Hands-On Learning in Focus: Understanding Environmental Programming for Teenagers in Museums

Abstract

Despite museums playing a critical role in environmental education, there remains a lack of prolonged, meaningful, environmental programming for teens across North America. This gap raises the question of how the handful of institutions running these programs are managing. This case study was carried out to understand how museums engage teenagers in prolonged, meaningful, environmental programming using hands-on learning practices. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 3 staff members from different museums across North America. The results suggest that A) Museums leverage their space, technology and collections as integral components of their programming; B) Effective engagement includes interactions between teens, their peers, and their communities; C) Recruiting participants is a significant hurdle in program implementation. This research solely explores programming from adult perspectives and can be strengthened by including the viewpoints of teenagers, and by conducting extended studies to investigate the long-term effects of participation.