As the first book to take a "visitor's eye view" of the museum visit, The Museum Experience revolutionized the way museum professionals understand their constituents. Falk and Dierking integrate their original research from a wide variety of disciplines as well as visitor studies from institutions ranging from science centers and zoos to art and natural history museums. Written in clear, non-technical style, The Museum Experience paints a thorough picture of why people go to museums, what they do there, how they learn, and what museum practitioners can do to enhance these experiences. This book is an essential reference for all museum professionals and students of museum studies, and has been used widely for higher education courses in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., and has been translated into Japanese and Chinese. Originally published in 1992, the book is now available from Left Coast Press, Inc. as of November 2010.
Introduction: The Interactive Experience Model; Before the Visit; Chapter 1 The Museum as a Leisure-Time Experience; Chapter 2 The Personal Context Visitor Agendas; During the Visit; Chapter 3 The Social Context: Groups in the Museum; Chapter 4 The Physical Context Visitor Pathways; Chapter 5 The Physical Context: Exhibits and Labels; Chapter 6 The Interplay of Contexts: The Museum as Gestalt; The Museum Visit Remembered; Chapter 7 Museum Learning Defined; Chapter 8 Understanding the Museum Experience; A Professional's Guide to the Museum Experience; Chapter 9 Creating the Museum Experience; Chapter 10 Creating Museum Experiences for Casual Visitors; Chapter 11 Creating Museum Experiences for Organized Groups;
