Editorial: Cognitive Development in Informal Learning Institutions: Collaborations Advancing Research and Practice

Researchers in cognitive development and developmental science more broadly are encouraged to bring our science into the “messiness of the real world” (Golinkoff et al., 2017, p. 1407). Many have heeded this call by establishing partnerships with community and educational institutions (e.g., museums, science centers, libraries), and in some cases, engaging in research that can serve real-world applications (Callanan, 2012; Sobel and Jipson, 2016; Haden, 2020). The goal of this Research Topic was to spotlight the growing number of collaborations with informal learning institutions and illustrate the cutting-edge cognitive and social-cognitive research occurring through these partnerships across a range of topics. We thank all authors who submitted manuscripts and reviewers that provided thoughtful critiques. Their work resulted in nine empirical articles and one perspective article that successfully met our Research Topic criteria.