In this article, D.D. Hilke of the Smithsonian Institution discusses strategies family visitors use in exploring exhibitions. Hilke cites evidence from studies which family groups through exhibition halls in a large natural history museum.
In this article, Donald Patterson and Stephen Bitgood outline principles of exhibit design, which describe the relationship between visitor behavior and the characteristics of the exhibit environment. These principles include exhibit design factors (size, motion, aesthetic factors, novelty or rarity, sensory factors, interactive factors, and triangulation), visitor factors (visitor participation, object satiation, special interests, demographic factors, and other psychological factors), and architectural factors (visibility, proximity of animal/object, realism of exhibit area, and sensory
In this article, Christopher J. Reich of the Anniston Museum of Natural History discusses visitor evaluation from the perspective of a museum director. Reich identifies and explains three obstacles that get in the way of visitor studies at institutions: the lack of time, lack of money, and threatening nature of evaluation.
In this article, Bernhard Graf discusses the work of the Institut fur Museumskunde (Institute of Museum Studies), a division of the Staatliche Museen (State Museums) in Berlin. The Institut is devoted to research and documentation in the various areas of museum work, defined by the scientific disciplines relevant to the individual project.
In this article, Michael Spock, of the Informal Learning Program at the University of Chicago, discusses his fundamental and situational concerns that surround the practice of museum exhibit and program evaluation. Spock offers observations on the situational politics from his exhibit evaluation work at the Field Museum and suggests how semantics plays a more fundamental role in the evaluation process.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michael Spock
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This paper offers a simple view of the institutionalization process and describes case studies of three institutions (High Desert Museum, Chicago Academy of Sciences, and Chicago Children's Museum). It is a summary of remarks from the 1994 Visitor Studies Conference in Raleigh, NC.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
D. PerryK. RonningJ. SiskaS. WeaverErica ReedVisitor Studies Association
In the title of this very brief article, Marilyn Hood, of Hood Associates, poses the question "Can aquariums, zoos and museums use TV to educate?" and then goes on to cite a Ohio State University study. The study found that high school students may retain information from watching TV as well as they do from listening to a classroom lecture.
In this article, Alan J. Friedman, Director of the New York Hall of Science, analyzes why museums don't participate in formal evaluation and looks to science and technology centers for answers. Friedman calls for better educating museum scientists and leadership about the values of evaluation, acknowledgment of the consequences of the lack of evaluation, and how to achieve better discipline in the exhibit development process.
In this article, staff at the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History discuss the efforts of the Learning in Informal Settings Program, including three international evaluation studies.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John J. Koran, Jr.Mary Lou KoranBetty Dunckel CampAnne E. Donnelly
In this article, Stephen Bitgood, of Jacksonville State University, and Carey Tisdal, of the St. Louis Science Center, discusses the challenges of assessing visitor orientation. The authors provide an overview of a visitor orientation study at the St. Louis Science Center, including methods and key findings.
In this article, Leonie J. Rennie and Terence P. McClafferty, researchers at Curtin University of Technology in Western Austalia, discuss their efforts to study how young children use interactive exhibits designed from 3 to 7 year olds. The authors analyze play and its relationship with learning.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Leonie J. RennieTerence P. McClafferty
In this article, Lynda Kelly, Evaluation Coordinator at the Australian Museum, discusses the importance of titles in developing exhibitions in museums. Kelly cites evaluation studies at the Australian Museum for five exhibitions and key findings from these efforts.