Creating a Learning Environment that Fosters Parent-Child Interactions: A Case Study from the Animal Secrets Exhibition Project

In the recent exhibition project Animal Secrets, we looked at the impact of three strategies for fostering parent-child interactions in an exhibition for young children: environmental design, types of activities, and labels. Results from our study indicate that all three strategies can support parent-child interactions, but environmental design and activity type were more effective than labels overall in promoting parent-child collaboration. Mixed results for exhibit labels suggest the need for further research into how best to communicate with parents of young children in an exhibition.