The purpose of this study was to assess visitors' use and perceptions of several dimensions of visitors' reactions to the Water' exhibition as an informal science experience. Visitors were asked about their overall opinions, the highlights, the messages learned and perceptions about recognizing presentations of scientific data, environmental issues and visually memorable exhibits. SMM staff conducted 399 interviews with visitors as they exited the Water exhibition. In addition, 50 visitors were intercepted at each of four specific exhibits (Rain Table, Science On a Sphere, Three tubes and Geo
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Jeff HaywardBrian WernerScience Museum of MinnesotaGary WoodardPaul Morin
The exhibit Coffee The World in Your Cup was designed by and installed at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture running from January 24, 2009 through September 7. The exhibit presents the story of one of the world's most widely traded commodities and how it has affected cultures, economies, and environments across the globe. Coffee explores the environmental and social impacts of the coffee industry and recommends ways for consumers to make socially and environmentally responsible coffee purchases at the grocery store or in a coffee shop. The exhibit space is approximately 2,000
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Nick VisscherUniversity of WashingtonSarah MartinezErin Wilcox
"Megalodon: Largest Shark That Ever Lived", a 5000-square-foot exhibition, started with a gift of shark fossil specimens and models, inspiring curators and administrators to create an exhibition to educate the public about extinct and modern sharks. This summative evaluation was undertaken to investigate whether exhibition visitors come away with an understanding of the exhibition's main premise: Megalodon, a dominant marine predator for 15 million years before vanishing 2 million years ago, provides lessons for shark conservation today. The learning goals also included a number of subthemes
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen GiustiFlorida Museum of Natural History
This summative evaluation report aims to examine the impact of Travels in the Great Tree of Life, a temporary exhibition at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. The 1000-square-foot exhibition seeks to convey concepts of phylogenetic relationships based on recency of common ancestry. In addition, its goal is for visitors to come away with an understanding of the vast scope and complexity of the Tree of Life (herein referred to as ToL) and some practical applications of ToL research. Data collection employed a mixed methods approach. Structured exit interviews were conducted with 102
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen GiustiYale Peabody Museum of Natural History
RK&A was contracted by Save Ellis Island (SEI) to conduct a front end evaluation, funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities planning grant. The objective for the evaluation was to examine Ellis Island's visitors' overall responses to the exhibit concepts, themes, and interpretive approaches for SEI's planned interpretation of Ellis Island's hospital and other medical facilities located on Ellis Island. RK&A first participated in planning meetings with SEI and their team of consultants to explore ideas for interpreting the medical facilities of Ellis Island. Upon reviewing the
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Save Ellis Island
The summative evaluation of Yuungnaqpiallerput used two evaluation strategies--tracking and timing (T&T) and an open-ended questionnaire (CQ)--to discover how visitors used the exhibition and what they could immediately recall about it. The combined data from these methods produced a well-rounded set of evidence for the degree of success achieved by the exhibition. Yuungnaqpiallerput was designed to be engaging to both an Alaska Native American audience and non-natives. Of the 61 people in the CQ sample, 69% said that they were first-time visitors to the Anchorage Museum, and 75% had no
Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World, a 2,500-square-foot permanent exhibition, contains more than 100 rare, important, and beautiful books and manuscripts from the Huntington's collections, along with artifacts and interactive experiences. The content focuses on the changing role of science through the centuries, with particular emphasis on some of the astonishing leaps in imagination made by scientists and the importance of written works in communicating those ideas. There were 52 exhibit elements in subject areas of Astronomy, Natural History, Medicine, and Light. Feedback on the
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Beverly SerrellThe Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
The Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards approached Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct visitor research. This project was one of several the Museum engaged in to better understand its audience. Data were collected between May and July 2008 through 319 standardized questionnaires and 34 in-depth interviews with groups of visitors. While a "sports museum" is a focused type of museum, one major consideration was whether sports museum visitors are homogenous, prompting us to ask, what types of sports fan does the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards attract? To answer this, RK&A
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards
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
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen GiustiNew York Hall of ScienceKathleen Condon
This front-end evaluation study provided information about how potential visitors to the Dena'ina exhibition (scheduled to open at the Anchorage Museum in 2010) might think and feel about the exhibition's themes. Twenty interviews were conducted with a diverse group that included people with Dena'ina and other Native American cultures. The key findings were: There was a lot of diversity about what participants knew, or didn't know, about the Dena'ina, and how the Dena'ina culture was similar to others. People knew about the effects of contact on religion, education, and dress. Non-Natives (as
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
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
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
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County