Museums as Sites of Adult Learning

Abstract

As museums increasingly define themselves as sites for adult learning, an understanding of and commitment to what motivates adults to visit and learn are critical. Those within the fields of adult education and museum studies examine the range of learning processes for adult visitors and develop alternative approaches to the relationship between the public and museum exhibitions. Adult learning has the potential to transform museum experiences into meaningful learning opportunities that occur in relation to sociocultural surroundings and stimulate the visitors' curiosity and active and reflexive learning through nonformal education, free-choice learning, and access to museum resources.