ABSTRACT
In 1984, to begin addressing the issue of long-term learning in museums, a series of museum recollection studies was initiated. At the time, it seemed critical to understand memories of museums more broadly, to investigate their components, saliency, and persistence, both soon after the experience and long after. Individuals interviewed could place the museum visit within a social, geographical, and temporal context. Individuals interviewed had surprisingly good recollections of how long they had spent in the museum and often of their mental state at the time. The infrequent visitors' recollections were more numerous, tended to be very specific to the particular visit recalled, and often were memories of particular exhibits. The researchers were able to show clearly that children were most likely to remember trips repeated to the same museum, experiences that were meaningfully linked to the school curriculum, and experiences in which they had direct involvement or engagement.
