Rethinking the Visitor Experience: Transforming Obstacle into Purpose

ABSTRACT The purposes of museums and those of their visitors often have little in common—despite the growing body of knowledge about museum learning and visitors ’ motivations. Based on concepts of experiential learning envi-sioned a century ago by the American educator and philosopher John Dewey, this paper explores bringing those purposes into closer alignment. A re-evaluation of several factors—including criteria of experience, content organization, and the nature of inquiry—could lead to exhibitions more closely aligned with visitors ’ processes of self-motivated activity and muse-ums ’ goals for informal learning. One way is to shape exhibits and activity around problematical situations developed out of the exhibit experience it-self and shaped by visitors ’ own purposes. By shifting focus from knowl-edge taxonomies to problem-solving situations, museums could increase their exhibitions ’ potential for providing engaging educational experiences to visitors