The COMPASS conference will bring together 80 participants for two days in September 2018 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA. The first dissemination will take place in a presentation at the ASTC conference the following month in October 2018. A webinar sharing insights from COMPASS and inviting others to engage will be held in March 2019 hosted by ASTC and accessible by ASTC members and non-members alike. A companion COMPASS e-publication will be released for free download, also in March 2019, with summaries of conference proceedings, key issues identified, case histories of ILAM in
This poster, which was presented in Alexandria, VA at the CAISE AISL PI meeting in February 2019, summarizes the Under the Arctic: Digging into Permafrost traveling exhibition developed for the Hidden World of Permafrost project.
This poster, which was presented in Alexandria, VA at the CAISE AISL PI meeting in February 2019, summarizes the Winter Worlds/Snow: Musuem Exhibit, Educational Outreach, and Learning Research collaborative project that engages audiences in snow as a platform to explore Earth’s climate system and explores how culture affects STEM learning in informal settings.
This project creates "data-catcher" exhibits that allow museum visitors to participate in scientific research, contributing data from their interactions while engaged in compelling learning experiences.
Antarctic Dinosaurs: A Giant Screen Film and Outreach Project aims to leverage the popularity and charisma of dinosaurs to draw museum audiences into a captivating educational journey, revealing the history and transformation of Antarctica and the planet’s polar ecosystems, and exploring the forces that continue to shape the continent. In addition to bringing to life a wealth of unfamiliar dinosaurs, amphibians and proto-mammals, this project will journey beyond the bones to reveal a more nuanced, multi-disciplinary interpretation of paleontology and Antarctica’s profound changes.
Centered
U!Scientist is an in-gallery touch table adaptation of the popular online citizen science project Galaxy Zoo. Taking advantage of the social opportunities in a museum setting, the project aims not only to enhance visitors’ science self-efficacy but also to encourage visitors to discuss their choices with friends and family.
This poster was presented at the 2019 NSF AISL Principal Investigators Meeting.
This poster shares an example of how the project team for the Developing Guidelines for Designing Challenging and Rewarding Interactive Science Exhibits has been applied design principles to support the emotional state of productive struggle in an interactive science museum exhibit. It discusses the three stages of productive struggle (emotional disequilibrium, persistence, and productivity), puts those in an applied context, and discusses the team's research methods which include a combination of self-report and biometric measures.
It’s a great job when you get to do stuff just for fun. For the last few days, I’ve been at the Science Museum of Minnesota, consulting on their new exhibit? Theatrical performance? Interactive game? called Infestation: The Evolution Begins. It’s a 3-part project funded by NSF to help teach key concepts of evolution to kids, and it’s looking pretty amazing.The first part is done, and it’s a theatrical event where the concepts are explained entertainingly, and the audience are introduced to little imaginary creatures called VISTAs. If you go to SMM today, you can watch the whole show yourself
NASA's Universe of Learning provides resources and experiences that enable diverse audiences to explore fundamental questions in astronomy, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves. Using its direct connection to science and science experts, NASA's Universe of Learning creates and delivers timely and authentic resources and experiences for youth, families, and lifelong learners. The goal is to strengthen science learning and literacy, and to enable learners to discover the universe for themselves in innovative, interactive ways that meet today's 21st century needs. The program includes astronomical data tools, multimedia resources, exhibits and community programs, and professional learning experiences for informal educators. It is developed through a unique partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Caltech/IPAC, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Denise SmithGordon SquiresKathy LestitionAnya BifernoLynn Cominsky
This paper presents an exhibit assessment tool for science centers that is based on the premise, supported by learning theories and research, that the level to which a visitor is engaged by an exhibit is a direct indicator of the learning taking place. Observable behaviors are used to distinguish three stages or levels of visitor engagement described as initiation, transition, and breakthrough. A distinctive visitor engagement profile can be constructed for an exhibit that can then be used in assessing the effectiveness of subsequent changes made to the exhibit experience. It is suggested that
Science museums have made a concerted effort to work with researchers to incorporate current scientific findings and practices into informal learning opportunities for museum visitors. Many of these efforts have focused on creating opportunities and support for researchers to interact face-to-face with the public through, for example, speaker series, community forums, and engineering competitions. However, there are other means by which practicing scientists can find a voice on the museum floor—through the design and development of exhibits. Here we describe how researchers and museum
The Corning Museum of Glass contracted RK&A to conduct a summative evaluation of the temporary exhibition Glass of the Architects: Vienna 1900-1937. The goal of the study is to explore visitors’ experiences in the exhibition, which is a 1900-square foot exhibition situated within an expansive museum campus.
RK&A collected 100 timing and tracking observations to provide an objective and quantitative account of how visitors experience the exhibition. The museum has historically collected timing and tracking observations for temporary exhibitions so the method allowed for comparisons to