John H. Falk is a leading figure in free-choice learning, museum research, and science education in the United States. Currently, he holds the position Sea Grant Professor of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University. He is founder and Director Emeritus of the well-known museum research firm, Institute for Learning Innovation, in Annapolis, Maryland and has worked at a variety of other key positions in the museum world, including 14 years at the Smithsonian Institution. Falk earned a joint doctorate in Biology and Education from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of over one hundred scholarly articles and chapters in the areas of biology, psychology and education, co-author with Lynn Dierking of The Museum Experience, Learning from Museums: Visitor experiences and the making of meaning, and Lessons without Limit: How free-choice learning is transforming education, with Beverly Sheppard of Thriving in the Knowledge Age: New business models for museums and other cultural institutions and editor of numerous books including Free-Choice Science Education: How we learn science outside of school.
