It consists of the special appliances and methods which the race has slowly worked out in order to conduct reflection under conditions whereby its procedures and results are tested. Although written over 80 years ago, this quote from John Dewey raises significant issues about how we understand and teach science today. From a sociocultural perspective, science is a cultural achievement with particular ways of selecting and weighing evidence, using language, and making sense of natural phenomena. Our concerns, therefore, are with younger children and with science learning outside of school. We propose to record and analyze conversations between parents and young children visiting a natural history museum.
Museums are ideal settings to study children s socialization into science.
Information in museums is carefully presented in ways that both respect scientific rigor and engage visitors curiosity and interest. Few studies have directly examined learning processes in museums. Exit interviews have shown that visitors do learn from science exhibits, although Lucas et al. We will collect additional information to understand variations in the character of science talk across families. Each family group will consist of at least one child in the age range and one parent, although other children and adults also may be present.