Quantifying the Presence of Written Materials and the Use of Outside Texts in Nature Centers for Environmental Education

Abstract

Despite widespread distribution of nature centers across North America and Europe, the written materials available to their visitors have yet to be enumerated. To address this gap, this study quantifies the types of written materials available in 563 American nature centers and addresses how nature centers use outside texts. The survey results suggest that many nature centers have available types of written materials found effective for visitor learning in other research. Many nature centers also incorporate material from contemporary conservation literature into their written materials, suggesting that nature centers seek to facilitate effective learning by forging audience connections.