Children’s Interest in Dinosaur Museums and Dinosaurs in Thailand.


 

THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
VOL 87 NO.108 DECEMBER 2024
 
 
Title : 
Children’s Interest in Dinosaur Museums and Dinosaurs in Thailand.
Author : 
Saranpat Ouilapan, Gavan Cooke1 and Phornphen Chanthasit
Abstract:
Museums, exhibits, and displays regarding dinosaurs are a key influence in children’s development, creating understanding, knowledge, and awareness of the natural world, and even influencing their future career choices. Unfortunately, upon preliminary literature reviews, there is little information and studies concerning this subject in Thailand, leading to the formation of this research. Accordingly, this research aims to explore opinions and attitudes regarding dinosaurs and dinosaur museum exhibits in kindergarten, primary, and secondary school students, and the pursuit of future career choices, through a quantitative research, acquiring data from 518 Thai students in kindergarten (n=40), primary (n=262), and secondary (n=216), covering all regions of Thailand. Results showed that a little over half of the children surveyed had never visited any dinosaur museums, resulting in the X museum visited per person of only 0.64. This is mainly due to the distances between the museums and the children’s respective residences. As for children who’d visited dinosaur museums, the most liked exhibits for kindergarten and primary students are animatronic exhibits, whilst, for secondary students, it is the dinosaur fossil/bone exhibits. On the contrary, the most disliked exhibits by kindergarten, primary, and secondary students are dinosaur fossil/bone exhibits, animatronic exhibits, and dinosaur model exhibits respectively. Alternatively, children who like dinosaurs outnumbered those who don’t (79.54% and 20.46% respectively), with the preference for dinosaurs largely being due to movies/cartoons (49.76%). Among these children, most want to become Paleontologists and Paleo-artists (25.00% and 22.09% respectively). Unfortunately, data also reveals that 75.73% of the children who want to become Paleontologists have obstacles, mainly a lack of knowledge about institutions with a Paleontological program.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61507/tsmj-2024-1DDD-02
How to cite:
Saranpat Ouilapan et al. (2024). Children’s Interest in Dinosaur Museums and Dinosaurs in Thailand. The Sarawak Museum Journal, 87 (108) : 17-31
References
  1. Alfaro, B., Rios, Y., Arranz, S. & Varela, P. (2019). Understanding Children’s Healthiness and Hedonic Perception of School Meals Via Structured Sorting. Appetite. 144: 1-8.
  2. Anderson, D., Piscitelli, B., Weier, K., Everett, M. & Tayler, C. (2002). Children’s Museum Experiences: Identifying Powerful Mediators of Learning. The Museum Journal. 45(3): 213–231.
  3. Borgending, L.A. & Raven, S. (2017). Children’s Ideas About Fossils and Foundational Concepts Related to Fossils. Science Education. 102(2): 414-439
  4. Carpenter, K. (1997). Dinosaur as Museum Exhibits. In the Complete Dinosaur, edited by Brett-Surman, M.K., Holtz, T.R. & Farlow, J.O. Indiana University Press, Bloomington & Indianapolis.
  5. Cesiri, D. (2020). Knowledge Dissemination in the “Dinosaur Train” Animated Series: How to Popularise Palaeontology For Pre-School Children. Lingue e Linguaggi. 40: 95-115.
  6. Chin, C.C. (1997). Taiwanese Elementary Students’ Perceptions of Dinosaurs. Proceeding of the National Science Council, Republic of China. Part D, Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. 7(1): 23-37.
  7. Cruz, J., Hite, R.L. & Velasco, R.C.L. (2022). Assembling Bones, Becoming Dinosaur: Guests’ Relationships to Museum Objects via Deleuzian Assemblage Within a Dinosaur Gallery. Museum Management and Curatorship. 37(3): 249-256.
  8. Cook. J. (2023). These Are Not Toys: A Sculptural and Photographic Exploration of Popular Palaeontology Representation in Museums and Toys pre-Jurassic Park. Auckland University of Technology. 1-74.
  9. Feller, C.A. (2020). Dinosaur Representation in Museums: How the Struggle Between Scientific Accuracy and Pop Culture Affects the Public Perception of Mesozoic Non-Avian Dinosaurs in Museums. Museum Studies Theses. 27: 1-119.
  10. Fouad, R.A.E.-D. & Elsaid, H. (2019). Promoting Children Tourism Through Applying Virtual Reality to the Egyptian Child Museum. International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality. 15(2): 1-19.
  11. Hutchings, J., Bywater, T., Daley, D. & Lane, E. (2007). A Pilot Study of the Webster-Stratton Incredible Years Therapeutic Dinosaur School Programme. Clinical Psychology Forum. 170: 1-12.
  12. Kindler, A.M. & Darras, B. (1997). Young Children and Museums: The Role of Cultural Context in Early Development of Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors. Visual Arts Research. 23(1): 125-141.
