This article discusses visitors' ability to interpret geographic maps. It describes a study that examined how easily adult visitors to the Bronx Zoo were able to identify two continents and countries on maps, and their interpretation of the term "range." Findings suggest a need to revise maps in exhibit labels to improve visitor comprehension and the authors make recommendations on how to do so. The appendix includes a copy of the interview protocol used in the study.
In this paper, Elin Kelsey describes the planning and design process for the new "Arctic Canada" exhibit at the Vancouver Aquarium. Kelsey discusses a number of parameters whose consideration will provide a more reliable basis for making hte kinds of decisions that exhibit planners must make.
In this article, researchers from Jacksonville State University and the Center for Social Design discuss a study that attempted to use questions as label-reading prompts in a new way. Questions were written on a sheet of paper and made available as a handout to visitors at the Birmingham Zoo and Anniston Museum of Natural History. The answers to the questions could be found in the exhibit labels.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BitgoodDonald PattersonArlene Benefield
The Climate Interpretation Coalition is maturing beyond a set of discrete institutions to become a collective voice for communicating climate change and the ocean. As the three‐year funded NOAA program and the empowerment evaluation end, the question of how to build ongoing communities of support arises. The findings are based upon an interview‐based exploration of individuals who participated in the 2012 Baltimore summit and who represent a broad spectrum of engagement (highly engaged with creating the coalition through to limited engagement in a single summit). The interviews were nested
The overarching purpose of the Climate Literacy Zoo Education Network is to develop and evaluate a new approach to climate change education that connects zoo visitors to polar animals currently endangered by climate change, leveraging the associative and affective pathways known to dominate decision-making. Utilizing a polar theme, the partnership brings together a strong multidisciplinary team that includes the Chicago Zoological Society of Brookfield, IL, leading a geographically distributed consortium of nine partners: Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, OH; Como Zoo & Conservatory, St. Paul, MN; Indianapolis Zoo, IN; Louisville Zoological Garden, KY; Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR; Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, PA; Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence, RI; Toledo Zoological Gardens, OH, and the organization Polar Bears International. The partnership leadership includes the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. The partnership is joined by experts in conservation psychology and an external advisory board. The primary stakeholders are the diverse 13 million annual visitors to the nine partner zoos. Additional stakeholders include zoo docents, interpreters and educators, as well as the partnership technical team in the fields of learning innovations, technological tools, research review and education practice. The core goals of the planning phase are to a) develop and extend the strong multidisciplinary partnership, b) conduct research needed to understand the preconceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and learning modes of zoo visitors regarding climate change; and c) identify and prototype innovative learning environments and tools. Internal and external evaluations will be conducted by Facet Innovations of Seattle, WA. Activities to achieve these goals include assessments and stakeholder workshops to inventory potential resources at zoos; surveys of zoo visitors to examine demographic, socioeconomic, and technology access parameters of zoo visitors and their existing opinions; and initial development and testing of participatory, experiential activities and technological tools to facilitate learning about the complex system principles underlying the climate system. The long-term vision centers on the development of a network of U.S. zoos, in partnership with climate change domain scientists, learning scientists, conservation psychologists, and other stakeholders, serving as a sustainable infrastructure to investigate strategies designed to foster changes in public attitudes, understandings, and behavior surrounding climate change.
The Seattle Aquarium seeks to discover how toddler families experience its exhibits and how to best incorporate toddler family needs in future exhibit developments. The goal of this study is to begin to document toddler-exhibit interactions in order to better understand the Aquarium experience for that audience. The specific research goal was to determine which exhibit elements are attracting and holding the attention of the toddler family audience. A total of 47 caregiver interviews and 297 toddler observations across three exhibit areas were collected from January-March 2011 at the Seattle
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Andrea BarberKaleen PovisSeattle Aquarium
In 2006 the Exhibits department conducted a summative evaluation of Ocean's Edge, the aquarium's original and permanent galleries. From 2002-2005 the original galleries underwent a renovation to bring the original exhibits and interpretation up-to-date and to add additional exhibits. This area covers approximately 10,000 square feet. Ocean's Edge is a dramatic transformation of the aquarium's original exhibit galleries. Rockwork and wharf pilings and touchable models transform galleries into the habitats they represent. Visitors can walk under a crashing wave or delve into multimedia exhibits
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Steven YalowitzJenny Sayre RambergJaci Tomulonis
The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans. From 2006 to 2008, Aquarium staff members and consultants conducted a series of qualitative and quantitative studies to assess the extent to which visiting the Aquarium engaged, inspired and empowered visitors to care about and for the oceans. The Inspiring Ocean Conservation (IOC) Project included four phases. During Phase I, the researchers consulted with Aquarium staff and conducted in-depth interviews with visitors to develop a logic model. The model outlined the conservation outcomes that could result from
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Cynthia VernonSteven YalowitzAva FergusonVictoria Macfarlane
In October 2009, the Tennessee Aquarium began an ambitious program, Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean (CTWO), funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CTWO consists of several individual projects, all intended to increase the ocean literacy of Aquarium audiences and to promote their adoption of an ocean stewardship ethic. This formative evaluation report summarizes the extent to which the Aquarium has made progress toward these goals in the first year of the project and provides an information base for identifying opportunities to strengthen
Based on discoveries made from an active research grant, Gruber, colleagues, and students will develop multimedia deliverables that highlight the biofluorescence found in coral reefs. They include development of a multimedia exhibit containing interactive, inquiry-based modules and new videos developed off the Cayman Islands. These deliverables will share the beauty of coral reefs, the source of biofluorescence (fluorescent proteins), and the fundamental importance of coral reefs in shallow marine ecosystems. The STEM content of this project is drawn from the biological sciences, including specific topics such as marine biology, physiology, ecology, and conservation. The exhibit will reach diverse audiences at public aquaria and at the principal investigator's institution. Learning will be studied by an external evaluator through formative assessment. The new science discoveries and related STEM content about coral reef biofluorescence also will be communicated via a web site that enables access by informal learners online. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project is based on research grant MCB-0920572: Isolation, characterization, and evolution of fluorescent proteins from Indo-Pacific and Caribbean marine organisms.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David GruberVincent PieriboneCarrie Manfrino
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Museum of Life and Science will use this planning grant to bring together zoo, botanical garden, and science center professionals to a) assess the feasibility of an "interactive zoo," b) identify animals species that exhibit behaviors in a zoo environment that provide natural opportunities for related interactive exhibits, and c) generate a White Paper reviewing relevant exhibits in zoos and science centers and proposing design criteria for the interactive exhibits. The planning activities include: the development of a "White Paper" that will include a review of key research findings in developmental psychology and visitor behavior as they apply to playgrounds, zoos, and interactive exhibit environments, an overview of relevant exhibit techniques and technologies, and case studies of existing exhibits; a 2-day meeting to discuss the issues; and travel to exemplary museums, zoos, aquaria, and botanical gardens. These results will be used in the development of interactive exhibits in an outdoor setting included in the museum's Master Plan 2000. They have proposed the analogy of a field research station in their approach to learning in an outdoor setting. They envision three thematic "field stations": "Down to Earth," "Watery Worlds," and "Catch the Wind." The specific exhibit plans will be finalized after the completion of the planning grant. Although the Museum of Life and Science will be the primary beneficiary of this planning activity, the background information gathered, the issues discussed, and the critical appraisals will be relevant to other museums with and interested in developing exhibits in an out-of-door setting. The results will be broadly disseminated by means of publications and presentations at professional meetings.