Integration of Play, Learning, and Experience: What Museums Afford Young Visitors

Abstract This paper examines important factors in maximizing children’s experiential learning in the context of inquiry-based children’s museums. Learning is under-stood as situated in physical, social, and interactive context that is best achieved when children have opportunities to engage in play-based inquiry. Recommendations for max-imizing children’s learning in museums, supporting children’s interactions with peers and adults, and offering affordances for children’s play are discussed