This umbrella protocol developed by the Exploratorium outlines their policy of determining whether they can share video recordings of minors based on whether or not they have obtained parental consent. Distinctions are drawn between recordings filmed in public and non-public (ie. focus group) spaces.
This document outlines OMSI's general approach to consent, differentiating between adults and minors and between adults who have been explicitly “invited” to participate and those who are in non-invitational settings, then describes details of consent for each method and audience.
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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
This study was commissioned by Intel Corporation to explore the ways in which corporate sponsorships of museum exhibitions influence visitor perceptions of both the corporation and of the museum exhibition. [Note: Intel was not one of the sponsoring companies studied during this research, and was not mentioned to visitors during the course of the study.] The overall implication of this study for museums is that carefully chosen and presented sponsorships, for a majority of visitors, have no impact on opinion of exhibits, but, in some cases, can lead to improvements. For companies, such
This article begins with two examples that demonstrate adult interactions with young learners during conversations in informal learning environments. Family visits to informal learning environments provide opportunities to learn together, interact, engage in conversations, and learn more about one another. This article explores family learning in informal environments and suggests ways for parents to guide young learners in conversations to make sense of exhibit and program content. Parents can maximize learning and draw children into equitable learning conversations through the strategies
The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a formative evaluation for Places of Invention, an exhibition funded by the National Science Foundation. The exhibition aims to stimulate visitors’ thought about how people, resources, and spaces work together to support invention in historic and modern communities. Through formative evaluation, RK&A explores visitors’ use of exhibition prototypes (including barriers to use) and the meanings visitors take away
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and InnovationNational Museum of American HistorySmithsonian Institution
With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Mathematics in Zoos and Aquariums project worked with zoo and aquarium staff members to integrate mathematical concepts into the interpretation of living collections. Over two years, the project developed three activities related to logic, measurement, and data analysis and conducted workshops with over 400 staff from 124 institutions. In refining the workshop model and conducting evaluation, we found that most staff increased their comfort with and use of math-based activities and that the goals of the participants and the
This article presents excerpts from reports written by visitor research professionals in Canada, Finland, Italy and Norway. These brief summaries describe visitor studies projects at various institutions in these countries.
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Visitor Studies AssociationGeorge Hein
In this article, Nathalie Caplet, from Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, France, outlines how French and European museums in general cater to young audiences in exhibitions while otherwise targeting the general public. Caplet provides examples of how institutions engage children using old or more innovative techniques.
This article outlines the attention-value applied to museum visitors. The model describes value as a three-level continuum (capture, focus, and engage) and assumes that the primary motivation for paying attention is perceived value. Bitgood discusses each stage of the visitor attention continuum with respect to the response indicators or behaviors that are associated with the stage, a description of variables that influence attention at that stage, the explanatory processes or mechanisms that appear to be in play during the stage, and possible design implications for the practitioner.
This handbook provides a generic package for the formative evaluation of exhibits. The book covers three major concerns in evaluation: flexibility, efficiency, and validity. The authors note that this evaluation package has been developed on the assumption that the "front- end" evaluation relating to exhibit development has already occurred, and that the "summative" evaluation phase is beyond the scope of the project.
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Curtin University of TechnologyLeonie RennieTerry McClafferty
Social science research into public understanding of animal cognition has tended toward a disciplinary focus with conceptual frameworks, questionnaires, concepts and categories that do not appear to align with the findings emerging from the scientific study of animal cognition. The goal of this paper is to present a framework that aligns the dimensions of these two disparate research fields to allow for better assessment of public perceptions of animal minds. The paper identifies different dimensions that have been categorized through the empirical study of animal cognition, as well as the
This report summarizes front-end research with visitors on the topic of agriculture, conducted by the Research & Evaluation Department of the Saint Louis Science Center. This front-end study was designed to inform the internal development teams connected to the Science Center agriculture exhibit. The main objective of the research was to gather information from Science Center visitors about their familiarity and interest in the topic, their experiences with farming, their top of mind knowledge about technology and sustainability as it relates to agriculture, and their expectations for an