Last summer was so “unreal” it caused me to look at one of the fastest growing trends in public and private education with new eyes. First, my husband and I spent a week at Disney World where unreality has been raised to a science. As if having breakfast with a …
Dr. Howard Gardner has defined possibilities for new relationships between schools and museums which, if taken seriously, could change the nature of both types of institutions and the definition of education as well. His work has important implications for anyone involved as a docent or staff educator. In his text. …
Just as newborns innocently enter this world with the capacity for being totally immersed in sensory experiences, so too, do our museum, zoo, and park visitors. Each of them has the potential for sensory involvement waiting to be engaged and fulfilled. After all, how does a newborn learn about his …
The Favorite Books of Several Well-Known Educators The intent of this issue of The Docent Educator is to examine the field of education and to reflect upon its relevance to teaching within museums, historic sites, zoos, parks, and gardens. A recent survey reported in Teacher Magazine lists the all-time favorite …
On Wednesday, December 8, 1993, docents from five museums came together to examine the question, “Art that offends; does it belong in our museums?” Docents representing the Corcoran Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Gallery of Art, National Museum of American Art, and the Phillips Collection looked to a …
The depiction of a docent as purely a lecturer responsible for educating visitors on museum objects and artifacts may someday become part of museum history. Today, the docent role in many institutions has been expanded to encompass a vast range of functions and services that are an integral part of …
Art teachers and art museums – – this seems like a marriage made in heaven. But the majority of art museum educators in the State of Virginia report that most of their school tours are not led by art teachers, and that art teachers make little use of other museum …
What Makes Visitors Want to Learn? was the intriguing title of the feature article appearing in the May/June 1995 issue of Museum News. The article, authored by Mihaly Csikszentmihályi and Kim Hermanson of the University of Chicago, examines visitors’ intrinsic desire to learn from museum exhibitions. Though clearly written for …