The Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experience Studies (COVES) aims to help science centers gather and share data to better understand visitors’ experiences. For the summative evaluation of COVES, the Museum of Science’s Research and Evaluation Department studied the program’s impacts on participating museums and museum professionals. Specifically, this evaluation was designed to:
Examine participants’ overall satisfaction with the collaboration and their likelihood to recommend it to others;
Understand the impact that COVES is having on Participating Institutions;
Assess whether
Magnolia Consulting, LLC conducted a formative and summative evaluation to examine public perceptions of the utility and quality of two labs/exhibits within the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Natural World Investigate Lab, Biofuels and Science of Scent. Appendix includes survey.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
North Carolina State Museum of Natural ScienceMary Styers
This report summarizes the evaluation findings of the first year of the Science Beyond the Boundaries Early Learners Collaborative (ELC). The three-year project, funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), connects science centers and children’s museums to enhance early learner programming. In Year One, the ELC brought together five institutions to collaborate directly through regularly scheduled conference call discussions. During these discussions they shared their program experience, ideas on early childhood programs, and their thoughts on current early learner
This report describes the findings of an evaluation of the Gallery Guide program at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington. It aimed to determine if and how 6 identified public tour goals are being met and examined how visitors are generally engaging during public tours at the museum. List of Key Findings: Overall all Gallery Guide goals were met to varying degrees. The majority of surveyed visitors reported they would feel comfortable leading a friend through the Frye after their tour experience. Gallery Guides provided a high number of informative statements (47%). Visitors appear more
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Peder NelsonMark RosenRose Paquet KinsleyThe Frye Art Museum
Our project for the Seattle Aquarium was to complete an exploratory evaluation of the Harbor Seal Talks, an element of the Marine Mammal Talks programming. These talks are conducted by either staff biologists speaking from within the seal enclosure or by “dryside” interpretive staff speaking from the audience in dialogue with the biologists. This evaluation was requested by the Interpretation Department to ascertain what the general content of the talks is currently, whether specific conservation messages are being transmitted, and how engaged audiences are in the talks. Our study found that
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Lissa KramerColleen LenahanHal KramerSeattle Aquarium
This front-end evaluation is part of an initiative for the Henry Art Gallery to develop an understanding of the demographic range of visitors, their inspirations for visiting the museum, and what visitor expectations are. Key findings are summarized below. Overall, these findings have three major implications. Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays have the highest rate of visitation. Most visitors are not aware of The Reed Collection Center and the Digital Interactive Galleries (DIG) that are resources provided by the Henry for members, visitors, students, researchers and University of Washington
In spring 2012, our team of Museology graduate students conducted a formative evaluation of Pacific Science Center’s (PSC) ongoing Live Science Shows. These shows, which happen daily and cover a range of science topics in an engaging and theatrical way, had never been formally evaluated before, so our evaluation was largely descriptive with some exploration of visitor experiences. Key Findings •Attendee response to the shows was overwhelmingly positive. •Most attendees were repeat visitors who were not members. •Most attendees came to the shows because they are something fun to do. •Most
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Erin BaileyAndrea MichelbachCarrie PlankPacific Science Center
This report presents the findings from a front-end evaluation prior to a renovation of the harbor seal habitat at the Seattle Aquarium. The study was undertaken to help Seattle Aquarium staff measure visitor knowledge of harbor seals, as well as illustrate visitor use of the current exhibit space. The intent was to inform the content of exhibit interpretive materials as well as provide a baseline for a summative study evaluating the success of changes made to the exhibit. Methodology Data was collected in February 2012 by a team of 10 first-year graduate student data collectors along with the
This mixed-methods evaluation, which was conducted at the request of the museum’s Communications department, answers two questions about a suite of special family events at the Burke Museum. First, this project sought to develop a profile of Family Day visitors – including any differences in audiences across individual events, and how visitors were receiving information about the events. Second, this evaluation sought to explore visitors’ expectations of and experiences at the events. Specific evaluation questions included the extent to which expectations and experiences aligned with one
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Emily CraigBetsy O'BrienRenae YoungsBurke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites (Storyland) brings seven beloved picture books to life in a 1,500 square foot exhibition at the Minnesota Children’s Museum (MCM) from September 2011 through early February 2012. Designed and developed by MCM through an IMLS grant, Storyland is aimed at children newborn through 8 years old and the adults in their lives. The books featured in the exhibit include: The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Potter), If You Give A Mouse A Cookie (Numeroff), Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Martin and Archambault), The Snowy Day (Keats), Tuesday (Wiesner), and Where’s Spot?
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's Mobile Guide program will offer visitors a new way to interact with the Museum's collections by creating audio and visual content that will be delivered through a mobile-optimized Web site (www.naguide.org). The program, available through a user's own mobile device or via iPod Touch players made available, reflects the Museum's commitment to digital interpretation and its larger goal of broadening public accessibility to its collections. This evaluation is part of the larger Mobile Guide project funded through an Engaging Communities grant awarded from the
The purpose of this summative evaluation was to find out how visitors are using and learning from the East by Northwest exhibit at the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) in Seattle, Washington. The exhibit tells the story of Seattle's Ethiopian community, highlighting the continuity of the culture and the contribution to our shared experience. To do this, three methods were employed: 1) tracking and timing observations, 2) exit surveys, and 3) analysis of guestbook entries. A total of 188 visitors were included in this study. Data collection occurred during January, February, and March
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marta BeyerAlex CurioJulie DoughertyJustine WalkerErin WilcoxUniversity of Wisconsin