# Practitioner-Driven Synthesis of Museum Family Learning Conversations Research

> **NSF 04AC2324DB EDU DRSA DEFC AAB** · University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) · $499,743

## Abstract

The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM), in partnership with the University of Minnesota (UMN) and Bakken Museum, is conducting a Practitioner-Driven Synthesis of Museum Family Learning Conversations (FLC) Research. The project team, which includes researchers, librarians, museum educators, and experience designers, aims to bridge research and practitioner knowledges to produce bidirectional insights for the future of museum design and museum-based learning research. The research involves gathering, scoping, and synthesizing 25 years of research and evaluation on Family Learning Conversations conducted in museum settings, and formally incorporating practitioner-generated knowledge to spark the next generation of design and research on family learning in museums. This project is structured differently than a traditional synthesis in order to achieve the broadest impacts. Museum practitioners drive the synthesis, contributing their own practice-based knowledge, questions, and critical commentary to each part of the synthesis work. For practitioners, literature syntheses that identify how their existing ideas relate to research findings provide ecologically grounded and accessible insights for design. For researchers, understanding how practitioners identify learning or valuable interactions distinct from what has been valued in FLC research historically provides fertile ground for innovation in research methods and research questions. By bringing researchers with expertise in inf

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2549573
- **Awardee organization:** University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** KABJZBBJ4B54
- **PI:** David DeLiema
- **Primary program:** 04AC2324DB EDU DRSA DEFC AAB
- **All programs:** Broaden Particip STEM Resrch
- **Estimated total:** $499,743
- **Funds obligated:** $499,743
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 09/30/2027

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2549573

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2549573, Practitioner-Driven Synthesis of Museum Family Learning Conversations Research. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-07 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2549573. Licensed CC0.

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