This article explores the ways imagination and how museum professionals can foster new ways of thinking in their work and products as well as encourage visitors to be more aware of their museums experiences. In the Introduction, D. Lynn McRainey, Elizabeth F. Cheney Director of Education at the Chicago History Museum, discusses two projects that changed her practices as a museum educator and her understanding of learning in museums. Next, Leslie Bedford, Director of Leadership in Museum Education Program at Bank Street College, examines the meaning of imagination and how narrative and
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TEAM MEMBERS:
D. Lynn McRaineyLeslie BedfordDaniel SpockAndrew Anway
This article explores a variety of strategies for using museum floor staff as evaluation resources. Eric Siegel, Director and Chief Content Officer, discusses the New York Hall of Science's Science Career Ladder and how Explainers are involved in evaluation. Ryan Hill, Manager of Interpretive Programs and Curatorial Research Associate at the Hirshorn Musuem and Sculpture Garden, examines the The Guggenheim Museum's Gallery Guide as a case study on the value of feedback. Elizabeth Kunz Kollmann, Senior Research Associate and Evaluation Assistant at the Museum of Science in Boston, examines the
This article features critiques of the "Race: Are We So Different?" traveling exhibition that was inaugurated at the Science Museum of Minnesota in 2007. Brian Horrigan, Exhibit Developer at the Minnesota Historical Society, Ida B. Tomlin, Chief Operating Officer at the Detroit Science Center, Kirsten M. Ellenbogen and Murphy Pizza, both of the Department of Evaluation and Research at the Science Museum of Minnesota, share their analysis of the exhibition and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
The Interactive Video Science Consortium is a non-profit group of fifteen science centers and museums that proposes to develop interactive video exhibits about Earth and Planetary sciences with two purposes in mind. One, the video exhibits on the two subject areas will serve as educational vehicles for four million visitors, representing the combined audiences of the fifteen participating museums. Two, through extensive testing and visitor research during the development process the consortium members will enlarge understanding of the appropriate and effective uses of the interactive video medium in science museums. Consortium members will fund the costs of conducting research on the subject matter and producing the first two discs. The request to the National Science Foundation is for the systematic analysis of the effectiveness of this type of program and of the educational impact of the medium in science museums.
Experience Learning Community plans to open a museum dedicated to science fiction in the summer of 2004. The Science Fiction Experience (SFX) will be an interactive, media-rich museum combining artifacts and information that immerse visitors in science fiction's alternative worlds. They are implementing a planning phase to assure that the museum's exhibits and programming content will illustrate the relationship between science and science fiction. Specific tasks during the planning phase include: 1. Conduct front-end research of the public's perceptions of science fiction vs. science fact. 2. Conduct formative testing of proof-of-concept materials for one of the museum's premiere exhibits, "Mars, Then and Now." 3. Convene leading science and museum educators, scientists, science communications researchers and science fiction practitioners to inform and shape the museum's exhibit concepts and approaches relevant to the public's understanding of science through science fiction. 4. Create and disseminate a document that will inform of the development of exhibits and programs. Advisors to the project include: Greg Bear, best-selling author of more than 30 science fiction books; Gregory Benford, Professor of Plasma Physics and Astrophysics at the University of California at Irvine; David Ellis, President Emeritus of the Museum of Science, Boston; Lawrence Krauss, Chair of the Department of Physics at Case Western Reserve University; and Donna Shirley, for manager of the Mars Exploration Program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and currently Professor at the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.
Strange Days on Planet Earth combines a 4-part television series and outreach program produced by Sea Studios Foundation (SSF) for National Geographic Television and Film and Vulcan Productions, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project comprises three primary components: a broadcast series, website, and a national consortium of informal learning institutions. The project team expects that through consistent messaging and content, these components, when integrated, collectively offer the public enriched opportunities to
Strange Days on Planet Earth combines a 4-part television series and outreach program produced by Sea Studios Foundation (SSF) for National Geographic Television and Film and Vulcan Productions, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project comprises three primary components: a broadcast series, website, and a national consortium of informal learning institutions. The project team expects that through consistent messaging and content, these components, when integrated, collectively offer the public enriched opportunities to
As part of the Summative Evaluation of the DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science series, between July 2005 and November 2006, RMC Research conducted a study of the collaboration between the DragonflyTV (DFTV) production staff and its science center and museum partners. Central to the innovative DFTV series, the collaboration involved museum professionals in the production process and presented science museums and centers as sites of learning and of fun on national television. It also offered professionals in the two industries a ground-breaking opportunity to learn about another format for
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice ApleyTwin Cities Public Television
Strange Days on Planet Earth combines a 4-part television series and outreach program produced by Sea Studios Foundation (SSF) for National Geographic Television and Film and Vulcan Productions, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project comprises three primary components: a broadcast series, website, and a national consortium of informal learning institutions. The project team expects that through consistent messaging and content, these components, when integrated, will collectively offer the public enriched opportunities
To effectively guide future museum-based segments in Twin Cities Public Television's DragonflyTV: Going Places in Science series, Multimedia Research implemented a formative evaluation with 19 museum educators, exhibit directors and public relations staff. After viewing segments, museum staff responded to an online questionnaire focusing on the value and credibility of the segments, how the segments represent the museum community, and interest in participating in the series.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara FlaggTwin Cities Public Television
From the fall of 2000 through the fall of 2004, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) received funding from the National Science Foundation to create a math-based exhibit for school-aged children and their families. The end result was Moneyville, a colorful and inviting traveling exhibition offered in two configurations - the original full-size 6000-square-foot version and a reduced version designed to accommodate smaller venues, such as children's museums and discovery centers. Both exhibitions were designed to teach visitors about "making economic choices with the power of
In March 2007, RMC Research Corporation completed work on a study of children's responses to a selection of DragonflyTV (DFTV) video segments as one part of the Summative Evaluation of the DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science TV series1. This report presents findings from the Children's Viewing Study, which includes two distinct goals. The first goal addresses the qualities and characteristics of science television which contribute to effective educational television experiences for children. This study offered the first in an iterative process aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice Apley, Ph.D.Wendy J. GrahamJenny ScalaTwin Cities Public Television