This report details a four-month snapshot summative evaluation of the Bridging the Gap (BTG) program at the Wildlife Conservation Society. A snapshot summative evaluation in this instance means that the evaluation occurred as the program was concluding, but was not intended to evaluate the totality of the three-year program. The study sought to 1) better understand the effect the program had on teen participants' attitudes on any element associated with the program (STEM, careers, college, zoos, etc.); and 3) identify components of the program that were particularly successful or effective.
The 3-year Bridging the Gap program, developed and implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), was designed to educate minority youth from New York City (NYC) about education and career opportunities available in wildlife and conservation sciences. This National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)-funded program provided almost 150 minority high school students with conservation knowledge, practical information about the college application process and college life, and long-term support through continued contact with WCS
Under a subcontract with Randi Korn & Associates, who conducted a study of the on‐site museum exhibit, RMC was engaged to conduct an evaluation of the Places of Invention online map site for the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. The Places of Invention online map, part of the 3,500 square foot on‐site exhibit, was developed as a platform for collecting invention stories related to specific places or landscapes submitted by Smithsonian staff, Smithsonian Affiliations, and visitors to the online map. RMC investigated three key topics related to
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) engaged Rockman et al (REA) to conduct a summative evaluation of the museum’s Journey to Space (Space) exhibit. Space is a large-scale traveling exhibition that simulates a journey to the International Space Station (ISS), allows visitors to explore the physical properties of low gravity environments, and introduces some of the engineering and technology that makes it possible to live and work in space. This exhibit is a collaborative project led by SMM, the California Science Center and the three other members of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative
The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a formative evaluation of proposed exhibits for “The Future of the City Lab,” an interactive gallery to be featured in the New York At Its Core exhibition that invites visitors to think about and help design the future of New York City.
How did we approach this study?
The goal of the study was to explore visitors’ opinions and understandings of five specific exhibits—the Introduction Text, the Big Challenges Wall, a Neighborhood Exploration, the “Density” iPad Activity, and the Selfie
The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (JMZ) is working to create an accessible facility from the ground up as they plan for a new building, zoo habitats, and exhibits. During construction of the new JMZ the institution will occupy a temporary space in Palo Alto. The new JMZ is scheduled to open in 2019.
To inform their planning process, Tina Keegan, Exhibits Director at JMZ, contracted with Wendy Meluch of Visitor Studies Services (the evaluator) to conduct community conversation with two groups of parents on site at the Museum. Staff reached out to JMZ members and visitors, and local
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Wendy MeluchPalo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
WCS launched its electronic field trip program, Distance Learning Expeditions, in 2001 when there
was tremendous interest in the educational community in the potential of videoconferencing
technology for program delivery, as well as money available for the purchase of related broadcast
equipment. The program grew rapidly and was successful through 2009 -- serving 9,600 students
in 2006-07, its largest year. From 2010 to 2014, with school budget cuts, high equipment
maintenance costs, and shifts in staffing, participation in the program declined. In 2010, WCS
secured a grant from IMLS for
The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and the National Museum of American History (NMAH) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a summative evaluation of Places of Invention (POI), an exhibition funded by the National Science Foundation. The evaluation was designed to determine the extent to which the exhibition achieved its outcomes: 1)Visitors identify the 21st century skills that inventors practice; 2)Visitors identify characteristics that support innovative communities; 3)Visitors express interest in learning about inventions and/or inventors; 4
In the Communities of Learning for Urban Environments and Science (CLUES) project, the four museums of the Philadelphia-Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative worked to build informal science education (ISE) capacity in historically underserved communities. The program offered comprehensive professional development (PD) to Apprentices from 8-10 community-based organizations (CBO), enabling them to develop and deliver hands-on family science workshops. Apprentices, in turn, trained Presenters from the CBOs to assist in delivering the workshops. Families attended CLUES events both at
The University of Minnesota Extension (UME) contracted Garibay Group to conduct a summative evaluation of the Driven to Discover program (often referred to as D2D by youth participants and adult leaders) to assess how adult leaders in Informal Science Education (ISE) settings used the curriculum and citizen science projects as conduits to engage youth in scientific inquiry.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Science of Sharing project (SoS) was a collaboration between the Exploratorium, the Museum of Life and Science, Dialogue Social Enterprise and The Heroic Imagination Project. SoS included two major components for members of the public to engage with: a permanent collection of interactive, multi-user exhibits at the Exploratorium, and a series of social-media based activities called Experimonths. SoS exhibits and Experimonths were designed to allow visitors to experiment with cooperation, trust, and social dilemmas, connect those experiences to