Investigating the ways young children understand human-nature relationships through family engagement with Natural History Museum programmes

要实现保护生境以保持生物多样性、限制全球变暖和减少进一步流行病风险的重要目标，需要立即采取长期行动。该项目旨在研究幼儿了解自然世界的方式以及他们作为地球倡导者的潜在角色。今天的孩子们可能是能够为阻止环境灾难做出贡献的最后一代人。为了保护全球环境和自然世界，重要的是人们要了解他们与自然的联系。然而，研究表明，西方儿童（和成人）往往缺乏对自己作为自然世界一部分的认同。相比之下，各种正式和非正式的经历可以帮助孩子们更好地了解自然世界以及他们与自然的关系。因此，鼓励年轻人通过这样的体验来建立与自然世界的联系是至关重要的。自然历史博物馆是研究儿童及其家庭对自然世界的看法的最佳场所：这些环境相对稳定（例如，不受天气影响），并拥有无数吸引游客的物品和活动。伦敦自然历史博物馆（NHM）开发了一种倡导参与模式（AEM），以帮助设计游客体验，激发与自然的长期联系，并倡导保护地球。该模型以博物馆的优势为基础，在参观期间激发敬畏之情，并将其扩展到寻找方法，在儿童参观者离开博物馆后激发他们积极的环境行动。为了测试AEM， NHM和伦敦国王学院教育、传播与社会学院（ECS）之间的一个合作博士项目将探索儿童（6至11岁）在NHM与家人的经历如何导致他们成为地球的倡导者。该研究将依赖于儿童临床访谈和家庭博物馆参观观察，以及儿童及其父母的问卷调查数据。将从质量和数量上审查这些数据，以便在博物馆和其他地方设计和执行方案和活动，以促进儿童发挥环境保护主义者的重要作用。调查结果将通过各种博物馆、学术和其他交流平台进行传播，以便在多种教育环境中加以利用。

The vital goals of preserving habitats to retain biodiversity, limiting global warming and reducing the risk of further pandemics require immediate and longterm action. This project seeks to examine ways that young children come to understand the natural world and their potential roles as advocates for the planet. Today's children may be the last generation that can make a difference to stop environmental calamity. To help preserve the global environment and the natural world, it is important that people understand their connection to nature. However, research suggests that Western children (and adults) often lack an appreciation for their identity as part of the natural world. In contrast, a variety of formal and informal experiences can help children gain greater understanding about the natural world and their relation to it. As such, it is essential that young people are encouraged to establish feelings of connectedness to the natural world through such experiences. Natural History Museums are optimal settings to examine the ways that children and their families think about the natural world: these are relatively stable settings (e.g., not affected by weather) and hold myriad objects and activities that engage visitors. The Natural History Museum London (NHM) has developed an Advocate Engagement Model (AEM) to help design visitor experiences that will inspire longterm connection to nature and advocacy for the planet. This model builds on museum strengths for inspiring awe during a visit and extends this to look for means to inspire positive environmental action from child visitors after they have left the museum. To test the AEM, a collaborative PhD project between the NHM and King's College London's School of Education, Communication & Society (ECS) will explore the ways that children's (aged 6 to 11) experiences with their families at the NHM can lead to becoming an advocate for the planet. The research will rely upon child clinical interviews and family museum visit observations in addition to questionnaire data from both children and their parents. These data will be examined qualitatively and quantitatively to enable the design and implementation of programmes and activities in the museum and elsewhere to facilitate children's uptake of important roles as environmentalists. Findings will be disseminated through a variety of museum, academic and other communication platforms so that they can be capitalised upon in multiple educational settings.