." Science Education, 78 (1), 57-72.
  
  
• Ellenbogen, K. (2002). "Museums in Family Life: An Ethnographic Case Study." In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley and K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning Conversations in Museums (81-101). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  
  
• Falk, J. (1991). "Analysis of the Behaviour of Family Visitors in History Museums: The National Museum of Natural History." Curator, 34 (1), 44-50.
  
  
• Gordon, M. "Shared Family Learning in Museums." The Museologist, 50 (Winter 1987): 11-13.
  
  
• Hilke, D. (1987). "Museums are Resources for Family Learning: Turning the Question Around." The Museologist, 50 (175), 14-15.
  
  
• Hilke, D. 1988. "Strategies for Family Learning in Museums." Visitor Studies 1988: Theory, Research and Practice, vol. 1, edited by S. Bitgood, J. Roper, and A. Benefield, 120-134. Jacksonville, AL: Center for Social Design.
  
  
• Hilke, D., & Balling, J. (1985). The Family as a Learning System: An Observational Study of Families in Museums. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  
  
• Kropf, M. (1989). "The Family Museum Experience: A Review of the Literature." Journal of Museum Education, 14 (2) 5-8.
  
  
• Kropf, Marcia B. "How Families Learn: Considerations for Program Development." Museum Visits and Activities. Eds. Barbara H. Butler and Marvin B. Sussman. New York: Haworth Press, Inc., 1989.
  
  
• LaVilla-Havelin. "Family Learning in Museums." Museum Visits and Activities. Eds. Barbara H. Butler and Marvin B. Sussman. New York: Haworth Press, Inc., 1989.
  
  
• Leichter, H. and Hensel, K. "Families and Museums: Issues and Perspectives." Museum Visits and Activities. Eds. Barbara H. Butler and Marvin B. Sussman. New York: Haworth Press, Inc., 1989.
  
  
• McManus, P. (1994). "Families in Museums" In R. Miles & L. Zavala (Eds.), Towards the Museum of the Future: New European Perspectives, 81-97. London, New York: Routledge .
  
  
• Morgan., Monica J. et al. "Integrating the Family." Museum News, 56, no. 5 (May/June 1978): 29-31.
  
  
• Prabhu, V. et al. Resource Directory of Family Programs in Museums. Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 1982.S
  
  
• Robinson, J. and Patricia Quinn. Playspace: Creating Family Spaces in Public Places. Boston: Boston Children's Museum, 1984.
  
  
• Rosenthal, E. & Blankman-Hetrick, J., (2002). "Conversations Across Time: Family Learning in a Living History Museum" in Learning in Museums (305-309), Leinhardt et al, (2001) Lawrence Earlbaum and Associates.
  
  
• Stanton, S. (1999). "Museums, Families and Cultural Models" Visitor Studies Today, 2 (3), 6-9.
  
  
• White, Judith, and Sharon Barry. Families, Frogs, and Fun. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1984.
  
  
• Wolins, I. (1989). "A Case for Family Programs in Museums." In B. Butler & M. Sussman (Eds.), Museum Visits and Activiites For Family Life Enrichment, 7-14. New York: The Haworth Press.
  
  
• Wolins, I., "Educating Family Audiences."The Journal of Museum Education: Roundtable Reports, 7(1), (1981): 2.
  
  
• Wood, Richard. "Museum Learning: A Family Focus." Journal of Education in Museums (1990): 20-23, 4p.

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Exhibits, Labels, and Family Learning Reading List

The following books and articles have been chosen as they were helpful to us in our project on learning more about designing family friendly exhibits.

• Adams, Marianna, Jessica Luke, and Theano Moussouri. "Interactivity: Moving Beyond Terminology," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 47 No. 2, (2004): 155-170.
  
  
• Allen, Sue and Joshua Gutwill. "Designing with Interactives: Five Common Pitfalls," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2, (April 2004): 199-212.
  
  
• Ash, Doris. "How Families Use Questions at Dioramas: Ideas for Exhibit Design," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, (2004): 84-100.
  
  
• Borun, Minda and Jennifer Dritsas. "Developing Family-Friendly Exhibits," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 40, No.3 (1997): 178-196.
  
  
• Borun, Minda, Margaret Chambers, Jennifer Dritsas, and Julie Johnson. "Enhancing Family Learning Through Exhibits," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 40, No.4 (1997): 279-295.
  
  
• Borun, Minda, et al. Family Learning in Museums: the PISEC Perspective. The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, 1998.
  
  
• Dierking, Lynne, Dale McCrady, Diane Frankel, and Leslie Adelman. "Facilitating and Documenting Family Learning in the 21 st Century," Current Trends in Audience Research and Evaluation, Vol. 15, (May 2002): 62.
  
  
• Jones, Mika Cohen, Lynn D. Dierking, John H. Falk, Leonie Rennie, and Carol Scott. "Interactives and Visitor Learning," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2., (April 2004): 171-198.
  
  
• Kelly, Lynda, Gillian Savage, Janette Griffin, and Susan Tonkin. Knowledge Quest: Australian Families Visit Museums. Sydney and Canberra, Australia: Australian Museum and National Museum of Australia, 2002, Chapter 5 and Appendix 1.
  
  
• McManus, Paulette. "Families in Museums," in Roger Miles and Lauro Zavala (Eds.)., Towards the Museum of the Future: New European Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, 1994, 81-97.
  
  
• Moussouri, Theano. "Family Agendas and Family Learning in Hands-On Museums." Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Leicester, UK, 1997. (Can be obtained through inter-library loan with the University of Leicester Library, Leicester, UK).
  
  
• Pinus, Diana Alderoqui. "Look Again!: Planning an Exhibition with Social Interaction in Mind," The Journal of Museum Education, Vol. 25. Nos. 1-2. (Spring 2000).
  
  
• Rheame Paul H. "A Hands-on Approach for Don't Touch Exhibits," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1988): 96.
  
  
• Screven, Chandler G. "Visitor-Based Exhibit Planning: A Question of Survival," in C.
  
  
• Scott (Ed.) Evaluation and Visitor Research in Museums: Towards 2000. Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing, 1995, 81-82.
  
  
• Serrell, Beverly. Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, Sage Publications, 1996, Chapters 4, 10,12,15.
  
  
• Serrell, Beverly. "Paying Attention: The Duration and Allocation of Visitors' Time in Museum Exhibitions," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 (1997): 108-125.
  
  
• Spock, Dan. "Is it Interactive Yet?" Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2004): 369-374.
  
  
• Van Balgooy, Max A. "Hands-on or Hands-off? The Management of Collections and Museum Education," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, (1990): 125.
  
  
• West, Robert. "The Economics of Interactivity," Curator: The Museum Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2, (April 2004): 213-223.
  
  
• Wood, R. "Families," in Gail Durbin (Ed.) Developing Museum Exhibitions for Life Long Learning. London: Museum and Galleries Commission, 1996, 77-82.

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