NSF generously funded the Science Museum of Minnesota's exploration of whether or not the "theatrical gaming" technique could improve visitors' understanding of complex topics requiring conceptual shifts--topics like evolution. COVID disrupted our formal evaluation plans, but this report offers finding and guidance/best practices for other informal education institutions interested in developing this type of experience. Individual sections discuss our particular, three-phased project, theatrical gaming as a technique, storytelling, gaming, technology, and evaluation.
The Lineage project was a collaboration between Twin Cities Public Television and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The project included creation of a feature-length video program, a Virtual Reality game, and a set of hands-on activities designed for use by multigenerational audiences—all of which were incorporated as part of a series of seven Fossil Festival events at museums and other sites around the United States. This report presents findings from a set of external evaluation studies that examined impacts on families who participated in Fossil Festival events as well
This research examined the role of format in learning from the GS film, Amazon Adventure. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Amazon Adventure is an Innovations in Development project directed by Pacific Science Center in partnership with SK Films; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Embodied Games; and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Tangled Bank Studios. The project deliverables produced during the grant period included a giant screen film, live stage presentation for use at informal science education (ISE) institutions, and educational resources.
As part of
Millions of people around the world watch live streaming wildlife cams, but they aren’t just watching: they are asking questions, trading information, and witnessing events that may be undocumented in the scientific literature. The goal of Bird Cams Lab was to design a digital space and framework enabling online communities to engage in a co-created scientific inquiry process utilizing wildlife cams to answer bird-related questions of common interest. To achieve this goal, the project engaged participants at every stage of the research process—including observation, generating and selecting
In 2006, the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) decided to conduct an institution-wide study of their visitors—why they come to the Botanic Garden, how they utilize the space, their level of satisfaction with the experience, and overall effectiveness of the USBG’s exhibitions and interpretation—in order to provide input to a strategic planning process that will align its living collections with its educational mission. To date, the only existing data characterizing USBG visitors was gathered in the early 1990s. Since then, the USBG has undergone a major transformation, including complete renovation of
Final External Evaluation Report for Informal STEM Learning at Biological Field Stations, an NSF AISL Exploratory Pathways project, which studied the pedagogical and andragogical characteristics of informal educational outreach activities at field stations. This report summarizes the project team’s major research activities and the contextual factors that supported that work.
Appendix includes interview protocol.
Char Associates conducted an evaluation of the four-year, NSF-funded project, Interpreters and Scientists Working on Our Parks (iSWOOP). The project brought interpreters and scientists together in multi-day professional development sessions at five national parks with the purpose of showcasing scientific research that usually goes unseen and unappreciated by park visitors. iSWOOP coordinated the development and delivery of digital libraries including animations, still photos, thermal and high-speed videos, and maps to give visual support to explanations of particular scientific studies. In
This document represents the story of Native Universe: Indigenous Voice in Science Museums and how it has unfolded at the project level, the three case study museum sites, and through partnerships between tribal communities and the three science museums. Modeled on the project itself, our research and evaluation team brings together Indigenous and conventional, western evaluation and research practices, through a collaborative partnership between the Lifelong Learning Group, based at COSI’s Center for Research and Evaluation (Columbus, OH) and Native Pathways (Laguna, NM). The results of
Are you interested in an innovative approach to collecting a large amount of formative data via Facebook? RMC Research Corporation conducted a formative evaluation for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) to ensure the social media tag lines and clips created by OPB engage the target audiences. The primary target audience for the Hacking Your Mind (HYM) television series is the PBS primetime television viewing audience. According to the PBS Research Audience Insight 2016 Annual Report, the PBS primetime audience is older (median age of 65) and college educated (43% have a 4-year degree). To
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Jean Hiebert LarsonChandra LewisCorynn Del Core
The summative evaluation documents and articulates what SCIENCES has improved or changed, and in what ways. The final design of the summative evaluation was based on findings from the front-end and formative evaluations, including using participatory evaluation techniques to engage community members in discussing their experience with the programs and assessment of community needs and assets at the close of the project.
The goal of the summative evaluation was to address discrete program impacts in the context of the project, as well as the cross-program impact of providing a thematically
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Amazon Adventure is an Innovations in Development project directed by Pacific Science Center in partnership with: SK Films; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Embodied Games; and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Tangled Bank Studios. The project deliverables produced during the grant period include a giant screen film, live stage presentation for use at informal science education (ISE) institutions, and educational resources.
The centerpiece of the project, the Amazon Adventure film, is a 45-minute giant screen film shown in
This observational framework can be used with different group types (e.g. family, school group, adult couple, individual, etc.) and across diverse settings such as with public program audiences, camps, or guests at animal exhibits. The framework includes expressions of empathy and related emotions, such as curiosity or appreciation.