The CASE program served communities that are underrepresented in current museum audiences. CASE served both females and males from underrepresented minority groups, primarily African American, Latino, and Asian. The most frequent participants were younger than 20 years-old and African American. CASE succeeded in making informal science learning accessible in participating communities. CASE served a total of 10,971 individuals between September 2004 and December 2008. Across the five years, families in the eight participating sites had a grand total of 358 opportunities to attend science
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate CSI: The Experience National Science Foundation- and Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative-funded project focused on forensic science. The project included a museum exhibition and an online gaming experience (Web Adventure) targeting children ages 9 to 17 and adults. A summative evaluation explored visitors' overall experiences, understanding of forensic sciences, and the research question: Does the Web Adventure extend exhibition visitors' learning of forensic science? A process
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
The Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) conducted a summative evaluation of the NSF-ISE funded project, WolfQuest. WolfQuest is an educational video game, downloadable free of charge, developed by Eduweb (Educational Web Adventures, Inc.) and the Minnesota Zoo. WolfQuest intends to increase the knowledge of, interest in, and attitudes towards wolves and wolf habitats in children ages 9 to 15. This evaluation report synthesizes key analysis and findings from data based on a web survey of players, in-depth phone interviews of players, and content analysis of the game conversation forums
Columbia University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) and New York Hall of Science (NYHOS) partnered to create Research and Rolling Exhibits (RARE). The project's goal is to showcase current research in science and make it accessible to the general public. Five Wondercarts were created over three years, from 2005 through 2008, highlighting topical scientific research and its relevance to the museum's target audience. The carts were programmed to engage families in conversation, letting their interest determine the direction of activities. In this manner Wondercarts
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Ellen GiustiNew York Hall of ScienceKathleen Condon
Liberty Science Center (LSC) received National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to develop, install and evaluate a 12,800-square foot, two-story permanent exhibition about skyscrapers. Skyscraper! is meant to showcase the architectural design and engineering, physics, and urban-related environmental science of skyscrapers. The Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), a Maryland-based research and evaluation organization that focuses on lifelong learning in informal or free-choice settings, was contracted to conduct the summative exhibition evaluation. The purpose of the summative evaluation
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Kerry BronnenkantLiberty Science CenterClaudia Figueiredo
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation to inform the reinstallation of the Ancient Latin America Hall. The study was conducted to examine visitors' experiences in the current exhibition, the nature of their connection with the objects on view, and their needs and preferences for interpretation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 English-speaking and 20 Spanish-speaking visitor groups, using a quota sampling method. Visitors were intercepted as they exited the current Ancient Latin America Hall
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
resourceevaluationMuseum and Science Center Exhibits
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct concept testing to inform the reinstallation of the Cenozoic/Age of Mammals Hall. The study was designed to examine visitors' perceptions and understanding of potential content, including their engagement with and knowledge of fossils, in general, and fossil mammals, in particular, and their familiarity with climate change. Open-ended, in-depth interviews were conducted with a random sample of English- and Spanish-speaking drop-in Museum visitors as they entered the existing Cenozoic/Age
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) is a user-friendly web site and database that shares butterfly and moth species information with the public via dynamic maps, checklists, and species pages. BAMONA data are updated regularly and come from a variety of sources, including citizen scientists. Individuals can get involved by documenting butterflies and moths in their neighborhoods and submitting photographs for review. Collaborating lepidopterists serve as coordinators and oversee quality control. Submitted data are verified, added to the database, and then made available through the web site.
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Butterfly and Moth Information NetworkKelly LottsThomas Naberhaus
Through Wildlife Watch, participants gain first hand experience with plants and animals in their natural environment. The Wildlife Watch website features downloadable "watch" lists by state, and the capability for visitors to share wildlife sightings, photos and stories online. Wildlife Watch is an introductory citizen science program that is perfect for families, photographers, kids, outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who wants a deeper connection with world around them.
Operation Bluetongue was a large-scale, community-based study on the roles of bluetongue lizards in the lives of South Australians. This 2007 study, conducted in conjunction with radio station, 891 ABC Adelaide, collected information on: bluetongue distribution, bluetongue ecology and habitat, experiences with bluetongues, and photographs of bluetongues. In total, 1500 questionnaires were completed, with questionnaires returned from 237 metropolitan suburbs and 162 country towns. 2330 bluetongue lizards were recorded, including the endangered pygmy bluetongue. The study revealed that that the community enthusiastically engaged in data collection and were passionately fond of these lizards, that the community improved their understanding of the natural history and distribution of bluetongue lizards, that people interact with these lizards in their gardens to a much greater extent than previously appreciated, that schools and students were enthusiastic about interacting with scientists and that university scientists could work with media outlets to achieve valuable outcomes in research and education.
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University of South AustraliaPhilip Roetman
Gardeners visit this site and report what varieties perform well - and not so well - in their gardens. Other gardeners visit to view the variety ratings and read the reviews to decide which might work well for them. The VVfG citizen science project also provides an opportunity for researchers to involve knowledgeable, motivated citizens in meaningful scientific research. Research on the performance of vegetable varieties is often limited to commercial production in part, because visiting thousands of home gardens to collect data would be an overwhelming task.
Predicting the spread of non-native organisms in the oceans is difficult. Usually there is not enough data on the introduced species over a large enough geographic scale and for a long enough time to develop and test mathematical models. Collecting adequate data takes many people working together to identify a particular species and accurately record information. This project seeks to demonstrate that a large group of people working together can collect enough scientifically valid data for predicting the spread of recently introduced non-native crab species. This project is designed to accomplish two goals. Firstly, it aims to train and validate the efforts of citizen scientists to collect data. Secondly, the data will be used to develop an invasion probability model for two crab species, European green crab (Carcinus maenas), and Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus).