Prototype exhibits of "The Universe by the Powers of Ten" illustrated in three dimensions an exponential journey away from earth. The goal of the summative evaluation, implemented by Multimedia Research, was to assess the educational impact of the exhibits and accompanying interpretive techniques, for both non-school adult and teen samples and 6th grade school samples in the Maryland Science Center and the Montshire Museum of Science. Two interpretive conditions were compared - a printed handout and an explainer presentation. Further, the Montshire non-school sample experienced a third
Earth & Sky is a two-minute public radio science series about environmental sciences, earth sciences, and astronomy. As broadcast of the series expanded across the U.S., Multimedia Research implemented summative evaluations of listeners in three different radio markets. The evaluations focus on whether listening to the series influences adults' knowledge of, interest in, and attitudes toward science and whether the series affects listeners' science-related activities.
This book describes results of the Museum Impact and Evaluation Study, headed by the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The project that began in January 1990 and was completed in 1992 explored relationships between museums and their visitors and was intended to help staff members understand how they develop these relationships, what characterizes these relationships, and how these relationships are maintained.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Museum of Science and IndustryPeter AndersonBonnie Cook Roe
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The authors argue that schools should be communities where students learn to learn. In this setting teachers should be models of intentional learning and self-motivated scholarship, both individual and collaborative (Brown, 1992; Brown & Campione, 1990; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1991). If successful, graduates of such communities would be prepared as lifelong learners who have learned how to learn in many domains. The authors aim to produce a breed of "intelligent novices"(Brown, Bransford, Ferrara, & Campione, 1983), students who, although they may not possess the background knowledge needed in
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gavriel SalomonAnn BrownDoris AshMartha RutherfordKathryn NakagawaAnn GordonJoseph Campione
In this paper, Chris Parsons discusses professional development, specifically the professional development of museum studies graduate students at J.F.K. University in Orinda, CA. Parsons also describes lessons he learned from students and from the experience of teaching a seminar in museum evaluation.
This paper is based on presentation given at a participatory session at the Visitor Studies Conference with the aim of creating a descriptive list of the qualities and conditions that lead to a positive museum experience (PME). This article sorts, names, and discusses the characteristics generated by the group.
This paper is based on presentation given at a session at the Visitor Studies Conference on the topic of front-end evaluation. This paper summarizes this presentation and ensuing audience discussion and comments. The session was organized into four parts of analysis: (1) a definition of the term itself ("front-end" studies); (2) its relationship to an exhibit development process; (3) quality of the research; and (4) impacts and applications.
This paper presents an overview of the Museum Impact and Evaluation Study and some of its key findings. The project that began in January 1990 and was completed in 1992 explored relationships between museums and their visitors and was intended to help staff members understand how they develop these relationships, what characterizes these relationships, and how these relationships are maintained.
In this paper, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee discuss methodology and findings from a study designed to research the benefits of interactive learning devices for informal settings and test the effectiveness of a flip card question-answer system in label design. Researchers conducted this analysis at the lion exhibit at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michael A. ArndtChan ScrevenDawn BenusaTracie Bishop
This paper is a summary of a 40-page report prepared for the Denver Zoological Foundation. The report detailed findings from an evaluation of the zoo's educational graphic system that aimed to give its visitors the opportunity to enter a world they probably have little experience with, and to wonder at the complexity and ingenuity of natural processes. This study analyzed visitors' response to a select group of graphics in the "Northern Shores" exhibit to determine the kinds of graphics that the zoo might want to invest in for future exhibits, and whether improvements were needed for the
This paper examines the summative evaluations of two exhibits at the Please Touch Museum: "Foodtastic Journey" and "Gateway to China". By contrasting and comparing the most and least engaging components of these two exhibits, a theoretical framework is being built for assessing the effectiveness of exhibits for young children.
This paper presents the methodology and findings of an evaluation of the "Invisible Forces" exhibition at the California Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibit was designed to convey specific concepts related to electricity and magnetism, capture visitor interest for durations of 15 minutes or more of continuous use, be self-contained and comprehensible without reference to other exhibits or extensive text, and appeal to a broad range of ages and backgrounds.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John H FalkKenneth PhillipsJennifer Johnson Boxer