  13. Klein, J. (2003). Children’s Interpretations of Computer-Animated Dinosaurs in Theatre. Youth Theatre Journal. 17(1): 38-50.
  14. Leibham, M.E., Alexander, J.M., Johnson, K.E., Neitzel, C.L. & Reis-Henrie F.P. (2005). Parenting Behaviors Associated with the Maintenance of Preschoolers’ Interests: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 26(4): 397–414.
  15. Manitkoon, S., Deesri, U., Khalloufi, B., Nonsrirach, T., Suteethorn, V., Chanthasit, P., Boonla, W. & Buffetaut, E. (2023). A New Basal Neornithischian Dinosaur from the Phu Kradung Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Northeastern Thailand. Diversity. 15(7): 851.
  16. Manitkoon, S., Deesri, U., Lauprasert, K., Warapeang, P., Nonsrirach, T., Nilpanapan, A., Wongko, K. & Chanthasit, P. (2022). Fossil Assemblage from the Khok Pha Suam Locality of Northeastern, Thailand: An Overview of Vertebrate Diversity from the Early Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation (Aptian-Albian). Fossil Record. 25 (1): 83–98.
  17. Ouilapan, S. & Thongcharoenchaikit, C. (2024). Identifying Dinosaur-Liked Creatures in the Mural Paintings of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha: An Implication to Study Paleontological Knowledge in Thailand. The 4th Thailand International Symposium on Natural History Museums: Era of Ecosystem Restoration. 1-16.
  18. Palmquist, S. & Crowley, K. (2003). Studying Dinosaur Learning on an Island of Expertise. Video Research in the Learning Sciences. 271-286.
  19. Palmquist, S. & Crowley, K. (2007). From Teachers to Testers: How Parents Talk to Novice and Expert Children in A Natural History Museum. Science Education. 91(5) 783-804.
  20. Pila, S., Aladé, F., Sheehan, K.J., Lauricella, A.R. & Wartella, E.A. (2019). Learning to Code Via Tablet Applications: An Evaluation of Daisy the Dinosaur and Kodable as Learning Tools for Young Children. Computers & Education. 128: 52-62.
  21. Salmi, H., Thuneberg, H. & Vainikainen, M.P. (2016). How Do Engineering Attitudes Vary by Gender and Motivation? Attractiveness of Outreach Science Exhibitions in Four Countries. European Journal of Engineering Education. 41(6): 638-659.
  22. Shin, M.K., Kim, C.K. & Lee, C.Z. (2004). A Study of Visitor Behavior in Informal Learning Setting: A Natural History Museum. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society. 25(3): 142-151.
  23. Souza, A.M. deC., Aureliano, T., Ghilardi, A.M., Ramos, E.A., Bressa, O.F.M. & Rennó-Costa, C. (2023). DinosaurVR: Using Virtual Reality to Enhance A Museum Exhibition. Journal on Interactive Systems. 14(1): 363-270.
  24. Strader, W.H. & Rinker, C. A. (1989). A Child Centered Approach to Dinosaurs. Early Child Development and Care. 43(1): 65–76.
  25. Tan, P. (2019). Listening to Young Children: A Mosaic Approach. Simon Fraser University Educational Review. 12(2): 64–78.
  26. Tokuno, K., Kusunoki, S. & Inagaki, S. (2023). Explore Through the Past: Gesture-Based Mobile Game for Children Observing Geological Layer Exhibit at History Museum. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Computer Supported Education. 21-23 April 2023.
  27. Tokuoka, M., Tamaki, H., Sakai, T., Mizoguchi, H., Egusa, R., Inagaki, S., Kawabata, M., Kusunoki, F. & Sugimoto, M. (2017). Development of Gesture Recognition Sub-system for BELONG - Increasing the Sense of Immersion for Dinosaurian Environment Learning Support System. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education. 21-23 April 2017.
  28. Tunnicliffe, S.D. (2000). Conversations of Family and Primary School Groups at Robotic Dinosaur Exhibits in a Museum: What Do They Talk About?. International Journal of Science Education. 22(7): 739–754.
  29. Varela, P., & Salvador, A. (2014). Structured Sorting Using Pictures as a Way to Study Nutritional and Hedonic Perception in Children. Food Quality and Preference. 37(0): 27–34.
  30. Weisberg, D.S., Dunlap, L.C. & Sobel, D.M. (2023). Dinos and GoPros: Children’s Exploratory Behaviors in a Museum and Their Reflections on Their Learning. Frontiers in Psychology. 14: 1-11.
  31. Young, S., Eadie, T., Suda, L. & Church, A. (2021). LEARN: Essential Elements of Museum Education Programs for Young Children. Curator: The Museum Journal. 65(1): 208-223.

 

 

 
 

Copyright © 2021 Sarawak Museum Department
Last Updated On 20 Dec 2024

Operating Hours (Main Office)

Monday - Thursday
8.00am to 1.00pm & 2.00pm to 5.00pm

Friday
8.00am to 11.45pm & 2.00pm to 5.00pm

Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday
Counter Closed
SARAWAK MUSEUM DEPARTMENT
JALAN P RAMLEE
93400, KUCHING, SARAWAK

TEL: +6082-548181 (Main Office)
TEL: +6082-548215 (Borneo Cultures Museum)
FAX: +082-548282
EMAIL : museum@sarawak.gov.my
image image
Open Data Privacy Policy Complaints and Feedbacks Copyright Notice Disclaimer Sitemap
image Calendar
image Polls
image Announcement
Facebook
Youtube