Tom Skancke, Development Director of Discovery: The Children's Museum in Las Vegas, presents an outline of the market study and development plan produced by Laventol and Horwath, when the Las Vegas community decided to develop their children's museum. The plan illustrates the thoroughness with which initial audience research can and should be done, according to Skancke.
In this Editor's Note, guest editor Linda A. (Nikki) Black summarizes the content of this issue of "Visitor Behavior" and explains its goal to demonstrate the importance of evaluation to the success of smaller/newer museums as well as to demonstrate the role of evaluation in everyday operations.
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Linda A. (Nikki) BlackVisitor Studies Association
In this bibliography, Jacksonville State University researcher Stephen Bitgood presents a list of research reports on the topic of school field trips to museums and zoos.
In this article, University of Florida researchers John J. Koran, Jr., Mary Lou Koran, and Jim Ellis present a review of research on the effectiveness of field trip experience and analyze findings for trends.
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John J. Koran Jr.Mary Lou KoranJim Ellis
In this article, Jacksonville State University researcher Stephen Bitgood presents a general overview of the literature on field trips. Bitgood reviews the four phases of school field trip programs: planning of the program, pre-visit preparation, on-site activities, and follow-up activities. Bitgood cites studies that address each of phase and acknowledges gaps in current research.
In this brief article, Jacksonville State University researcher Stephen Bitgood discusses the value of front-end and formative evaluation as part of the exhibit label development process.
In this article, Jacksonville State University researcher Stephen Bitgood presents a review of exhibit label literature and techniques. Bitgood refers to Beverly Serrell's 1983 list of "eight deadly sins" from her manual, "Making Exhibit Labels: A Step by Step Guide," and cites visitor studies that support Serrell's list. Bitgood also explains visitors' reactions to labels in terms of empirical factors.
In this article, Pete Conroy of the Anniston Museum of Natural History analyzes how "cheap thrills" can be the most effective ways to capture visitors' attentions, after which educational messages can be delivered. Conroy discusses the role of cheap thrills in zoo and museum exhibitions.
In this article, Rosalyn Rubenstein discusses how the focus group method can be used in museum visitor studies. Rubenstein provides a general description of the focus group method, describes the process by breaking it down into its component parts, uses case studies as examples of how focus groups have been used and the data they elicit, and draws conclusion about the projects to which focus groups are appropriate. This paper also makes reference to aspects of methodology in consumer market research and revisions, which Rubenstein uses to apply the technique to museum audience research.
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Rosalyn RubensteinVisitor Studies Association
In this article, Sydney Donahoe discusses visitor research at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Donahoe explains three main reasons for conducting this research: advertising and marketing campaigns, to improve their product, and to assess visitor learning and enjoyment.
In this article, Stephen Bitgood of Jacksonville State University discusses issues associated with visitor orientation and circulation. Bitgood identifies seven problem areas, which he discusses individually: pre-visit or off-site, arrival at the facility, finding support facilities (restrooms, food, gift shop, etc.), orientation and circulation during exhibit viewing, exiting or leaving the facility, and measurement of visitors' orientation and circulation behavior.
In this article, Patricia A. McNamara answers questions about using formative evaluation to develop exhibits, based on nearly ten years of experience at the Science Museum of Virginia. McNamara discusses beginning the formative evaluation process, selecting staff, setting goals, building prototype exhibits, working with visitors, using visitor data to make exhibit design decisions, and securing support from top-level management.