Background: Cultural and educational activities positively support older adults’ physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being, positioning cultural institutions as valuable complements to healthcare services within social prescribing frameworks. Museums, in particular, can contribute meaningfully to health-related interventions for older adults. This study examines how older adults’ prior social participation and cognitive status relate to their emotional experience and learning during a science museum visit.

Methods: A trail analysis was carried out, using the structural equations procedure (SEM) in 231 older adults (Mean age = 74.26 years, SD = 7.11) independent in ADL. Evaluated with: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Leisure Activities Inventory, Multiple-Choice Learning Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

Results: Total activities and cognitive status significantly predicted affect measures: total activities were associated with higher positive affect (β = .22, p < .001) and lower negative affect (β = –.14, p = .034), while cognitive status predicted higher positive affect (β = .23, p < .001) and lower negative affect (β = –.20, p = .002). For learning, cognitive status had a strong positive effect (β = .46, p < .001), and total activities showed no significant effect (β = .01, p = .81).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that both activity engagement and cognitive status contribute to emotional well-being, while learning outcomes depend mainly on cognitive functioning. Overall, cognitive status emerges as a key factor for both emotional and learning processes in older adults. This highlights the importance of activities that promote stimulation and training of the cognitive system.