Visiting a zoo or aquarium is not only fun, but can also have a positive impact on visitors' knowledge and attitudes regarding animals and the environment. The biggest challenge, however, is for these institutions to strategically provide opportunities for cognitive and affective learning while simultaneously facilitating enjoyment and fun. Recent studies in zoos and aquaria have examined various factors that can influence learning such as engaging visitors' emotions or connecting with visitors' prior knowledge and interests. The intent of the current study was to further this line of
This report describes a research study conducted by User Experience Research Consulting, Inc. (UXR) contracted by the iSaveSpecies team that would inform the development of online extended engagement conservation activities to bridge and support zoo visitors, onsite experiences with computer-based conservation stations. The study focused on two key concepts: engagement and conservation. Across three phases, researchers investigated visitor attitudes, perceptions, and experiences related to conservation action through the iSaveSpecies system and in their personal lives, and their ideas and
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) contracted RK&A to conduct audience research for the Central Park Zoo (Zoo), located in the heart of New York City. As part of the study, RK&A explored the value visitors’ place on their Zoo experiences and the ways in which visitors use the Zoo and surrounding area. Findings from the study provide the WCS with a preliminary understanding of their visitors and lay the groundwork for a second phase of audience research. How did we approach this study? RK&A conducted in-depth interviews to explore visitors’ thoughts and perceptions of the Zoo, as well as
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Wildlife Conservation SocietyStephanie DowneyRandi Korn
"In the past several years, New England Aquarium (NEAq) renewed all exhibits, built new additions, and made substantive efforts to restructure its interpretation strategies to transform the visitor experience. With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant #MA-06-12-0143-12, the Aquarium embarked on A New Strategy for Visitor Engagement: Interpreting our Mission for a Changing World. From fall 2012 through summer 2014, NEAq developed, implemented, and evaluated a comprehensive approach to increasing the capacity of front-line staff and interpreters to engage with
The four New England museums of the Environmental Exhibit Lab (EEC) set out in the Fall of 2011 to create a replicable model of collaborative professional development for small museums. At small institutions, impending deadlines, budget and staffing limitations, and professional isolation all too often get in the way of true innovation. The goal of Exhibit Lab was to help staff who, though conversant with current museum theory, sometimes struggle to apply that theory to their daily work, or to disseminate these ideas through an institution. Exhibit Lab relied on a carefully crafted mix of meetings, workshops and staff exchanges, a combination of outside experts and peer-to-peer mentoring, to foster a community of practitioners, engaged in collaborative learning-by-doing. In short, the participants created a "virtual department" in which we came to rely as quickly on our peers in a partner museum as quickly as we would to a co-worker down the hall had we worked in a larger museum. The Exhibit Lab project focused on the work of the Exhibit and Program/Education staffs, but we feel that the project model holds lessons for other museum departments, and for museums outside the Children's and Science museum sphere.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Worcester Natural History Society dba EcoTariumBetsy LoringAlexander GoldowskySuzanne OlsonChris SullivanPhelan FretzJulie SilvermanNeil GordonDenise LeBlancJoseph P. Cox
The four New England museums of the Environmental Exhibit Lab (EEC) set out in the Fall of 2011 to create a replicable model of collaborative professional development for small museums. The project, Exhibit Lab (sometimes called “EEC 2”), was funded by a 3-year grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services [2011 21st Century Museum Professionals Program; IMLS Log Number: MP-00-11-0049-11]. At small institutions, impending deadlines, budget and staffing limitations, and professional isolation all too often get in the way of true innovation. The goal of Exhibit Lab was to help staff
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Betsy LoringAlexander GoldowskyDenise LeBlancJulie SilvermanLucia StancioffChris Sullivan