Formative Evaluation: Exhibits Developed for the Big Cypress National Preserve Visitor Center

EDX Exhibits approached Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to test prototypes for exhibits being developed for a new welcome center at the Big Cypress National Preserve. The formative evaluation, which took place during the summer, followed a front-end evaluation conducted during the spring. All data was collected at the Oasis Visitor Center at the Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida. Having conducted a front-end evaluation that explored Big Cypress visitors' perceptions of and familiarity with ideas that would be explored in the exhibits, RK&A identified concepts that were most difficult for visitors to understand. Thus, EDX Exhibits chose to prototype and test exhibits that conveyed such challenging messages. Many of the findings were specific to the exhibits, although some of the more general findings include: 1) Exhibits that are conceptually connected to one another should be clumped together. Physically placing them together helps visitors remember the information conveyed in the exhibits as well as helps visitors make connections between the information presented in the exhibits. 2) Exhibits that present suggestions for what to do during a visit to a park or preserve should be accompanied with brochures or some sort of handout that visitors can take with them in the car. 3) Small changes to an exhibit prototype can have a large impact on visitors' interpretations. For example, clumping exhibits and eliminating competing images can improve visitors' ability to comprehend an exhibit. The appendix of this report includes the interview protocols used in the study.

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