The proposition is argued that the primal contribution of adult education in a democracy, before all other purposes it serves, is civic education. A corollary position is that reluctance to facilitate citizen understanding of civic problems and skillful participation in solutions leaves adult education agencies on the sidelines in this most important sphere of adult life and furthers the current American retreat to privatism. Conditions affecting the substance of adult civic education are described. The possibilities for advocacy on the part of adult educators are also discussed.
Educating museum visitors is nearly universally accepted as a central responsibility of museum people. The museum can be likened to a permanent storage battery of intellectual stimulation, a primary source of wonder and delight. A museum's atmosphere is casual, the pace and order are not forced. The visitor is free t o linger and backtrack. Museums have a tactile, kinetic, three-dimensional quality, involving more than one sense. It is rewarding to become involved with the exhibits through touching and feeling. It is nice to be able to exchange remarks about the exhibits with friends and even with strangers. The visitor is free from pedagogical bureaucracy, jargon, and doctrine. In addition, the museum's exhibits and resource materials provide opportunities for selective and uninhibited study.Most museums, however, give relatively little attention to systematic assessment of what they contribute to the education of the casual, unguided visitor whose purpose is, at least in part, recreational. Curators cannot help but wonder about the impact of their work. Does the visiting public, for instance, perceive the relationships that govern the selection and placement of objects for exhibit? Are visitors attentive to aesthetic factors in the objects and structure of exhibits such as color, form, and style? Do they formulate questions about exhibits t o themselves or each other? Do they understand trends and developments in American history and culture? Do they judge or compare exhibits according to some personal criterion? Most importantly, do they leave the museum inspired to follow up their learning with further investigation or subsequent visits?
CURATOR
PURPOSE OF THE STUDYThe purpose of this study was to assess to what extent visiting the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus is a learning experience and to obtain evidence of such learning. Several questions were to be asked about adult museum visitors:
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