Investigating Learning Within a Climate Exhibit: Relationships Among Memory, Cognition, and Views of Climate Change

• In Event: Renewing Informal Climate Change Education Through Place-Based Pedagogies

Abstract

Museums are uniquely poised to engage in climate education (e.g., Dillon et al., 2016). While many museums have implemented climate-focused exhibits in creative ways (e.g., Newell, 2020), empirical research on learning within such exhibits remains nascent (Author et al., 2022; 2024). This study aims to advance the field by analyzing learners’ experience in an innovative climate exhibit. Intentionally developed through engagement with research literature on framing (e.g., Lakoff, 2010), Hopeful Future* (HF, *Pseudonym) uses strategic frames to engage learners with diverse views on climate change. We drew on theories of social cognition (Frith & Frith, 2003; Meyer and Lieberman, 2012) to understand relationships among visitors’ memory, learning, and incoming climate views.

This mixed-methods study analyzed survey data collected 4-6 weeks following visitors’ engagement with HF. Survey items included demographics, views on climate change (as assessed through the Six Americas Super Short Survey [SASSY; Chryst et al., 2018]), measures intended to assess participants’ uptake of learning goals, and open-ended text responses eliciting participants’ memory of the exhibit. We developed a deductive coding scheme based on the content of HF to code open-ended responses. Then, we used quantitative analysis to assess relationships among code applications and survey measures using ordinal logistic regression.

We identified several statistically significant relationships between participants’ memory of specific parts of the exhibit and likelihood of alignment with learning goals. For example, participants’ memory of the section of HF highlighting local climate impacts was associated with higher levels of agreement with the statement Climate change is already affecting local communities (OR = 5.47; p = 0.006). Similarly, participants’ memory of a section focused on local, community-scale solutions increased the likelihood of greater agreement with the statement Feasible solutions to climate change exist (OR = 5.49; p=.01). We also identified relationships between visitors’ incoming views of climate change and their memory, with those who were “alarmed” or “concerned” more likely than less concerned visitors to remember sections of the exhibit focused on solutions (p=0.01). Age also appeared to be a factor, with younger individuals more likely to agree that Feasible solutions to climate change exist (OR = 1.05; p=.028), although older individuals showed greater increases in self-reported climate engagement after viewing the exhibit (OR = 1.07; p=.01)

This study demonstrates the connection between memory and learning within a climate exhibit. Specifically, it suggests that two areas of the exhibit—one focused on impacts and one focused on solutions—were linked with visitors’ learning, while other sections of the exhibit appeared to be less influential. We discuss inferences about why these sections are especially important, attending to the strategic frames underlying their design. Such frames include a local frame (relevant across the two sections), in which information is communicated through stories and images of people and places local to the museum, and a gain frame (relevant to the solutions section) in which ideas are communicated through a frame of how great the future could be. We discuss implications for museums and other informal institutions seeking to implement climate learning opportunities.

Authors

• Hailey Sherman, University of Utah

• Lynne Zummo, University of Utah

• Monika Lohani, University of Utah

• Benjamin A. Janney, University of Utah