In this paper, researchers at the University of Queensland discuss findings from investigations on conservation learning at two Queensland ecotourism sites—a three hour whale watching cruise operating from the Gold Coast and turtle viewing at Mon Repos Turtle Rookery, Bargara. The researchers present a set of five challenges they faced in this research, as a warning to all who might dare to attempt similar studies. Their experience has demonstrated that the famous adage of show business, “Never work with children or animals” can indeed apply in wildlife tourism research.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Karen HughesRoy BallantyneJan Packer
This report presents the findings of a summative evaluation of the Conservatory for Botanical Science, conducted by Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A), for the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Conservatory exhibits and this evaluation were funded by the National Science Foundation. Data collection took place in December 2005. The summative evaluation examined visitors’ affective and cognitive experiences in the Conservatory, using exit interviews and focused observations and interviews at select exhibits.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Johanna JonesHuntington Botanical Gardens
In June 2002,the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Visitor Center (CLO-VC) opened in the new Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity. The CLO-VC is located in theSapsucker Woods Sanctuary of Ithaca,New York. Surrounded by trails for bird watchers of all levels,the CLO-VC contains exhibits designed to enhance knowledge of birds and bird biology,and encourage participation in its Citizen Science Program. Sapsucker Woods Pond and the Treman Bird Feeding Garden are visible through walls of windows in the Morgens Observatory part of the Visitor Center.The building,pond, garden,and trails
Geometry Playground created by The Exploratorium, playground designers Landscape Architecture, Inc., the Science Museum of Minnesota, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Sciencenter-Ithaca, and Science Works-Ashland is a 4,500-square foot traveling exhibition that includes immersive, table-top hands-on and electronic game elements on spatial and mathematical learning (Shape Garden, Surface City and Pattern Jungle); outdoor versions of selected exhibits from the full exhibition for public and school playgrounds and museums; and a Web site optimized for Web-enabled mobile phones.
The Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will conduct a feasibility study for engaging museum visitors in data analysis through this planning grant. Intellectual Merit: This project builds on the extensive prior work of the PI in developing Tinkerplots software for middle school students. At the same time, it potentially takes advantage of the many museum exhibitions that include various kinds of data but provide no mechanisms for visitors to analyze the data and draw conclusions. This project makes the connection by seeking to demonstrate the proof of concept for the transfer of this data analysis program from the formal to the informal setting. Broader Impact: This project will purposefully test three very different settings -- Museum of Science, Boston, MA; Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, MA; and Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO -- to explore the advantages and limitations of this approach in those learning environments. If successful, the software could have very wide application.
University of New Mexico (UNM) and Arizona State University (ASU) created a paved 3-km walking trail along the south rim of the Grand Canyon in partnership with the National Park Service. The "Trail of Time" is marked as a time line corresponding to Earth history, along with interpretive wayside exhibits. This place-based geoscience exhibition using Grand Canyon as an immersive environment is designed to help visitors gain an understanding of the magnitude of geologic time, as well as key processes and events in the geologic evolution of the region.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Karl KarlstromLaura CrosseySteven SemkenRebecca Mathews Frus