Objects’ Characteristics and Arrangements in a History Museum: Relations to Student Learning and Experiences

Few investigations of museums have examined the potential of varying displays as related to learning outcomes. This study focused on two museum spaces, presenting different historical events and featuring different objects’ characteristics and arrangements, as related to seventh- and eighth-graders’ learning and experiences during a self-guided visit. Students responses to pre- and post-visit questionnaires were analyzed qualitatively and via some statistical measures. Three major factors emerged related to students performance: (a) the relevancy of the represented topic to students’ personal world, (b) the use of large and dominant objects as centerpieces that form a framework for processing the assembled information, and (c) the split-attention effect. Implications are discussed for objects’ characteristics and arrangements in the museum space that promote learning.