In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and William Ford presents findings from a study that assessed the impact of various names on how a specific type of facility is perceived. Researchers investigated respondents' expectations associated with new names for a facility under the administration of the North Carolina Historic Site.
This article discusses a 1988-1990 study that analyzed the effectiveness of a collaborative effort between a museum and a school system to build an integrated curriculum package. The partners included the York County School System (VA) and the Yorktown Victory Center (operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation). The theme of the curriculum was 18th Century Medicine and the unit was designed to enhance the science, math, and social studies instruction of fourth graders.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Ronald GieseJudy Davis-DorseyJoseph Gutierrez
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and Don Thompson address the issue of how museums can appeal to multicultural audiences and assess the impact of their attempts to attract new audiences. Bitgood and Thompson outline a four-step process for addressing problems of multicultural audiences.
This report presents the findings of audience research conducted by Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A), for the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The evaluation identifies and examines the successes and shortcomings of the Museum's three major public tours--Confino Living History, Getting By, and Piecing It Together--as well as the facilitated Kitchen Conversation program that follows some tours.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi KornLower East Side Tenement Museum
resourceresearchMuseum and Science Center Programs
Presentation on the evaluation of NSF grant DRL-0917595 (Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Decision Making in Informal Education) presented at the CAISE Convening on Sustainability Science and Informal Science Education, February 6th, 2012.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Raymond Vandiver
resourceresearchMuseum and Science Center Programs
Presentation on NSF grant DRL-1010938 (Saving Species: Socially-Networked Exhibits for Science Inquiry and Public Action) presented at the CAISE Convening on Sustainability Science and Informal Science Education, February 6th, 2012.
This study was conducted as part of the formative evaluation of the NISE Network Forum Nanomedicine in Healthcare. The purpose of the forum was to bring members of the public together to discuss the conditions under which nanotechnology applications in medicine and personal care products should be made available to the public. During the forum, participants learned about nanotechnology and its societal and ethical impacts from expert speakers, had chance to ask questions of the experts, participated in a small group discussion in which they talked about the pros and cons of releasing
The NISE Network Forums were created to provide an in-depth learning experience that would (1) enhance participants' understanding of nano and its potential impacts; (2) increase participants' confidence in participating in public discourse about nanotechnologies; and (3) build informal science educators' knowledge and ability to conduct this type of programming at their institution (NISE Network Public Forums Manual, 2007). In an effort to reach out to a more diverse audience, the NISE Network Forums Team translated into Spanish the existing NISE Net forum "Nanomedicine in Healthcare" to
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth KollmannJane MorganNanoscale Informal Science Education NetworkRoxana del Campo
This report presents a summary of findings from our evaluation and conclusions that may carry broader implications. The audience for this report includes The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funders (particularly science research funders), the leadership and staff of Nanotechnology: the Convergence of Science and Society project partners, and the informal science education field. The main body of the report is organized into two sections. The first section discusses the project's logic model, or theory of action and frames what the project set out to do and how. The project's
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Mark St. JohnPamela CastoriOregon Public BroadcastingJudy Hirabayashi
This study was conducted as a part of the formative evaluation of the NISE Network forum Nanotechnology: Risks, Benefits, and Who Decides? The purpose of the forum was to bring members of the public together to discuss whether experts, watchdogs, and/or the public should be the primary decision makers about nanotechnology policy. During the course of the forum, participants learned about nanotechnology and its societal and ethical implications from experts, had a chance to ask questions of the experts, participated in a small group discussion where they talked about the pros and cons of the
This study was designed to assess qualitative and quantitative impacts that the enactor program has on visitor experience at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS), using two temporary exhibitions (Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition) as examples. Of interest was capturing the unique visitor experience that enactors provide by combining visitor engagement, education and interaction. In turn, this affords opportunities to better consider enactor and/or theater-based programming for other areas of the Museum (temporary and permanent) in the
With funding from Atlantic Philanthropies, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate the Traveling Through Time (TTT) program, a 90-minute fieldtrip program facilitated by museum educators that explores the early history of New York City through objects and inquiry. The study explores whether and to what extent the TTT program affects students' attitudes about history and history museums, history knowledge, and history-related skills. In the last 30 years, there has been little rigorous research that investigates the outcomes
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates Inc.Museum of the City of New York