The National Building Museum contracted RK&A to conduct an evaluation Investigating Where We Live (IWWL), a long-running program that has brought together creative youth in the Washington, D.C. area every summer since 1996 to explore, document, and interpret the local built environment. The study goal was to examine program strengths and challenges to help NBM strategically plan for the program’s future.
How did we approach this study?
To hear a variety of perspectives on the program, RK&A conducted in-depth telephone interviews with a number of stakeholders with different
‘6 Degrees of Connection’ is an informative and memorable program that combines a one-hour Science On a Sphere® interactive presentation with a follow-up creative art activity – each aspect of which encourages middle school students to think of interconnections among phenomena on the planet, including the natural world and human activity.
The ‘6 Degrees of Connection’ program was developed by the Nurture Nature Center (Easton PA) in collaboration with the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore MD) through an extensive process of developing the concept, prototypes, and final program. Lehigh
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
Summative evaluation of one of four pieces of the Marcellus Matters: EASE project. Formative evaluation of one of four pieces of the Marcellus Matters: EASE project. This study examined how effective a series of "Community Conversations" theater and dialogue/discussion events was at a) communicating natural gas development-related science content and community issues, and b) promoting audience members' openness to dialogue about natural gas development-related issues.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art recently completed a renovation of its 19th- and early-20th-century European art galleries (the Bloch Galleries). The renovation includes the incorporation of the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, a major gift of 29 masterworks by leading Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists. As part of this renovation project, the museum took the opportunity to experiment with new visitor engagement and interpretation strategies, including both digital and print approaches.
The museum identified three desired visitor outcomes for the galleries: 1) Visitors will
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
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) contracted RK&A to conduct an evaluation of the Inside|Out program, which brings high-quality reproductions of masterpieces from the museum’s collection to outdoor venues throughout Metro Detroit. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to: 1) gauge the impact of Inside|Out on communities; 2) identify best practices from Inside|Out; and 3) identify how, if at all, Inside|Out can help support the DIA’s strategic plan.
How did we approach this study?
RK&A used a mixed-methods approach for this study which focused on three audiences: DIA staff
This two-part evaluation consists of a baseline audience study as well as an outcome evaluation of the Full STEAM Ahead Teen Art-Science workshop sponsored jointly by ARTLAB+ of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the National Museum of Natural History Q?rius program. The first part of of the study establishes a baseline of art-science perceptions of 250 anonymous teens self-identified as art-oriented, science-oriented, or dually oriented. The second part compares workshop participant perceptions to the general population both before and after the workshop. Findings showed that
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
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 to create movie illusions. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation with students focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent did the program appeal to student viewers? To what extent did the program achieve its intended viewing goals? Did the implementation of school-based activities
Evaluation findings demonstrate that the Engaging New Americans program at the Harvard Art Museum provides experiences that are of great value to local immigrant populations. Interviewees highly valued opportunities to look at original works of art, learn about the works of art in a meaningful and relevant context, and discuss and share their thoughts and opinions with others. These three program elements—opportunities for authentic close-looking, relevance and meaning-making, and sharing—proved to be highly successful aspects of the program. Includes interview protocols in English and Spanish
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