This is a summary of studies from "The Behavior of the Museum Visitor" (1928) by Edward S. Robinson, who studied the problem of museum "fatigue." Robinson suggested that this "fatigue" is caused by multiple factors like physical fatigue and object satiation.
In this forward, Stephen Bitgood, editor of "Visitor Behavior," summarizes the issue dedicated to the pioneering work of Edward Robinson and Arthur Melton as well as the efforts by current researchers. Bitgood also presents a list of pioneering articles on the topic of visitor behavior.
This is a brief summary of Marilyn Hood's works on audience research, a useful tool for professionals interested in conducting research and evaluation.
This is a bibliography for a glossary of key terms related to the field of visitor studies and evaluation. The glossary can be found on page 8 of the same resource.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood presents a summary of issues related to evaluation discussed in visitor studies literature. These issues include research vs. evaluation, formative vs. summative evaluation, goal-free vs. goal-referenced evaluation, and developmental vs. post-design evaluation.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood Ph.D. presents an overview of the methodology used in visitor studies research. Bitgood identifies reliability and validity as the two most important standards, defines several types of visitor research (experimental, correlational, descriptive/observational), and describes two methods of measuring visitor behavior (direct observation and self-reporting).
Museum learning involves a wide range of recollections about a diverse set of experiences encountered over the course of a museum visit. Three key features are: 1) visitors "learn" about many different aspects of a visit (not just exhibits); 2) experiences are stored in memory and are recallable; and 3) learned experiences persist for long periods of time (i.e., months, years and decades). A series of pilot ethnographic style interviews were conducted. Each of eleven subjects was conversationally "walked" through his recollections. Several consistent themes ran through all the recollections: 1
The St. Louis Science Center is a major metropolitan science museum serving a population of 2.3 million people. One year ago they moved into a new facility at a new location and attendance at the museum has tripled, reaching 600,00 visitors this past year. The center will develop a "Science Playground" in order to teach basic science principles and process through a series of 45 outdoor participatory exhibitions around the major areas of motion, energy, light, sound and the natural environment. The physics of motion will be explored through exhibits such as a friction slide, lunar gravity swing, double-axis human pendulum, etc. Energy exhibits will provide experiences with watermills and water power, fulcrum leverage and solar energy. Light exploration includes a solar column, prisms and rainbows, soundwheel and whisper discs. A weather station will have a rain gauge, anemometer, a variety of barometers, etc. This contemporary playground concept was developed as a response to limitations of indoor facilities and to extend use of outdoor space in a creative manner. The exhibit will be a model for extending science learning opportunities for schools, parks, other science museums and similar institutions. The center surveyed 31 science centers, 82 parks and 85 school districts to gauge interest in use of science playground exhibits, and found a clear interest in this type of project by all sectors surveyed. Exhibit designs will be published and furnished at cost to any facility wishing to replicate all or any part of the exhibition.
The Association of Science-Technology Centers, representing some 170 science museums, receives regular requests for information on the status of science museums, their education programs, exhibits and other activities. To respond to this need, the organization will collect and analyze data on the status and activities of both member and non-member science museums. The material will be published as three reports and made available on computer disks for further study. The information is particularly useful to communities considering new museums, and to trustees and contributors to current museums and others who have an interest in the priorities and policies of education and exhibits programs. The project will be assisted by an advisory committee and Dr. Sue Smock, Director of the Center for Urban Studies, Wayne State University.
The American Psychological Association, in cooperation with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), will develop a series of exhibits on psychology using a discovery room/science laboratory approach. The exhibition will, for the first time, offer museum visitors a first hand opportunity to explore the tools, methods, and concepts of psychology in such areas as thinking and feeling, dreaming and sleeping, perceiving and communicating. The exhibition will travel to eight museums over 30 months through the ASTC traveling exhibition service and will reach over a million visitors. A wide selection of additional materials and resources such as films, seminars, lectures and workshops will be offered to the participating museums to extend the impact of the exhibition. Plans of the exhibits will be made available to other museums. NSF support represents less than 50% of the total cost of the project.