Museums are important institutions for informal leanring. Some are more object-focused, some are more interactive. Some focus on particular audiences (e.g., children's museums), some focus on disciplines (e.g., art or science museums), some focus on living collections (e.g., zoos and botanical gardens), some focus on places (e.g., historical houses or nature centers), some focus on events, enterprises, or communities (e.g., halls of fame, industrial museums, etc.)

P U B L I C A T I O N S

Knutson, K., Crowley, K., Gupta, P., Perez, A., Chaffee, R., & Martinez, N. (in press). Talking to Strangers About Science: Youth facilitators and family learning at the natural history museum. Curator.

Steiner, M.A., Knutson, K., & Crowley, K. (2024). Time to talk: Facilitating climate change conversations in rural Pennsylvania. Connected Science Learning,  6 (6), 260-268.

Gupta, P., Perez, A., Martinez, N., Knutson, K., Crowley, K., & Chaffee, R. (2024). From “let me show you something cool” to “what do you notice?”: Preparing college interns for floor facilitation in a Natural History Museum. Journal of Museum Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2024.2403198

Steiner, M.A., Knutson, K., Crowley, K., Heller, N., McGill, B., Giarratani, Russell, J., & Nelson, T. (2023). Taking time to listen and learn: A museum partnership designed to engage rural audiences in climate change conversations, Museums & Social Issues, https://doi.org/10.1080/15596893.2023.2263528

 Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2022). Museums and community-based organizations partnering to support family learning and literacy. Afterschool Matters, 35, 17-28.

Yannier, N., Crowley, K., Do, Youghwook, Hudson, S.E., & Koedinger, K.R. (2022) Intelligent Science Exhibits: Transforming Hands-on Exhibits into Mixed-Reality Learning Experiences. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 31(3), 335-368.

Pierroux, P., Knutson, K., & Crowley, K. (2021). Informal Learning in Museums. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Handbook of the Learning Sciences, 3rd Edition. Cambridge.

Hecht, M., Knutson, K., Crowley, K., Lyon, M., McShea, P., and Giarrantani, L. (2020). “How could dinosaurs be so close to the future?”: How natural history museum educators tackle deep time. Curator, 63(1), 39-54.

Knutson, K and Crowley, C. (2020). Engaging older adults in climate science education: Making the case for relevant, neighborhood-focused interventions. In P. Hetland, P. Pierroux, and L. Esborg (Eds), A History of Participation in Museums and Archives. Traversing Citizen Science and Citizen Humanities. Routledge.

Steiner, M.A.*, Lyon, M., & Crowley, K. (2020). Museums that connect science and citizen: Using boundary objects and networks to encourage dialogue and collective response to wicked, socio-scientific problems. In P. Hetland, P. Pierroux, and L. Esborg (Eds), A History of Participation in Museums and Archives. Traversing Citizen Science and Citizen Humanities. Routledge.

Knutson, K. (2019). Science and natural history museums and the challenges of communicating climate change. In Drotner, K., Dziekan, V., Perry, D., & Schroeder, K., (Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Museums, Media and Communication. Routledge.

Knutson, K. (2018). Science and natural history museums and the challenges of communicating climate change. In Schroeder, K., Drotner, K., Perry, D. (Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Museum Media and Communication.

Eberbach, C. & Crowley, K. (2017) From Seeing to Observing: How Parents and Children Learn to See Science in a Botanical Garden, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 26:4, 608-642.

Allen, L.B. & Crowley, K. (2017). From acquisition to inquiry: Supporting informal educators through iterative implementation of practice. In P. Patrick (Ed), Preparing Informal Educators: Perspectives from Science Communication and Education. New York: Springer.

Knutson, K, Lyon, M., Crowley, K., & Giarratani, L. (2016). Flexible interventions to increase family engagement at Natural History museum dioramas. Curator: The Museum Journal. 59 (4), 339-352.

Brahms, L. & Crowley, K. (2016). Making in the Museum: Launching a learning trajectory in an informal setting. In K. Pepler, E. Halverson, & Y. Kafai (Eds). Makeology in K-12, Higher, and Informal Education: The Maker Movement and the Future of Learning. Routledge.

Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2016). Learning in art museums: Creating and responding to art. In K. Nakakoji, H. Shindo, Y. Yamamoto, & T. Okada (Eds.), Museums that inspire: In search of new possibilities for public cultural spaces. Kyoto: Airi Shuppan. [in Japanese

Tison Povis, K. & Crowley, K. (2015). Family learning in object-based museums: The role of joint attention.Visitor Studies, 18 (2), 168-182.         

Crowley, K., Pierroux, P., & Knutson, K. (2014). The museum as learning environment. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Handbook of the Learning Sciences, 2nd Edition.

Allen, L. B. & Crowley, K. (2014). How museum educators change: Changing notions of learning through changing practice. Science Education, 98 (1), 84-105.

Louw, M. & Crowley, K. (2013). New ways of looking and learning in natural history museums: The use of gigapixel imagingto bring science and publics together. Curator: The Museum Journal, 52(1): 87-104.

Knutson, K., Crowley, K., Russell, J., & Steiner, M.A. (2011). Approaching art education as an ecology: Exploring the role of museums. Studies in Art Education, 52 (4), 310-322.

Kim, K.Y. & Crowley, K. (2010). Negotiating the goal of museum inquiry: How families engineer and experiment. M.K. Stein & L. Kucan (Eds). Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines. New York: Springer.

Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2010). Connecting with Art: How families talk about art in a museum setting. M.K. Stein & L. Kucan (Eds). Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines. New York: Springer.

Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2006). Bridging the gap between museums and visitors: A response to Meszaros's 'The evil “Whatever” interpretation.' Visitor Studies, 9(3), 16-17.      

Sanford, C., Knutson, K., & Crowley, K. (2007). We Always Spend Time Together on Sundays: Grandparents and Informal Learning. Visitor Studies, 10(2), 136-151.

Palmquist, S.D. & Crowley, K. (2007). From teachers to testers: Parents' role in child expertise development in informal settings. Science Education, 91(5), 712-732.

Palmquist, S. D. & Crowley, K. (2007). Studying dinosaur learning on an island of expertise. In R. Goldman, R. Pea, B. Barron, & S. Derry (Eds.), Video Research in the Learning Sciences (pp. 271-286). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Leinhardt, G. & Knutson, K. (2006). Grandparents speak: Museum conversations across the generations. Curator, 49 (2), 235-252.

Eberbach, C.E. & Crowley, K, (2005). From living to virtual: Learning from museum objects. Curator, 48 (3), 317-338.

Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2005). Museum as learning laboratory: Developing and using a practical theory of informal learning. Hand to Hand, the publication of the Association of Children's Museums, 18(4), 4-5.

Crowley, K. & Knutson, K (2005). Museum as learning laboratory: Bringing research and practice together. Hand to Hand, the publication of the Association of Children's Museums, 19(1), 3-6.

Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2004). Review of Behind the Scenes at the Science Museum. Science Education, 88 (2), 297-300.

Leinhardt, G. & Knutson, K. (2004). Listening in on museum conversations. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.

Swartz, M. I. & Crowley, K, (2004). Parent beliefs about teaching in a children's museum. Visitor Studies, 7(2), 1-16.

Leinhardt, G., Crowley, K., & Knutson, K. (Eds.) (2002). Learning conversations in museums. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Leinhardt, G. & Crowley, K. (2002). Objects of learning, objects of talk: Changing minds in museums. In S. Paris (Ed.) Multiple Perspectives on Children's Object-Centered Learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Crowley, K., Callanan, M.A., Tenenbaum, H.R., & Allen, E. (2001). Parents explain more often to boys than to girls during shared scientific thinking. Psychological Science, 12 (3), 258-261.

Crowley, K., Callanan, M.A., Jipson, J., Galco, J., Topping, K., & Shrager, J. (2001). Shared scientific thinking in everyday parent-child activity. Science Education, 85 (6), 712-732.

Crowley, K. & Galco, J (2001). Everyday activity and the development of scientific thinking. In K. Crowley, C. D. Schunn, & T. Okada (Eds.), Designing for science: Implications from everyday, classroom, and professional settings (pp. 393-413). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Crowley, K. (2000). Parent explanations during museum visits: Gender differences in how children hear informal science. Visitor Studies, 3 (3), 21-28.

Crowley, K. & Callanan, M.A. (1998). Identifying and supporting shared scientific reasoning in parent-child interactions. Journal of Museum Education, 23, 12-17.

Funding provided by: National Science Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Grable Foundation, Heinz Endowments, et al.