Improving Museum Field Trips’ Contributions to Experiential Education for STEM Disciplines: Why Should Ag Educators Care?

Core competencies taught in secondary science and mathematics are related to college preparation and personal and professional success, especially in disciplines categorized as STEM fields, including agricultural sciences. Success in STEM fields begins in elementary and middle school, with experiential learning which is one key to acquiring appreciation for, openness to, and mastery of technical information and scientific principles. Museum field trips, an elementary and middle school staple, constitute experimental learning primarily focused on using currently existing museum exhibits. This study focused on potential improvements and additions to current exhibits – including classroom preparation before the visit to create effective tools in imparting technical information and fundamental science principles. An exploratory modified case study was conducted by interviewing staff at three science museums in a Southwestern state to discover the relevance of selected museum exhibits to effective experiential learning and by content analysis of selected exhibits at each museum. Staff indicated their pedagogical philosophy was one of engaging the public and that the most important function of museum exhibits is to engage through entertainment. Findings of the study could be useful in efforts to improve the pipelines for non-traditional students to enter agricultural science curricula at the university level.