Informal learning environments such as museums may provide a positive exposure of young children to science which can increase their interest, create positive attitudes and influence choice to learn science later in life (National Academies of Science, 2009). Science museums often use theatre to liven up exhibits and help "digest" difficult material, yet this genre has "only recently begun to be articulated, let alone addressed, by researchers." (Hughes, Jackson, & Kidd, 2007, p.692).

Previous research on theatre in science museums found positive cognitive and affective outcomes from viewers (Baum & Hughes, 2001) and highlighted the importance of viewers' experience, empathy and spectator-actor interaction (Hughes, 2008). Research on a science play in a school setting showed positive cognitive outcomes and positive change in attitudes towards science learning. In addition, science facts were remembered interwoven with the narrative, yet children distinguished well between fact and fiction in the play (Peleg & Baram-Tsabari, Submitted).

Learning from plays in museums may be investigated through diverse lenses, such as individual learning, family learning, changes in attitude and interaction between science and the performing arts. This study focuses on individual learning and attitudes towards the play.

The play under investigation, "Darwin's journey", deals with basic concepts in evolution. The main messages of the play are that animals are adapted to their environment, the pigeons' forefathers were dinosaurs and man's forefather was the monkey. The play accompanied an exhibition on evolution in a science museum in Israel and was aimed at children from the age of five.

Such concepts in evolution are often difficult to assimilate and it seems that cognitive biases that develop early in childhood hinder how adults understand them (Diamond & Evans, 2007). It is another aim of this study to investigate how a theatre play may change such cognitive biases and help bridge the gap between the scientific consensus and alternative views of the origin of species.

This study aims at empirically investigating learning from science theater, while contributing to literature about theatre in museums and theatre in science education. This will be done by raising the following research questions: (1) What are the cognitive and affective learning outcomes of a science play in a museum environment? (2) How is the theatrical experience perceived by children and parents?

This research is part of a larger project aimed at characterizing learning outcomes of science plays and creating drama activities for use in the science class. It is linked to S-TEAM (Science Teacher Education Advanced Methods), an FP7 funded project and the results will be shared among the 25 participating institutions from 15 countries.

Baum, L., & Hughes, C. (2001). Ten years of evaluating science theater at the museum of science, Boston. Curator, 44(4), 355-369. Diamond, J., & Evans, E. M. (2007). Museums teach evolution. Evolution, 61(6), 1500-1506. Hughes, C., Jackson, A., & Kidd, J. (2007). The role of theatre in museums and historic sites: visitors, audiences and learners. In L. Bresler (Ed.), International Handbook of Research in Arts Education. Dordrecht: Springer. Hughes, C. H. (2008). Performance for leaning: how emotions play a part. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. National Academies of Science. (2009). Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits. Washington, DC: National Reseach Council, Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments. Peleg, R., & Baram-Tsabari, A. (2009). Atom Surprise: Using science drama to teach basic science. Paper presented at the ESERA Conference Istanbul. Peleg, R., & Baram-Tsabari, A. (Submitted). Atom Surprise: Using Theatre in Primary Science Education. Journal of Science Education and Technology.