What Makes Learning Fun?

Principles for the Design of Intrinsically Motivating Museum Exhibits

By (author) Deborah L. Perry

Paperback - £38.00

Publication date:

04 May 2012

Length of book:

256 pages

Publisher

AltaMira Press

ISBN-13: 9780759108851

Although much has been written in recent years on what museum visitors actually experience, there is little research-backed guidance available for developing meaningful exhibits and programs for specific educational purposes. Deborah Perry looks at what we know about the experiences of people in museums and other informal learning settings, and then shares a set of tested principles and strategies—known as the Selinda Model—for the design of effective museum exhibits. Along the way, she showcases examples of both effective and ineffective exhibit designs drawn from two decades of work in the field.
Deborah L. Perry has taken a fresh look at an old question—how visitors learn in museums—and given us a set of very practical strategies and tools for designing exhibits. This is no ordinary how-to guide, however. One of the great strengths of the book is that it is grounded in a whole history of solid research. Making learning fun is serious business, but Perry manages to practice what she preaches, giving us a book that is engaging, easy to use, and eminently applicable to museum work today.