Evaluating Information-Based vs. Modeling Media Parental Support on Parent-Child Interactions During a Preschool Engineering Activity

This evaluation investigates how different types of media resources (informational vs. modeling of a parent-child play interaction) affect the types and frequency of questions parents and children ask during a play-based informal learning engineering activity. This evaluation project is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Children’s Museum Houston and the Children’s Learning Institute at UTHealth. Participants included families with children ages 2 to 5, recruited through Children's Museum Houston, where the evaluation took place in a naturalistic play setting designed to observe parent-child interactions during hands-on engineering activities. Evaluation findings suggest valuable implications for developing museum resources that cater to the needs of younger preschoolers, as integrating museum-based, play-focused learning environments with research expertise strengthens early childhood informal learning and family engagement.