Links
Links to Other Organizations of Interest
American Association of Museums
Association of Canadian Museums
Association of Children’s Museums
Association of Science and Technology Centers
Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
Museums Association of New York
Museum Education Roundtable
National Art Education Association
National Association for Interpretation
Visitor Studies Association
Links to Research About Museums and Learning
Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein Release First Annual 'Arts in Schools' Report, a School-by-School Analysis of Arts Instruction in New York City
No Child Left Behind and Field Trips
Interesting radio segment and transcript about the impact of No Child Left Behind on museum trips and museum education.
The Arts Education Partnership is an alliance of individuals and organizations interested in emphasizing the value of education in the arts for children’s learning and development, as well as the overall improvement of our nation’s schools. Many AEP publications are available for download as pdfs, as are reports addressing topics in arts assessment, child development, and models for partnership. Also included is a State Arts Education Policy Database of information on topics ranging from state standards to teacher licensure requirements.
From Content to Play: Family-Oriented Interactive Spaces in Art and History Museums
This was a symposium held in 2005 inspired by the renovation of the Getty Museum's own interactive space for family audiences. Museums often approach such spaces with diverse goals, objectives, methods, and processes; and meet with varied outcomes and measures of success. The presentations have been posted to the site.
Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts
This link allows visitors to download, in full, the recently-published report by the RAND Corporation, funded by The Wallace Foundation, describing the value of education in and exposure to the arts in terms of individual growth as well as the impact on broader societal social and economic benefits.
Features research on informal learning environments, including museums. It is administered by the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE). A major focus of this website, in addition to links to research on informal learning, is a database of assessment and evaluation methods. Also provided is a discussion board and current events section.
Site run by the LEGO Company, administered by their Playful Learning Panel, an advisory board of researchers in aspects of child development, play and learning. Includes a list of papers on education and learning, and presentations available for download.
A critical resource on the most current international research on learning in museums and other informal learning environments. This bi-monthly newsletter, available by subscription, includes abstracts of ongoing and recently-published studies, as well as contact information for individual researchers.
A searchable annotated bibliography and literature review (current up to 2003) is a highlight of this site, as is a list of Master’s Theses and Doctoral Dissertations, some with direct links to extended annotations.
Princeton University Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies
Provides information about national cultural organizations and resources on current topics in arts and cultural policy. The Cultural Policy and the Arts National Data Archive (CPANDA) is an online archive of data and statistics relevant to the arts gathered by governmental, non-profit, and independent sources. Information has been compiled on artists, arts and cultural organizations, audiences, and funding, making it an excellent tool for advocacy. It is searchable and browsable by data type, location, and topic, and even includes resources on how to interpret and use statistical data.