In this brief article, Jacksonville State University researcher Stephen Bitgood discusses the value of front-end and formative evaluation as part of the exhibit label development process.
In this article, Jacksonville State University researcher Stephen Bitgood presents a review of exhibit label literature and techniques. Bitgood refers to Beverly Serrell's 1983 list of "eight deadly sins" from her manual, "Making Exhibit Labels: A Step by Step Guide," and cites visitor studies that support Serrell's list. Bitgood also explains visitors' reactions to labels in terms of empirical factors.
In this article, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researcher Don Thompson shares methods and findings from a front-end evaluation of the Plains Indian Exhibit Area at the Milwaukee Public Museum, which was used to inform exhibit renovation plans. Thompson assessed visitor knowledge of key concepts, the role of existing exhibits in fostering knowledge of these concepts, and unforeseen successes or shortcomings of the exhibits.
This is a brief summary of an article by Michael Alt and Steven Griggs (1988) featured in "Curator." The authors review the processes of perception, short and long term memory, discuss "external myths" and "conceptual myths," and the value of "thinking aloud" as formative evaluation.
This is a summary of a publication by Michael Alt and Steven Griggs (1989), distributed by the Royal Ontario Museum, which provides a helpful model for others--both in terms of encouraging exhibit evaluation and in terms of how it might be accomplished. The publication summarizes four studies completed at the Royal Ontario Museum used to assess the "Mankind Discovering" exhibition from different perspectives: staff evaluation, visitor reaction, observational study of visitors, and visitor understanding and reaction to individual sections.
This article summarizes methods and key findings of a study conducted as part of the planning for a proposed museum on The Southeastern Native Americans. Researchers assessed visitor interest in Native American exhibitions, the general public's knowledge, interests, and misconceptions about Native Americans, and potential audiences for the museum.
This is a brief abstract of Donald Thompson's Master's Thesis at Jacksonville State University. Thompson studied over 5600 visitor groups at the Birmingham Zoo as they passed throu the entrance of the Predator House and studied visitor responses to interpretive signs of varied lengths, type sizes and proximities.
This is a brief abstract of Ted W. Finlay's Master's Thesis at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Finlay's research evaluated the effects of background settings on the perceptions of animals.
This is a brief abstract of Pete Conroy's Master's Thesis at the University of Georgia. Through his research, Conroy identified and described two components of museum education: the audiences who use museums and key activities necessary for effective museum education.
This is a brief abstract of G. Donald Adams's Master's Thesis at Boston University. Adam discusses findings from a study of the importance of word-of-mouth in making people aware of museums and influencing them to visit.
This article summates findings from research at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle that evaluated and compared visitor behavior in the gardens, main galleries and two temporary exhibits.
This is a brief abstract of Rosalyn Rubenstein's 1984 Master's Thesis at Toronto University. Rubenstein discusses exhibit design as a problem-solving process which influences the quality of the visitor experience.