This paper presents research methodology and findings of a formative evaluation of floor maps in the new ancient Near East galleries at the Royal Ontario Museum. The evaluation aimed to determine effectiveness of these signs as well as the most suitable placement, quantity, and type of sign used to orient visitors.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christine LockettDanielle Boyer-TarloJanet Emonson
In this paper, Conny Graft presents a brief overview of the interpretive planning process used on larger projects at Colonial Williamsburg as well as lessons learned from one specific program. Graft provides insight into the challenges of planning interpretations and evaluating live interpretive programs.
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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TEAM MEMBERS:
Art Gallery of OntarioRoyal Ontario MuseumOntario Science CentreMetropolitan Toronto ZooWoods Gordon Management Consultants
In this article, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researcher Don Thompson shares methods and findings from a front-end evaluation of the Plains Indian Exhibit Area at the Milwaukee Public Museum, which was used to inform exhibit renovation plans. Thompson assessed visitor knowledge of key concepts, the role of existing exhibits in fostering knowledge of these concepts, and unforeseen successes or shortcomings of the exhibits.
This article summarizes methods and key findings of a study conducted as part of the planning for a proposed museum on The Southeastern Native Americans. Researchers assessed visitor interest in Native American exhibitions, the general public's knowledge, interests, and misconceptions about Native Americans, and potential audiences for the museum.
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.
Audience research inspired this interpretive case study in which the evaluator compared planning for the visitor experience and visitor response to the developed environment in a living history site setting. During 1987-1988, the evaluator spent several months observing and interviewing museum workers and visitors, in situ, at The Gibson House, which is operated by the City of Toronto Historic Museums and Art Centres. The case study included a variety of data triangulation techniques to interpret the visitor experience from multiple perspectives (e.g., Soren, 1990-2000). The Gibson House
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara SorenCity of Toronto Historic Museums and Art Centres
The Lawrence Hall of Science proposes to develop a major public education program, including a traveling exhibition, two planetarium programs, a play, and a kit for schools entitled "Columbus' Great Experiment." Emphasizing science and technology, Columbus' first voyage is portrayed as an experiment aimed at testing the hypothesis (based on doubtful evidence) that sailing to the west was a more practical way of reaching the Indies than by sailing east around the Horn of Africa. As with many scientific experiments, the results were quite different from what the experimenter had in mind: instead of finding a sea route to the Indies, Columbus vastly expanded knowledge about our planet and spurred developments in science and technology. These events occurred within a social and cultural context that were critical to the development of modern science, and resulted in far-reaching changes in the population and ecology of the world which continue today. The National Endowment for the Humanities has recently awarded a grant for the development of the exhibits. The present proposal requests that NSF join with NEH to complete and expand the project, by funding: a) components of three additional copies of the exhibition to be constructed by other museums, thus expanding the public audience to 19 million visitors; b) two participatory planetarium programs; c) a play about the scientific aspects of Columbus' voyage; and d) school kits that will enable teachers to present the most important ideas embodied in the exhibition to students who are unable to view the exhibition at a science center. Interest in these programs will peak around Columbus Day, 1992, we anticipate that the materials will be sufficiently interesting, informative, and entertaining to be used for many years to come.
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 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.
The Science Museum of Minnesota proposes to create a national traveling exhibit on grizzly and black bears. Marked by an interdisciplinary approach that will address scientific, ethical, social, and economic issues, the exhibit will deal with research on bear biology, historical ecology, habitat destruction, declining populations, myths and bear encounters. The project will combine objects and specimens, research findings, interactive displays, film and video, and interpretive programs. Because it will travel to a number of other museums, the exhibit promises to serve a wide audience number at least two million people.
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.