This report presents the findings from a front-end evaluation prior to a renovation of the harbor seal habitat at the Seattle Aquarium. The study was undertaken to help Seattle Aquarium staff measure visitor knowledge of harbor seals, as well as illustrate visitor use of the current exhibit space. The intent was to inform the content of exhibit interpretive materials as well as provide a baseline for a summative study evaluating the success of changes made to the exhibit. Methodology Data was collected in February 2012 by a team of 10 first-year graduate student data collectors along with the
The Washington Park Arboretum (WPA) in Seattle is a 230 acre expanse of land which abuts Lake Washington. Apart from the Japanese Garden, admission into the arboretum is free and access points into the park are numerous. As such, tracking visitorship is challenging. For this front-end study the focus was on visitors at the Graham Visitor Center entry point. This point-of-entry has the benefit of both a parking lot and an established facility, allowing for a large amount of visitor data to be collected in a relatively short amount of time. The goal of this study was to better understand who
The Science Museum of Minnesota prototyped interpretive approaches to using an innovative scientific visualization system developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) called Science On a Sphere (SOS). SOS is composed of a wide variety of visualizations projected onto a six-foot sphere creating animated, whole-planet views of the Earth, other planets in our solar system, and their moons. Visualizations of the Earth cover topics such as weather, climate, topography, earth system dynamics, and geophysical processes. A challenge of SOS is making the content accessible
The Science Museum of Minnesota conducted a study to find out how many visitors stopped at the Science on a Sphere (SOS) exhibit during their visit to the museum, visitors' prior knowledge of SOS, and why a visitor might chose not to visit SOS. A total of 189 visitors were interviewed. Findings included: - Groups of adults and children were more likely to visit SOS than groups composed of adults only. - Most visitors just happened across the exhibit during their visit rather than sought it out. - Of the visitors who did not stop at SOS, few were familiar with the exhibit. - Both visitors who
In 2006, the Science Museum of Minnesota carried out a formative evaluation of the traveling exhibition, Disease Detectives. Disease Detectives features an immersive environment where visitors investigate a case by meeting a patient (an interactive mannequin), interpreting lab tests, and exploring specific environments to learn more about disease transmission and prevention. Each case highlights a different mode of disease transmission and the relevant illnesses. The purpose of this evaluation was to look at the usability and learning outcomes of one of the three proposed scenarios for the
In May of 2006, Science on a Sphere (SOS) was set up in a permanent exhibit space at the Science Museum of Minnesota. With the new installation of the Sphere, came the addition of a variety of features that were not included in the initial front-end study. These new features included an expanded playlist, new audio for some of the visualizations, accompanying labels projected on the wall describing the visualization, indication on the labels of what image will be playing next, and seating for visitors so they can sit and view the sphere. The new master playlist was composed of three smaller
During January 2007, the Science Museum of Minnesota carried out a study to gather visitor feedback on a variety of potential interpretive features of Science on a Sphere. Visitor preferences related to the use of interpretive labels and graphics directly on the Sphere and the speed in which visualizations rotate were studied. A total of 51 visitors were interviewed. Key findings include: 1. Three quarters of visitors preferred descriptive labels to be directly on the Sphere. 2. If labels were projected on the Sphere, almost all the visitors wanted them to disappear after a period of time. 3
This report presents the findings of a summative evaluation of Courbet and the Modern Landscape, conducted by Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A), for the Walters Art Museum. The evaluation documents the scope of the exhibition's impact and effectiveness.
This report presents the findings of audience research conducted by Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A), for the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The evaluation identifies and examines the successes and shortcomings of the Museum's three major public tours--Confino Living History, Getting By, and Piecing It Together--as well as the facilitated Kitchen Conversation program that follows some tours.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi KornLower East Side Tenement Museum
Dinosaurs Alive is a global adventure of science and discovery featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period and those of the Cretaceous "reincarnated" life-sized for the giant IMAX screen. Audiences will journey with some of the world's preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendants of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us. From the exotic, trackless expanses and sand dunes of Mongolia's Gobi Desert to the dramatic sandstone buttes of New Mexico, the film follows American Museum of Natural History paleontologists as they explore some of the greatest
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice Apley, Ph.D.Kim StreitburgerJenny ScalaMaryland Science Center
Evaluation of the impact of a major redevelopment of the zoo's existing African Savanna Exhibit. A major focus of the evaluation was assessing the effectiveness of a new "cultural interpreter" program.
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of the Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean's Animals project. GRG has served as external evaluator for Journey to Planet Earth since 1999. Journey to Planet Earth is a PBS series that explores the fragile relationship between people and the world they inhabit. The most recent evaluation included two components: 1) a viewer study of the Ocean's Animals episode in the series (hosted and narrated by Matt Damon), and 2) an evaluation of the outreach initiative that complemented the series. The broad goal of the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne McPhersonElizabeth BachrachIrene F GoodmanScreenscope, Inc.American Association for the Advancement of Science