The purpose of this summative evaluation was to find out how visitors are using and learning from the East by Northwest exhibit at the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) in Seattle, Washington. The exhibit tells the story of Seattle's Ethiopian community, highlighting the continuity of the culture and the contribution to our shared experience. To do this, three methods were employed: 1) tracking and timing observations, 2) exit surveys, and 3) analysis of guestbook entries. A total of 188 visitors were included in this study. Data collection occurred during January, February, and March
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marta BeyerAlex CurioJulie DoughertyJustine WalkerErin WilcoxUniversity of Wisconsin
EVALUATION PURPOSE The purpose of this evaluation was to determine which visitors are attracted to interpreter-staffed Discovery Carts and what behaviors they exhibit that reflect their learning experience. To do this, 348 observations of unique visitor interactions with Discovery Carts were collected from January 21 to February 17, 2010. KEY FINDINGS What age group is most attracted to the Discovery Carts? Children ages 3 to10 comprise the majority of visitors to the Discovery Carts. Who initiates the interaction between visitors and the cart? The visitor initiates the majority of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kathryn FromsonJessica NewkirkElizabeth RosinoShannon WeissPacific Science Center
In late spring 2010, Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) was contracted by the Museum of Science, Boston, to conduct an outcomes evaluation of their educational live performance, The Amazing Nano Brothers Juggling Show (ANB). The show presents scientific concepts about atoms and nano science in a highly entertaining and engaging performance. The evaluation focused on the learning outcomes of children, adults, and middle school students. The goal of this evaluation was to examine the effectiveness of the show in increasing audiences' knowledge of and interest in nano science and nanotechnology
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Rachel SchechterMuseum of ScienceMolly PriedemanIrene GoodmanCarol Lynn Alpert
Listening to the River (LTTR) is a watershed science education project funded by the National Science Foundation. Its aims are to deliver education experiences in the local area, Traverse City, Michigan, and also to develop a model that could be replicated in other locations. Inverness Research was contracted by the Listening to the River project to conduct both formative and summative evaluations. Our work began in 2005 when the project received a planning grant, and continued through the life of the project. Primarily through interviews and product reviews, along with some direct program
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mark St. JohnHeather MitchellDawn RoblesElizabeth HorschLaura StokesLand Information Access Assocation
The Citizen Science Central site developed by CLO clearly meets its goal of providing guidance and resources to individuals and organizations engaged in, or interested in undertaking, citizen science, volunteer monitoring, or participatory action research initiatives. The site embodies the ideas and insights generated by the Citizen Science Toolkit conference. In terms of the evaluation objectives, the evidence from the user surveys show that the site meets both of the standards listed below. Ease of use, sufficiency, and appropriateness of Citizen Science Central content Quality and
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Stephanie ThompsonCornell University
The Minnesota Historical Society contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a summative evaluation of the Minnesota's Greatest Generation exhibition (MGG), which was on view at the Minnesota History Center. The exhibition traces the lives of a generation of Minnesotans born in the 1910s and 1920s through the Depression, War, and Boom. RK&A trained staff and volunteers to conduct 50 interviews with adult visitors to MGG; interviews were audio recorded and transcribed to facilitate analysis. The interview explored visitors' experiences with exhibit components (such as with the
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Minnesota Historical Society
The Arkansas Discovery Network (ADN) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate Science & Art, a 4,000 square foot exhibition created by the Science Museum of Minnesota that will travel to the ADN museums. The evaluation documents the impact and effectiveness of the exhibition as it was installed at the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Two methodologies were employed: timing and tracking observations and in-depth exit interviews. EXHIBITION BACKGROUND The exhibition explores connections between science and art. The exhibition contains five sections that
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Arkansas Discovery Network
True to the design we formulated in our proposal, the Inverness Research evaluation studied the COSIA project on two levels: Partnerships and Contributions. The logic underlying these two layers of study is as follows: COSIA creates working and complex partnerships that serve as the engine for the development of new resources and programs. These resources and programs in turn make multiple contributions, ranging from increased institutional capacity, to more skilled delivery of programs by college students and ISEI staff, to benefits for research scientists, to an increased public
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michelle PhillipsMark St. JohnUniversity of California, Berkeley
WGBH has produced NOVA scienceNOW since 2005, with major funding from the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Alfred. P. Sloan Foundation. NOVA scienceNOW (NsN) is comprised of a science news and magazine television series, a companion website, and a science cafe outreach initiative. All NsN offerings share common goals: (a) increase public awareness and understanding of cutting edge science content, and (b) increase public engagement in science-related activities. Beginning in Season 4 of NOVA scienceNOW (NsN), WGBH increased its efforts to promote the
"Evolution in Action: Isolation and Speciation in the Lower Congo" is a 9-minute documentary about a team of researchers working to understand what is driving the rapid evolution and speciation of fishes in the Lower Congo River. The evaluation was designed to probe the following: 1) Connection and Interest in the science content 2) Connections between the scientific story and other topics of personal interest 3) Implications of the multilingual versions for disseminating science to the public and to science educators The participants included international education students who work in
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Maritza MacdonaldAmerican Museum Natural History
The ASTA Group, LLC (ASTA) received EAGER funding (National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant No. 094077) to conduct comprehensive planning for a National Initiative on Cyberlearning in K-12 Education. To ensure success, ASTA invited a diverse group of experts and stakeholders to participate in the planning process. Planning tasks included individual meetings and combined planning sessions. The planning process culminated with a 1-day workshop to synergize the preliminary information collected. ASTA produced a Summary Report synthesizing participants' ideas and recommendations to guide the
The Learning Places evaluation went beyond the traditional approach of determining how well the project met its goals. In addition to that approach, we identified grounded theory. Five areas of theory and related hypotheses emerged: STEM learning, agents of change, teens as designers, community partner engagement and national collaboration. Each is described in detail in the full report, along with findings related to each of the project goals.