Learning in the museum /

Due to increasing pressure to justify their existences, museums are changing radically. Hein's slim volume focuses on the ways museums are reinventing themselves from places of primary collection and display of objects for the edification and entertainment of the public, to institutions with education as their top priority. Hein clearly establishes this focus in chapter 1, on the significance of museum education; he then tries to convince the reader of the viability of museum education, explains the educational theory necessary to make this shift from collection to education, argues for this refocusing by presenting case studies, and ultimately, provides a successful model he calls the "constructivist" museum. This volume is part of an ongoing series whose mission is to analyze and explore the relationships between museums and their publics. It should be required reading for any person in the field of museology, though it provides more than the layperson might want to know about theories of education, however interesting. Included are chapter notes, 18 charts and graphs, and of particular note, an extensive bibliography. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. J. Natal; Columbia College (IL)