This article discusses findings from an evaluation conducted by researchers at the Liberty Science Center in planning for a new exhibition about skyscrapers. Members of the exhibition team examined if and how the public's perceptions of skyscrapers changed as a result of the World Trade Center collapse and the media attention towards skyscrapers. Evaluators compared the results of this study to data collected prior to 9/11 as part of the exhibit's front-end evaluation.
In this article, researchers for the University of North Carolina at Asheville describe findings from their study that assessed the impact of two interactive, hands-on, informal science-learning programs on elementary and middle school children's (1) general interest in science learning and (2) short-term science learning. They used a separate-sample pretest-posttest research design to evaluate the impact of two informal science-learning programs--a robotics program and an electricity program at the Health Adventure at Pack Place. The appendix of this report includes the survey, observation
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mark L. Harvey, Ph.D.Brandon HudsonBri Tureff
This paper reports a formative evaluation of an interactive exhibit in the Museum of Science, Boston, that encouraged visitors to create a model using everyday materials. The materials provided for visitors to create their models changed during the period of the evaluation, and visitors were observed and interviewed as they engaged with the various prototypes. Evaluation results show that the type of modeling material presented influenced the visitors' model making process and individual learning and behaviors as well as the interactions visitors had with each other.
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.
This paper describes the rationale, objectives, methodology, and key findings of a marketing research project on the motor coach business at the Ships of the Sea Museum. The study was designed to better understand how to use promotional materials to best attract tour operators to come to Savannah and the museum as well as attract tour operators already coming to Savannah to the museum.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David T. Guernsey, Jr.Douglas Robideaux
This report presents front-end evaluation findings at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The study was conducted to assist with the formidable task of programming the 110,000-square-foot roadhouse and to provide data for researchers and exhibit designers. Front-end evaluation goals included: (1) determine if pre-existing or natural traffic flow patterns were present in the roundhouse; (2) evaluate visitor interest in proposed research topics; and (3) obtain visitor reactions, insights, attitudes and expectations concerning proposed roundhouse programming.
In this article, Stephen L. Gerritson of Economic Research Associates discusses a study conducted by the Iron Range Interpretive Center to learn more about its visitors. This museum of mining history and ethnic heritage in Chisholm, Minnesota conducted intercept surveys in the summer of 1986 to better understand visitor demographics, visitor expectations, and the visitor experience.
This is a summary of A.W. Melton's 1936 paper, "Distribution of Attention in Galleries in a Museum of Science and Industry." Melton studied the role of movement in attracting visitors by evaluating a gear-shaper located in the machine tool section of the New York Museum of Science and Industry. Melton determined that while any kind of movement attracts visitors, the overall consequences of this movement on the exhibit may not be be positive.
In this article, Annette Noschka-Roos discusses a study of a computer-supported information system (CIS) touch-screen interactive in the "New Energy Techniques" gallery at the Deutsches Museum. The objective of the study was to gather systematic data on how the medium is used by visitors. Noschka-Roos provides key findings from the study.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Annette Noschka-RoosVisitor Studies Association
In this article, Bernhard Graf discusses the work of the Institut fur Museumskunde (Institute of Museum Studies), a division of the Staatliche Museen (State Museums) in Berlin. The Institut is devoted to research and documentation in the various areas of museum work, defined by the scientific disciplines relevant to the individual project.