In this article, Lynne M. Westphal of the USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station, outlines discussions exploring the interactions between plant communities and people communities at a November 1992 symposium. The symposium aimed to assess current knowledge about the active involvement of people with plants and to clarify research needs that will lead to improved program management and information delivery.
In this article, Marilyn G. Hood, Ph.D., of Hood Associates, discusses two year-long studies at major outdoor settings, which offer insights into the reasons why people choose to visit botanical gardens and arboretums and what they enjoy about these visits. Hood summarizes methods and key findings from theses four-season studies, which were conducted in 1987 at the Holden Arboretum (Mentor, Ohio) and in 1989 at the Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, IL).
This article summarizes an evaluation report discussed in a 1982 article in the "Journal of Educational Research." The study was a series by J. Falk and colleagues that examined children's experiences on school field trips, especially the effects of novel environments. The attitudes, behavior, and learning of third and fifth graders were compared in two environments: (1) a field trip to a nature center to learn about tree biology and (2) the same lesson given at school outside the students' classroom.
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John H FalkJ. BallingVisitor Studies Association
In this article related to evaluation and multicultural audiences, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood presents a "progress report" on a visitor center and environmental education project in Puerto Rico that is being designed to serve both the local Puerto rican audience as well as the international visitor. Bitgood shares findings from the study featured in a report to the Caribbean National Forest, part of the USDA National Forest Service.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop an interdisciplinary national traveling exhibition about raptors (birds of prey). Created in collaboration with The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota (TRC) and the Museum Magnet School of the St. Paul School District, this exhibit and its related programs will explore themes of biodiversity, ecology, and human relationships with the natural world. It will help visitors understand raptors as diverse, charismatic, biologically-complex animals whose continued survival is linked to fundamental questions of public policy, economics, and environmental ethics. combining the perspectives of the sciences with those of the humanities, the exhibit will present science in a real-world context of human values and actions. Opening at SMM in the summer of 1944, the 5,000-square-foot exhibit will travel for five years or more to other large museums, nature centers, and zoos throughout the U.S. Using specimens, models, artifacts, dioramas, audiovisual programs, and interactive components and supported by theater, demonstrations, and a variety of other on-site programs, it will provide a compelling mix of informal learning experiences for families, school groups, and other general audiences. Beyond the museum walls, the themes of the project will reach schools and other important outreach audiences through videotapes, teacher training programs, educational materials, and other programs. SMM will also produce a scaled-down version of the exhibit that will tour to smaller museums, nature centers, and zoos.
Interactive science exhibits will be designed, developed, and installed in the Brookings Interpretive Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Brookings Interpretive Center is a new educational facility attached to the Climatron, a geodesic dome greenhouse. The exhibits will be installed in one of five theme areas: Tropical Rain Forest Biome, Tropical Rain Forests at Risk, Global Ecosystem, Desert Biome, and Temperate Biome. In addition to the science exhibits, the project will develop a series of science demonstrations to be used in the Brookings Interpretive Center and will allow for additional signage and audio effects to be added to the Climatron.