Summative :: Borun, M. (2008). Grossology LIVE! Summative Evaluation. [Museum Solutions] ID Solutions.

last updated: 2010-03-14 20:11:27

Project Name	GrossologyLIVE!
Project Lead	ID Solutions
Project Website	http://www.grossology.org/
Associated Grant	NSF#DRL0328982
Report Author(s)	Minda Borun
Evaluation Organization(s)	Museum Solutions
Download Report	GrossologyLIVE_Summative.pdf

Summary

Grossology Live! was a creative and innovative program that involved unique format, content, and collaboration. The program used live video-conferencing techniques to create two-way interaction between onscreen actors in a colorful Grossology set in the studio in Noblesville, Indiana; uniquely imaginative comedic and musical presentations on the human body; and a live presenter, stage set, and audience at 5 small science or health centers primarily in the mid-west and southeast. The receiving sites were members of the National Association of Health Education Centers (NAHEC), which played a significant role in the start-up of the collaborative.

Because of its complex nature, the summative evaluation of Grossology Live! is discussed in three parts. First, the experience of the audience, next a summary of the web site survey responses, and finally, the experience of the staff and collaborating institutions.

PART I—AUDIENCE SURVEYS
Children ranged in age from 5 to 13 with the majority in the 6-10 year-old age group. The genders were evenly distributed. The adult audience for the programs consisted primarily of first time visitors. In contrast, about one quarter of the children said they had been to previous programs at the Hospital. Most of the children were there with school groups.

Adults gave the program high ratings with an overall average of 4.43 on a 5-point scale. Like the adults, children gave the programs high ratings, with an overall average of 4.33 on a 5-point scale. On a choice between paired opposites, people overwhelmingly found the programs interesting, friendly, funny, and clear. The audience responded very positively to the live presenter in the theater. Adults particularly liked the interactive activities for the kids in ESPU. Adults had some very complementary comments for the ESPN shows, for example:

Thank you for providing such a wonderful informative program for the children and adults.

Children particularly liked the scab scrimmage in ESPU. They were able to cite a lot of specific things that they learned about blood, skin, scabs, and sweat from this show.

Adults also really liked the Blood Sucking Investigation (BSI) show. They saw the show as lively and informative. When there were negative comments, they primarily had to do with the fact that there was too much information for the youngest visitors and that the show appealed to a somewhat older age group. Children particularly liked seeing a beating heart in the BSI show. Children were able to list a lot of specifics that they learned from the show about blood and the heart. They had some very positive comments about the BSI show, the most frequent being “It was cool.”

People did not find anything in the shows confusing nor did they report any technical difficulties. There was no difficulty with the reservation procedure for the shows except that the online listing was somewhat difficult to find. The large majority of people agreed that the programs were fun for both adults and children, age-appropriate and a valuable learning experience. Most respondents said they would like to see another Grossology LIVE! program. The children said they would tell their friends to come to the shows.

Part II—Online Members’ Survey

Most of the respondents came from Ohio. The majority of the adults were in the 31-45 year age group. There was a much higher percentage of females than males among the adults. This is not surprising since they mostly accompanied school field trips. The children were more evenly balanced, but there were still somewhat more girls than boys. Most adults were accompanying a group that included their own child.

People had heard about the program primarily by word-of-mouth and newspaper ads. Most had not seen an interactive video program before. Two thirds of the people came with a school group. The largest group of respondents saw a program at Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Whether or not they had visited the institution previously varied with the institution. Just over one quarter of the people purchased tickets online. Three quarters of the people found the ticketing process easy.

Most people had only seen one show. The most frequently seen show was Bathroom Hustle. Although they found this person interesting, most people could not remember the
name of their live presenter, with the exception of Julia Painter. The most memorable onscreen character was Marty Farty. There were some issues with the clarity of the sound.

People were very enthusiastic about the program they had seen. Adults appreciated the fact that the onscreen characters could talk to the audience. They also valued the science experiments. Almost everyone would like to see another Grossology LIVE! program.

PART III--STAFF AND TALENT REFLECTIONS

The Grossology Live! program involved a great deal of input from the participating educators at the local sites. This helped to build “team spirit” and engage the group in the success of the project. Presenters enjoyed working with the actors and the P.I. Public and school audiences enjoyed the program and gave evidence of significant science learning about the human body and how to protect it from disease.

The largest challenges were in achieving working technology at the local sites and developing an audience for the programs. It was difficult to get the video-conferencing machinery, particularly the sound systems, up and running at the partner sites. Since there was no one on staff to maintain the equipment, technicians had to be brought in from the central project headquarters. This delayed program start-up and was frustrating for the participants.

Once the program was up and running, the big problem was bringing in an audience. Some of the participating institutions had previous programming only for school groups and did not have experience in attracting a voluntary public audience. This is not a trivial problem. It basically involved changing the mission and audience of the health centers and small science museums. Since most of the resources for the Grossology Live! program were devoted to creating the interactive content for the programs, insufficient attention was paid to the issue of audience development. The project really needed a centralized marketing plan and budget and institutional buy-in at the local level. In the end, this issue proved insurmountable for most of the sites.

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