Abstract
Solid waste education in museum environments is an increasingly popular educational tool; however, no documents exist detailing the specifics of such educational approaches. A study was therefore conducted to identify and describe solid waste educational exhibits and programs in museum settings, particularly in children's museums. Educational exhibits and programs were identified, described, and compared among 31 museums. It was discovered in this research that paper making was a very popular activity. Therefore, I chose the naturalistic inquiry methodology, a qualitative research technique, to investigate how learners can be brought into this subject area by means of a hands-on, interactive paper making activity. A constant comparative analysis of data was performed throughout the study in order to evolve an appropriate framework and to synthesize data. Findings suggest that solid waste education, especially in children's museums, can provide a stimulating means of provoking interest and discovery. Therefore, including solid waste education in children's museums could serve as an effective medium for invoking environmentally sound practices in communities.
King, Jennifer Campbell (1997). Solid waste education in children's museums. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1997 -THESIS -K558.