In this article, Ilze Groves of Questacon, Australia's national interactive science and technology centre, discusses the museum's efforts in 1996 to evaluate a group of sixteen prototype hands-on exhibits. This study involved visitor observations and interviews.
In this paper, Nancy T. Haas of the Please Touch Museum discusses Project Explore, a new research initiative that explores learning in children's museums. Project Explore is a collaborative effort of two organizations, PleaseTouch Museum in Philadelphia and Harvard's Project Zero in Cambridge. Using a dual research approach, Please Touch Museum researchers investigated exactly what it is that children are learning and how to best enable or enhance their learning process; while the Project Zero team studied how children engage in exhibits by looking at the Entry Points approach to learning
In this paper, Zahava D. Doering and Andrew J. Pekarik of the Smithsonian's Institutional Studies Office share an overview of efforts to assess the Smithsonian's 16 museums and 26 million visitors each year. The authors also share some general findings that address communication in exhibitions.
In this article, Lynn D. Dierking of Science Learning, inc. (SLi) discusses the summative evaluation of the Pacific Science Center's Science Carnival Consortium Project, a National Science Foundation funded program designed to assist new or developing science centers with opening and operating their institutions. The evaluation was designed to determine the extent to which the Science Carnival Consortium fulfilled its primary mission of facilitating the creation of these new science centers, as well as to assess the relative efficacy of the project as a model for future collaborative endeavors
In this article, Stephen Bitgood of Jacksonville State University discusses the importance of critical thinking skills and offers ten suggestions for incorporating critical thinking into exhibit design.
This article provides a brief summary of the findings from an evaluation study that examined what Field Museum visitors understand about the scientific research that goes on behind the scenes. Between May and September 1995, Selinda Research Associates conducted over 125 in-depth interviews with visitors, members, and museum staff, for a total of approximately fifty contact hours with respondents.
In this article, Ethan Allen (Teachers Academy for Mathematics & Science in Chicago) describes two types of museum collaborations and how they improve visitor experience through different modes. Allen discusses the Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group (CMEG) and the Museum Partners of Chicago's Urban Systemic Initiative as two models of museum collaboration.
In this article, Pete Conroy, Curator of Natural History at the Anniston Museum of Natural History (Anniston, AL), summarizes an article written by George Weiner (Supervisory Exhibits Editor at the Smithsonian) in 1963 about writing exhibit labels.
In this article, Steve Bitgood, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Jacksonville State University, presents general principles that can be used to guide exhibit designers, facility planners, and decision-makers of exhibit-type facilities. Bitgood offers two principles of visitor behavior that deal with physical qualities of the exhibit object or spieces.
In this article, Ben Gammon, Visitor Studies Manager, and Jo Graham, Education Manager, at the Science Museum, London ask, "What is the value of evaluation if nobody pays any attention?" They advise "audience advocates" on how to communicate research findings effectively with curators and exhibit developers and offer four exercises" to improve visitor awareness.
Once resources for the scholar and serious student, science museums are now dedicated to public education. But just how institutions define and meet their educational goals is a continuing story. This article describes the evolution of science museums from private collections to public institutions over three generations.
Project LIFTOFF works with local, regional, and national partners to engineer statewide systems for Informal Science Education that inspire: YOUTH to pursue STEM education and careers through increased opportunities for quality, hands-on STEM learning. AFTERSCHOOL STAFF to facilitate STEM learning experiences that contribute to the overall STEM education and aspirations of youth in their programs. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS to encourage and support staff in the integration of STEM enrichment into the daily programming. STATE LEADERS to sustain and expand afterschool learning opportunities so that all students have access to engaging STEM experiences outside of the regular school day. Project LIFTOFF is dedicated to the development of the following essential elements of statewide systems for informal science education:
Access to appropriate STEM Curriculum for youth of all ages, abilities, and socio-cultural backgrounds that meets the needs and interests of individual community programs
Systematic STEM Professional Development that matches individual skills in positive youth development with abilities to facilitate discovery and science learning
A diverse Cadres of Trainers who will deliver the professional development, technical assistance and curriculum dissemination in their local communities
Authentic Evaluation of informal science efforts that determine the impacts on youth aspirations and the capacity of youth programs to provide quality STEM experiences
Local STEM education leadership to identify the ways in which collaborative education efforts can advance the development of 21st Century Skills and the preparedness for STEM workforce and higher education
Partnerships in support of youth development and informal science education that convene local, regional, and statewide organizations and stakeholders
To advance national initiatives and states' sySTEM engineering efforts, LIFTOFF coordinates an annual convening, the Midwest Afterschool Science Academy, that brings together national informal science experts, system leaders and youth development professionals to elevate the levels of science after school. The 5th MASA will be in the spring of 2014 in Kansas City, MO
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Missouri AfterSchool NetworkJeff Buehler