Beyond the Exhibit: Assessing the Use of Museum Tours in Collegiate-Level Education

This paper examines the implementation of interactive tours in two small academic museums with no permanent exhibition space. Using data from a study conducted with both undergraduate and graduate courses over three separate semesters and exhibitions, the paper evaluates how an interactive and engaging tour supports college-level learning objectives as perceived by both the professors and student participants. It further explores how the emphasis on non-direct content, such as developing skills, over direct correlation between exhibition topic and course content, provides an avenue for professors to continually bring classes for tours despite constantly rotating exhibitions.