Parents explain more often to boys than to girls during shared scientific thinking

Young children's everyday scientific thinking often occurs in the context o f parent-child interactions. In a study of naturally occurring family conve rsation, parents were three times more likely to explain science to boys th an to girls while using interactive science exhibits in a museum. This diff erence in explanation occurred despite the fact that parents were equally l ikely to talk to their male and female children about how to use the exhibi ts and about the evidence generated by the exhibits. The findings suggest t hat parents engaged in informal science activities with their children may be unintentionally contributing to a gender gap in children's scientific li teracy well before children encounter formal science instruction in grade s chool.