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 presents the methodology and findings of the formative and summative evaluation of the "Kongo Ranger Station" interactive interpretive displayed located in the new "Africa Rain Forest" exhibit at the Metro Washington Park Zoo. This display focuses on conservation, natural history and cultural issues in West and Central Africa.
This paper presents research methodology and findings from a formative evaluation of the "Habitat Africa! Thirsty Animal Trail" exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo. This exhibit intended to encourage visitors to imagine themselves as thirsty animals trying to gain access to a waterhole safely. The appendix of this paper includes copies of the interview protocol and the exit interview protocol.
In this article, John H. Falk, Ph.D., of Science Learning, Inc., discusses leisure decisions influencing African-Americans use of museums. Falk cites findings from two research studies that investigated the relative importance of a variety of critical variables postulated at possible reasons for the under-utilization of museums by African-Americans.
In this article, Barbara A. Birney of Interpretive Planning in Nuce discusses findings from a 1988 study of 12-year-old children's perceptions of their social experience in musuems and zoos. Birney found that children associated visiting museums and zoos with their parents with a lack of control over their own learning experience.
In this article, David Scott, Ph.D. provides a summary of an importance-performance appraisal of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Cleveland, Ohio. The attributes selected for appraisal included a variety of service attributes.
The National Zoological Park, a component of the Smithsonian Institution, proposes transforming three traditional zoo exhibit buildings into centers for informal science learning. Based on current knowledge about learning, the proposed project will feature interactive elements as well as the greater use of human interpreters to help visitors examine animals, handle objects and play games. The project is to be a collaborative effort by the National Zoological Park, the Dallas Zoo and Zoo Atlanta, with the National Zoo developing the materials and making and shipping copies to Dallas and Atlanta as centers for tryout and evaluation, with the results of the studies going to other zoos in way of encouraging them of the importance of interactive science education.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Judith WhiteJames MurphyDale MarcelliniJeffrey Swanagan
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.
The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science requests $491,260 to develop exhibits which explore mechanics of living organism. Basic physics, optics and fluids dynamics will be presented in the context of biological systems. Life in a Physical World interactive exhibits and educational materials which will reach over 3 million people. Life in a Physical World meets the needs of teachers, students and other science learners. The exhibits and educational materials integrate science concepts across disciplines. They provide hands-on, motivating science experiences in a non-threatening environment. Life in a Physical World makes physical science concepts accessible by presenting them in the context of living things. Project Outcomes The Project will produce a 2,000 square foot permanent and travelling Life in a Physical World exhibits. The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science will install the permanent exhibition. To ensure broad dissemination, the Association of Science-Technology Centers will circulate the travelling exhibition nationally and the Museum will distribute as-built drawings to science centers, natural history museums and zoos. Museum Educators will produce materials to enhance the instructional value of the exhibition.
Zoos have the opportunity to reach a large audience and to improve public understanding of biological principles. Zoos can go beyond creating an appreciation for nature by actively encouraging their visitors to apply these principles and take action on behalf of the environment. Tropic World: A Primate's View will improve the interpretation of an existing exhibit at Brookfield Zoo by encouraging visitors to experience a tropical rainforest from a non-human primate's perspective. Visitors will be challenged, by interactive forms of interpretation, to explore the similarities and differences between themselves and other primates. This experience will provide a framework for visitors to consider their own relationship with their environment. The project objectives are: 1. To improve public understanding that , like all organisms, primates use and depend on their environment. However, humans ar the only primate species that can choose how they impact their environment over extended time and space. 2. to motivate people to act on behalf of the natural world through conservation. 3. To contribute to the body of knowledge of how informal education affects people's knowledge of natural science topics, as well as the behavior of people in relation to conservation issues.