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Museum Makers: Family Explorations of Data Science through Making and Exhibit design
Author(s) -
Letourneau Susan M.,
Liu ChangChia James,
Donnelly Kaitlin,
Meza Delia,
Uzzo Stephen,
Culp Katherine McMillan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
curator: the museum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2151-6952
pISSN - 0011-3069
DOI - 10.1111/cura.12348
Subject(s) - curriculum , process (computing) , field (mathematics) , interpretation (philosophy) , data collection , computer science , data science , mathematics education , management science , sociology , engineering , psychology , pedagogy , social science , mathematics , pure mathematics , programming language , operating system
Young children are capable of engaging in scientific and mathematical thinking, but often have few opportunities to use math as a tool for understanding the world. This article describes the development and implementation of a museum‐based after‐school workshop that introduced young children and their families to data science, an applied field that involves real‐world observations. Through three iterations of the workshop, the museum developed strategies for engaging families in interest‐driven cycles of data collection, organization, and interpretation. The workshop used design and making to motivate exploration of data and highlight the utility of mathematics for answering questions and guiding decisions. Children (ages 5–8) gathered data about museum exhibits (including size, features, visitors’ preferences, etc.) and applied what they learned to create models of their own exhibit ideas. We discuss the theoretical basis for the program, the process by which it was iteratively developed, and the final structure of the workshop activities and curriculum.