You have raised interesting and worthwhile questions for all of us in the museu
m field to ponder.  Let the dialogue begin!  I have recently been asked to
participate in a dialogue with many other museum educators by Project Zero
at Harvard School of Education.  Project Muse is designed to help art museums
become integral to education and not just a field trip extra.  The philosophy a
nd attitude you presented is part of the initiative which changes the focus of
 the museum visit from subject/content orientation to the activity of learning.
  The theory of multiple intelligences is also in evidence in the first project
 they are asking professionals to evaluate.  It is a "game" based on a series
of prompter questions which can be used in a variety of settings either by a
single person or a pair or a group.  It seems like an excellent point of
departure for us all.  I'm looking foward to hearing from museum people about
 how they feel about this important shift in approaches to learning.