Do people learn better when the "flow of experience is under their control"? (Gureckis & Markant, 2012). The results from cognitive science and educational research have been mixed, though the preponderance of the evidence suggests that such active learning is beneficial, with recent work in machine learning providing additional support for this idea (Gureckis & Markant, 2012). For the informal learning community self-directed or free-choice learning is the centerpiece of the visitor experience (Falk & Dierking, 2010). In this study, we investigated whether free-choice active prolonged engagement (Gutwill & Allen, 2009) with a multiuser interactive touch-table exhibit provides a learning experience that differs from that provided by viewing a video on the same topic. The extant cognitive research finds that objects that are within reach of hands or tools elicit different cognitive resources than do more distal objects (Brockmole et al., 2013). Thus the specific question addressed in this study, is whether such hands-on or embodied learning can help youth acquire relatively abstract STEM topics, such as the core evolutionary concept that all life on earth is related through common descent.

We provide an analysis of pairs of children interacting with a multi-touch tabletop exhibit designed to help museum visitors learn about evolution and the tree of life. The exhibit’s aim is to inspire visitors with a sense of wonder at life’s diversity while providing insight into key evolutionary concepts such as common descent. We find that children negotiate their interaction with the exhibit in a variety of ways including reactive, articulated, and contemplated exploration. These strategies in turn influence the ways in which children make meaning through their experiences. We consider how specific aspects of the exhibit design shape these collaborative exploration and meaning-making activities.

In a study of 8-to-15-year-old visitors (N = 250) to two large natural history museums, we
investigated the broader implications of visitors' conception of "human as animal."
Professional biologists include humans in the "tree of life”, which also includes less visible
members of the living world: plants, fungi, and microscopic organisms. Are youth who
acknowledge this common ancestry more likely to feel part of the natural world? Results
suggest that youth who indicated that humans share a common ancestor with other species
were better informed regarding core evolutionary concepts and were more likely to feel
related to all life on Earth