A Student’s-Eye View: What 4th Grade Students Describing Their Visit to a Science Museum Recall as Significant

This mixed-method research focuses on how school children visiting a science museum with their class perceive the overall experience of their visit to the science museum and which aspects of the science museum experience they recall as significant. The study participants were seventy two 4th grade students (age 9–10) who came to the museum with their class for a day visit. Our research revealed that the students perceive two different types of activities in the visit, according to the level of choice given to them, and that their experiences in these activities are described differently. The physical interaction during the visit is dominant, and students report at length what they have learned about how to operate the exhibits in the museum. Additionally, the students see the facilitators as traditional knowledge transmitters, repeating their explanations and referring to their contents as something they have learned. Our findings expand what is known about student visitors’ experiences and can therefore help make the museum experience more meaningful for school students.