The Interactive Video Science Consortium is a non-profit group of fifteen science centers and museums that developed interactive video exhibits about Earth and Planetary sciences with two purposes in mind. One, the videodisc-based kiosk exhibits served as educational vehicles for four million visitors, representing the combined audiences of the fifteen participating museums. Two, through extensive testing and visitor research during the development process, the consortium members enlarged understanding of the appropriate and effective uses of the interactive video medium in science museums
The Hansen Planetarium proposes the creation, writing, and production of a 50-minute star theatre program, Cosmic Catastrophes: A Planet At Risk?, aimed at informally educating over a million individuals regarding the vulnerability of our Earth. The further production of four interactive exhibits is planned to accompany the program. This program will be marketed and distributed at a nominal charge to 250 national planetariums, with 50 additional production packets planned for loan. In this fashion, top-quality, accurate, and timely science education can be guaranteed to a large selection of audiences. Scientific research tells us that catastrophes of global and interplanetary proportions have happened in the past, there is evidence that they could occur in the present, and they pose an imminent danger in the future. The utilization of expert consultants, in conjunction with Hansen Planetarium staff, will insure this program presents the most current information available about these cosmic catastrophes. Its interactive format is designed to stimulate a proactive approach to problem solution on the part of the audience, especially in reference to ecological or environmental issues. The star show format, with its dynamic special effects, will make scientific theories surrounding cosmic catastrophes accessible and excitiong.
This paper discusses research on visitor behavior in museums, specific visitor interest, attention and learning. It presents findings from a study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, which evaluated 47 undergraduates' viewing patterns and learning at 11 static case exhibits at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John J. Koran, Jr.John Scott FosterMary Lou Koran
In this paper, Jeff Bonner of the St. Louis Science Center discusses the merits of formal versus naturalistic evaluation within the museum context. Bonner also presents the approach and findings of a two-part study designed to compare the results of these two evaluation approaches. They compared the the results of a formal analysis of the holding power, ease of use, readability of text, and overall enjoyability of nine exhibits with a naturalistic study focused on how one volunteer, two part-time employees and a staff supervisor viewed the same exhibits.
In this paper, Elin Kelsey describes the planning and design process for the new "Arctic Canada" exhibit at the Vancouver Aquarium. Kelsey discusses a number of parameters whose consideration will provide a more reliable basis for making hte kinds of decisions that exhibit planners must make.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elin Kelsey
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This paper provides an overview of the Audience Research Consortium of Toronto, comprised of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Center and the Royal Ontario Museum. These groups have a shared vision of attracting a larger and more diverse audience-one that includes nontraditional and multicultural groups. This paper outlines how this group developed, acquired funding, hired a consulting group, and created a proposal and research plan. Preliminary findings are also briefly summarized.
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Art Gallery of OntarioRoyal Ontario MuseumOntario Science CentreMetropolitan Toronto ZooWoods Gordon Management Consultants
In this article, Jacksonville State University researchers define and analyze the "immersion" visitor experience. The researchers present preliminary findings from a study that attempted to explore some of the dimensions of this visitor experience of immersion. Subjects in this study were 241 visitors to the Anniston Museum of Natural History in Anniston, Alabama.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BitgoodElizabeth EllingsenDonald Patterson
In this article, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers Dawn D' Amico and Wendy Pokorny discuss findings from their study that investigated the impact of a museum visit on preconceived notions of scientific explanation. D' Amico and Pokorny found that visitors' preconceptions were unlikely to change as a result of viewing exhibits.
WQED and the Pennsylvania State University have created a new archeology series titled Time Travelers: Rediscovering the Past. This eight part series will present in compelling terms the recent scientific innovations in archeology and how new techniques have added startling insights into past civilizations. The programs are aimed at the general public and will reach an estimated 7,000,000 people. The series is thematically organized around vital issues such as: New Worlds; Great Spirits; Scribes and Subscriptions; The Artisan; Power and Prestige; The Hearth; Realms of the Maya; and Collapse. A major traveling museum exhibition will parallel the series and a trade book will be developed. The Annenberg/CPB project has authorized $2 million towards production and development of instructional materials for use as a college level course. WQED has an outstanding track record in development of television series. They have won over 100 national awards in the past ten years including ten Emmys and a Peabody award. The have a distinguished Advisory Committee to oversee accuracy of content. This series is a well designed, comprehensive and effective presentation of a most "visual" discipline. Reviewers were all enthusiastic about the series and characterized the production as innovative and thoughtful.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jay RayvidWilliam SandersJoanna Baldwin-MalloryDavid Webster
The American Museum of Natural History proposes to design and build a new permanent 9,000-square-foot Hall of Human Biology and Evolution over a three-year period. The exhibit is to start out with human biology and then move smoothly to human evolution and the fossil record and other evidences of early humans. The new exhibit will range from the molecular/genetic level to the emergence of human beings, and will include archeological excavations and findings, reconstruction and discussion of humanoids, early human evolution, human structure and function, and human diversity. In addition to stimulating the interests of visitors (2.7 million in 1986-87) in human biology and evolution through the use of traditional and interactive technology, the new exhibit program will provide curriculum supplement for elementary and high school classes and teacher-training guides and workshops to assist in the integration of the exhibition materials into classroom studies. The primary educational goal is to give the widest possible audience a concrete sense of where and how the human animal fits in the natural world through examination of the traits that we share with all creatures and those that are peculiar to humans. The exhibit promises further contribution by bridging the current exhibits on animal life and those on the rich ethnological collections on the diversity of human cultures. NSF dollars are to cover the costs only of planning, building and evaluating the exhibit, with no funds for staff.
The Florida Museum of Natural History proposes to prepare two versions of a traveling exhibit in the context of the Columbus Quincentennary. The purposes of the exhibit are to show the natural history of the Caribbean at the time when Columbus arrived and to describe the rapid modification of those natural environments for European economic gain. The exhibit will manifest two components, both of which will travel to other museums. One exhibit of approximately 3000 square feet will originate at the Florida Museum of Natural History and then will move to eight other museums around the country. Another exhibit of about 1000 square feet will travel to a different series of smaller museums, libraries and college galleries.
WGBH/Boston in association with the Chedd-Angier Production plan the production of a series of five one hour public television programs on the environmental history of North America, "A Continent Transformed". Each of the programs will emphasize a key process which has shaped American environmental history: biological invasion, drawing boundaries, linking transportation and market systems, projecting ideals onto the landscape, and increasing the pace and complexity of systematic change. The principal author of the series and its on camera host will be William Cronin, a leading ecological historian. The series will be assisted by a prestigious Advisory Board, educational materials will be developed for series classrom use, and 8 million viewers should see each episode when the series airs in the Fall of 1992. NSF support will represent approximately 10% of the project total.