What is the 'Living Laboratory'?

The 'Living Laboratory' is a new Discovery Center initiative to bring current research in cognitive development directly to our grown-up visitors.

The study of how children learn is an interdisciplinary endeavor, involving scientists working in a wide variety of fields. The Discovery Center has partnered with local universities and museums nation-wide in order to help our visitors gain better access to current research, and consider what the findings mean for children's day-to-day activities.

University researchers from MIT, Harvard University and Children's Hospital are in the Discovery Center exhibit each day, conducting studies and answering questions about their work. We have also created exhibits, activities and other offerings that are designed to allow adults to better understand how young children learn and develop.

We look forward to your feedback about the Living Laboratory program as we continue to develop new opportunities for you to learn along side your children, as we do, through inquiry and play!

What is Cognitive Development?

Cognitive Development is the science that studies what people know and how we come to know it. Researchers study young children to find out how knowledge is represented and organized in the mind, and how and why this changes from infancy to adulthood.

How do scientists study how children learn?

Like all scientists, Cognitive Scientists learn in many of the same ways that children do. They make observations, ask questions, gather evidence and form theories.

Each study conducted in the Living Laboratory has a particular experimental method. Descriptions of the methods for individual studies conducted in the Discovery Center are available from any staff person and are also available here, on our website.

What can I expect if my child and I participate in a study in the Discovery Center?

Children and parents alike find the studies they participate in at the Discovery Center to be fun and interesting.

In short sessions that usually last between 5 and 15 minutes children may play with toys or listen to stories, and answer questions about how the toys work or what happens/will happen next in the stories.

Parents are required to remain with their child at all times while the study is in progress. You or your child can stop the session at any time, and all information collected by the researchers remains confidential.

There are no known risks associated with any of the studies that are conducted as part of the Living Laboratory exhibit.

University researchers are happy to talk with you about their work and answer any questions that you may have.

Where can I learn more about how children develop the skills of science and engineering?

University researchers and Museum educators are available to talk with parents and other adults every day in the Discovery Center.

The Discovery Center also has a variety of activities that you can try on your own to discover more about how children learn- come in and ask a volunteer if you would like to try one with your child.

Check back with the Living Laboratory website in the coming months to find:

• Information about each of the current studies that are being conducted in the Discovery Center
• An interactive archive of all of the studies that have been completed with the help of Discovery Center visitors, including descriptions of the methods used and results obtained for each completed study.
• Videos, published papers and other materials that illustrate how cognitive scientists do their work.
• Ideas for fun activities to try at home with your child.