Shawn Rowe

Informal science settings, such as zoos, aquariums, and science centers, naturally spark emotions ranging from curiosity and excitement to frustration. Yet, studying emotional experiences in informal science learning (ISL) environments has been difficult, largely due to the challenges of measuring emotions in real time. Traditional methods, including self-reports, physiological measures, and observational approaches, offer useful insights but also come with their own limitations. To address these, the aim of this study was to develop an observational tool to systematically document observable emotional expressions during ISL visit - the EMOTool (Emotions Observational Tool), specifically designed for researchers conducting observational studies in ISL environments. The EMOTool utilizes observational data from eight studies in ISL settings to develop a comprehensive taxonomy of emotions observed in these contexts, incorporating refined definitions that include observable behaviors and discursive markers, along with an adapted version of the Affect Grid for accurate emotion coding. The EMOTool provides ISL researchers with a practical tool for emotion research and analysis, improving clarity and precision in identifying and distinguishing emotions within observational data. We expect that the EMOTool will enhance research in ISL contexts, providing the means to identify emotions in real-time and serving as a crucial step towards deeper understanding of the role of the emotional experiences.

Educating the public and other stakeholders about natural hazards and prompting them to take action can be challenging. In an effort to address coastal natural hazards and foster community resilience, Oregon Sea Grant has developed strategies and tools for a variety of audiences that address these scary issues in engaging and innovative ways. This article highlights a few of the programs and tools that Oregon Sea Grant has developed and challenges readers to join the effort to increase resilience throughout the nation.

Emotion and affect are important but undertheorized and under researched elements of learning in informal contexts such as science centers, museums, zoos, and aquariums. An interactional and discursive approach to emotions as mediated action was used to develop a three-part framework for documenting and exploring the place of emotional expression among family groups (n = 10 groups; 33 individuals) visiting an ocean exhibit in an interactive science museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Among our results, we observed that the most commonly expressed emotion was surprise, excitement, amusement and curiosity; the most frequently occurring categories of emotional expression among the families in interaction were those associated with being actively engaged in positive emotional interaction. Transcripts of interaction are presented to illustrate the framework and examined in light of emotional expression as a mediator of 1) active, collaborative, meaning making; 2) learner agency and protagonism; and 3) empathy. Results from the entire data set are interpreted using the Core Affect Model of Engagement. We present examples of and discuss how and why a mediated action approach to emotion as a social, distributed, interactional and discursive phenomena may be helpful both for advancing the study of emotion as an aspect of informal learning and exhibit design.

The social interactions that take place in science museums, whether between family members or with mediators, are recognized as essential to visitors’ experience. However, there is still little empirical research in the Brazilian context on how families interact and converse on visits to science museums – and even less on the role of the mediator in the museum experience. In this exploratory study, the authors analyze the social interactions of families in an interactive exhibition on biodiversity: “Forest of the Senses”, at the Museum Science and Life (Brazil), characterized by having one of the lowest human well-being indicators in the country. In particular, the authors analyzed the ways in which the presence of human mediation influenced the experience of family visits to the exhibit. Video and audio of ten low-income families' visits were recorded and analyzed using a protocol based on social interactions that take place in museums. Results show that human mediation did not influence the amount or types of visitor-exhibit interactions or the amount of time spent at the exhibit, but increased the amount of conversation time among the groups, including the amount of time discussing science content, thus providing insights into mediator training and qualification.

This paper discusses elementary, and secondary (K-12) teachers’ perceptions of cross-reality (XR) tools for data visualization and use of sensor data from the built environment in classroom curricula. Our objective was to explore the use of sensor-informed XR in the built environment and civil engineering (BECE) field to support K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiential learning and foster BECE-related career awareness. We conducted surveys and informal questionnaires with 33 primary and secondary teachers attending an annual two-day university-based teacher professional development workshop as part of a statewide STEM afterschool program serving students in rural communities. We assessed teachers’ familiarity with, knowledge about, and appraisal of using cross-reality platforms and sensor data in classrooms and after school curricula. Findings show that, while all teachers reported relatively high interest in learning about sensor applications and innovative interactive techniques, middle school teachers in particular were most likely to see value in using these applications for teaching and learning. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed.

This qualitative and exploratory study aimed to understand the experience of adolescents during visits outside the school context in science museums and centres, and how the free-choice learning processes are constructed in this context. We analyzed the visits of four adolescents groups, from public schools, to Maloka (Bogotá, Colombia), and observed the relations of the visitors with their peers, with the exhibits, and with the explainers. For this objective, we examine video and audio recordings in terms of types of interaction and conversational content, seeking to answer: Is the explainer a necessary component of a visit to promote sustained cognitive engagement, or do non-guided activities also create enough interest to promote and sustain cognitive engagement? Active meaning-making was observed during the interactions with exhibits and explainers. In the latter case, the presence of the explainer appears to lead to refinement and complexification were in the sense making and activity of adolescents. In accordance with their sustained engagements and motivations, they mobilized knowledge and previous experiences in the relation with exhibits, in an engaged and autonomous manner, creating learning opportunities based on free-choice, which was reflected in their discussions about scientific themes or in the manual, mental and cultural interactions.

RESUMO: Neste estudo exploratório, de caráter qualitativo, objetivamos compreender a experiência de adolescentes em museus de ciência em visita fora do contexto escolar. Em particular, apresentamos a análise da visita de cinco grupos, entre 14 e 17 anos, de escolas públicas, à exposição “Passado e Presente - ciência, saúde e vida pública”, localizada no Castelo Mourisco do Museu da Vida, da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, no Rio de Janeiro. Os resultados indicam que, durante as visitas, esse público interagiu intensamente nas relações entre três elementos fundamentais no modelo teórico adotado: os módulos expositivos, os próprios visitantes e os mediadores. Esse dado, associado à análise de trechos específicos das visitas, sugere que, quando os adolescentes vão ao museu, eles podem vivenciar diversas experiências que permitem tornar esse espaço de aprendizagem não formal interessante, excitante e motivador, e, consequentemente, oferecer oportunidades de aprendizagem por livre escolha e de discussão sobre a ciência e temáticas que a tangenciam.