Museum Experience

John H. Falk, known for his work on learning in museums and formerly Director of the Smithsonian Office of Educational Research, has also served on the educational staffs of the Berkeley Botanical Garden and the Lawrence Hail of Science, Berkeley, and directed education at the Smithsonian’s Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies. He is President of SLi, a non-profit educational research and museum evaluation company in Annapolis, Maryland., Lynn D. Dierking, known for her work on families and learning, is Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Maryland and an adjunct lecturer in the Museum Education Program at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She has served on the educational staff of the Museum of Science, Miami, and the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, and has directed the Science in American Life Curriculum Project at the National Museum of American History.

"...The Museum Experience is one of the most stimulating and readable books I have ever encountered. ... I have been amazed by the lack of clearly presented analyses to help educators be more effective. This book goes far to fill that void. America's museums have contributed much to public learning. They can and must contribute much more. The Museum Experience is an invaluable means to that end. This compact volume is a lucid and germane enumeration of the basic issues of visitor learning. It will have resonance for every museum professional - because every museum professional is vitally concerned with the museum's central role as a center of public learning."...-From the foreword by Willard L. Boyd, President Emeritus, Field Museum of Natural History"...I was amazed at how well [The Museum Experience] held up over 20 years and how many insights I relearned. ... I think it's still an essential text for the field and one that many people could learn a lot from in present form in 2011."...- Nina Simon, Museum 2.0"...I love this book! I still think it is one of the most 'read-able' and applicable books in our field. It is perfect for students or professionals, particularly those who are new to the visitor perspective."... -Kris Morrissey, Director, Museology Graduate Program, University of Washington"...Rereading this book really brought home to me what a classic it is. The core sense of it is still completely relevant; it still holds up completely as one of the three or four essential primers for museum professionals. Another part of the beauty of the book is its brevity and, hence, its clarity."...-Daniel Spock, Minnesota Historical Society

• Introduction: The Interactive Experience Model; Before the Visit; Chapter 1 The Museum as a Leisure-Time Experience; Chapter 2 The Personal Context Visitor Agendas; During the Visit; Chapter 3 The Social Context: Groups in the Museum; Chapter 4 The Physical Context Visitor Pathways; Chapter 5 The Physical Context: Exhibits and Labels; Chapter 6 The Interplay of Contexts: The Museum as Gestalt; The Museum Visit Remembered; Chapter 7 Museum Learning Defined; Chapter 8 Understanding the Museum Experience; A Professional’s Guide to the Museum Experience; Chapter 9 Creating the Museum Experience; Chapter 10 Creating Museum Experiences for Casual Visitors; Chapter 11 Creating Museum Experiences for Organized Groups;