This study collected data from seven planetarium email lists (one per planetarium regional organization in the United States), as well as online survey panel data from residents in each area, to describe and compare those who do and do not visit planetariums.
Through the T523: Formative Evaluation for Educational Product Development course, our team conducted a semester-long formative evaluation for the Museum of Science, Boston (MoS) Gaia Exhibit. The Gaia Exhibit (Gaia) is a new, temporary art installation located in the MoS’s Blue Wing exhibition hall. Gaia that strives to inspire appreciation for the earth and climate change awareness. The exhibit displays imagery of the Earth’s surface on a twenty feet diameter, three-dimensional globe. Additional exhibit elements include projected questions on the floor to prompt reflection and exhibit-
RK&A conducted a summative evaluation of the New Glass Now exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass. The interpretative goal for the exhibition is to challenge visitors to expand their notions of glass in contemporary art and design.
Methodology
The goal of the study is to explore visitors’ experiences in the temporary exhibition—the first exhibition to be evaluated in the contemporary wing of the museum. RK&A conducted 100 timing and tracking observations of visitors in the exhibition; visitors were recruited from all three potential entrances to the exhibition. Observation data
The Corning Museum of Glass contracted RK&A to conduct a summative evaluation of the temporary exhibition Glass of the Architects: Vienna 1900-1937. The goal of the study is to explore visitors’ experiences in the exhibition, which is a 1900-square foot exhibition situated within an expansive museum campus.
RK&A collected 100 timing and tracking observations to provide an objective and quantitative account of how visitors experience the exhibition. The museum has historically collected timing and tracking observations for temporary exhibitions so the method allowed for comparisons to
The Science Behind Pixar (SBP) exhibition was the product of a collaborative effort among the Museum of Science, Boston (MOS), Pixar Animation Studios, and the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC). The 13,000 square foot exhibition presented the science, math, and computer science behind Pixar Animation Studios’ animated films and innovation. Before entering SBP, visitors watched a five-minute film that oriented them to the exhibition and discussed its main messages. Visitors then interacted with screen-based and physical interactive exhibits, as well as the technical pipeline of the
With funding from the National Science Foundation, NOVA/WGBH Boston with the participation of 14 U.S. and 4 international science museums have produced an IMAX/OMNIMAX film titled, Special Effects. The 40-minute film shows the techniques and methods that special effects filmmakers use along with their understanding of the human visual system to create movie illusions. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent did the program appeal to adult viewers? To what extent did the program achieve its intended viewing goals? What
The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (F|S) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to study its visitors with two goals in mind: first, to collect current data about F|S visitors, including demographics and visit characteristics and second, to explore visitors’ experiences at F|S, in particular, what visitors value about their F|S experiences and how visitors rate their experiences in the context of the mission statement and newly articulated impact statement. Two data collection instruments were used for the visitor study: a standardized questionnaire and an in-depth
This report presents the findings from a summative evaluation of the NSF-funded Wild Music traveling exhibition conducted by Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A), for the Science Museum of Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The evaluation documents the exhibition’s impact and effectiveness using timing and tracking observations and onsite exit interviews. Data were collected at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) in July and August 2007 and at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (PNNM) in March and April 2008.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation for a new exhibition around the theme “home.” The exhibition will be the first in the Center for Learning and Creativity (CLC), a new space in the BMA that will be dedicated to creativity and learning. How did we approach this study? The BMA recruited 32 volunteer participants primarily through the BMA’s Facebook page. Participants were asked to spend about 10 minutes looking at a mock-up of exhibition materials and 20 minutes participating in an interview about the mock-up. The
This final report summarizes the findings from three summative evaluation activities conducted by Serrell & Associates and the Oakland Museum of California with visitors to the newly renovated, reinstalled, and reinterpreted Gallery of California Natural Sciences in April and July 2014: the stay-time study, the cued questionnaire study, and the personal connections study.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Serrell & AssociatesBeverly SerrellMary T. Faria
Design Zone’s primary objective is to engage visitors in algebraic thinking, with a special focus on reaching a target audience of 10- to 14-year-olds and their families. The exhibition is organized into three thematic areas: art, music, and engineering. Exhibits in each area are based on real-world design challenges in which math and algebra are used. Garibay Group was contracted to conduct the summative evaluation of Design Zone. Using a mixed methods approach, data were collected at three museums hosting the Design Zone exhibition.
This is a descriptive summative evaluation study of visitors’ experiences with the permanent collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts, after the extensive museum-wide visitor-centric renovation and reinstallation that began in 1998 and culminated with a grand opening in 2007. Using a naturalistic methodology, three researchers from Selinda Research Associates made two three-day site visits (in January and March of 2013) and spent over 32 hours observing and interviewing 45 groups (181 individuals). Visitors’ experiences with works of art included stories and storytelling, visiting an old