Sense-making with data through the process of visualization—recognizing and constructing meaning with these data—has been of interest to learning researchers for many years. Results of a variety of data visualization projects in museums and science centers suggest that visitors have a rudimentary understanding of and ability to interpret the data that appear in even simple data visualizations. This project supports the need for data visualization experiences to be appealing, accommodate short and long-term exploration, and address a range of visitors’ prior knowledge. Front-end evaluation
This front-end evaluation study is part of Designing Our Tomorrow: Mobilizing the Next Generation of Engineers, a five-year project (2018–2023) led by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF, DRL-1811617) and project partners: Adelante Mujeres, the Biomimicry Institute, and the Fleet Science Center. The Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT) project seeks to promote and strengthen family engagement and engineering learning via compelling exhibit-based design challenges, presented through the lens of sustainable design exemplified by
Under the Arctic: Digging into Permafrost, a 2,000 square foot museum exhibition, engaged visitors in real and simulated experiences related to the nature of permafrost, permafrost research, and the impact of climate change on permafrost. Development of the exhibition was part of a larger National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning grant, Hot Times in Cold Places: The Hidden World of Permafrost, awarded to the University of Alaska Fairbanks in partnership with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Two related evaluation studies led us to our conclusions. First, we
With funding from NIH SEPA, OMSI is creating a mid-sized travelling exhibition that will promote public understanding of neuroscience research and its relevance to healthy brain development in early childhood.
The purpose of this report is to support the project team by assessing the extent to which the prototype activities, content, and labels tested contributed to visitor engagement, understanding, confidence, and future use of one or more strategies outlined. It was important to the project team that the exhibition be developed in collaboration with the communities for whom it is
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) and Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE) contracted RK&A to conduct an evaluation of their partnership’s progress and outcomes over three years. The goal of the summative evaluation is to explore students, families, and teachers’ perceptions of and relationship to BBG and the BBG-BASE partnership. The evaluation also explored attitudes and understandings of how to engage in nature exploration, scientific inquiry, and environmental stewardship in a meaningful way.
How did we approach this study?
RK&A developed questionnaires to be
RK&A conducted a summative evaluation of the New Glass Now exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass. The interpretative goal for the exhibition is to challenge visitors to expand their notions of glass in contemporary art and design.
Methodology
The goal of the study is to explore visitors’ experiences in the temporary exhibition—the first exhibition to be evaluated in the contemporary wing of the museum. RK&A conducted 100 timing and tracking observations of visitors in the exhibition; visitors were recruited from all three potential entrances to the exhibition. Observation data
Char Associates conducted an evaluation of the four-year, NSF-funded project, Interpreters and Scientists Working on Our Parks (iSWOOP). The project brought interpreters and scientists together in multi-day professional development sessions at five national parks with the purpose of showcasing scientific research that usually goes unseen and unappreciated by park visitors. iSWOOP coordinated the development and delivery of digital libraries including animations, still photos, thermal and high-speed videos, and maps to give visual support to explanations of particular scientific studies. In
This document represents the story of Native Universe: Indigenous Voice in Science Museums and how it has unfolded at the project level, the three case study museum sites, and through partnerships between tribal communities and the three science museums. Modeled on the project itself, our research and evaluation team brings together Indigenous and conventional, western evaluation and research practices, through a collaborative partnership between the Lifelong Learning Group, based at COSI’s Center for Research and Evaluation (Columbus, OH) and Native Pathways (Laguna, NM). The results of
The Saint Louis Science Center (SLSC) project Bridging Earth and Mars (BEAM), based upon work supported by NASA under grant award NNX14AD08G, engages the general public and children from schools and community groups. Visitors learn of NASA’s exploration of Mars through exhibits simulating control of robotic rovers on the surface of Mars, as well as related educational programming. Two public exhibition galleries opened on November 21, 2015: (1) Mission: Mars Control, located on the second floor of the SLSC Main Building; and (2) Mission: Mars Base, located in the SLSC Planetarium Building
This evaluation was commissioned to explore visitors’ reactions to and experience of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's special exhibition Fishing for Solutions. The exhibit team sought feedback about whether visitors perceived the main messages, what mood people leave with, and issues of media choice in exhibit design, among other topics. To provide systematic information on these issues, interviews were conducted with a sample of 343 randomly selected visitors as they were exiting from the exhibition, plus “mini-studies” of 40 people each were conducted at four specific exhibits. Details about
This annual report presents an overview of Saint Louis Science Center audience data gathered through a variety of evaluation studies conducted during 2018. This report includes information on the Science Center's general public audience demographics and visitation patterns, gives an overview of visitors' comments about their Science Center experience, summarizes major trends observed in the Science Center's tool for tracking educational programs, and presents highlights from three exhibit evaluations: front-end evaluation for GameXPloration, formative evaluation for augmentations to the
This annual report presents an overview of Saint Louis Science Center audience data gathered through a variety of evaluation studies conducted during 2017. This report includes information on the Science Center's general public audience demographics and visitation patterns, gives an overview of visitors' comments about their Science Center experience, summarizes major trends observed in the Science Center's tool for tracking educational programs, and presents highlights from front-end evaluation on the topic of infrastructures and summative evaluation of the GROW exhibition.