Three Big Back Yard (BBY) evaluations were carried out during the summer of 2006. A timing and tracking study was conducted to understand how visitors utilized and interacted with the various components of the Big Back Yard. A total of 101 visitors were observed. Exit interviews were carried out with 96 visitors as they left the BBY. The exit interviews provided an understanding of visitors' motivations for visiting the BBY, what they knew about the BBY before they visited, and their experience with the golf course's content. A lobby interview was conducted with 160 visitors as they left the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Amy Grack NelsonBeth JanetskiLevi WeinhagenScience Museum of Minnesota
During the summer of 2007, the Science Museum of Minnesota carried out a summative evaluation of the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center's Park Crew program. The purpose of the evaluation was to understand how the youth staff implemented activities in the museum's Big Back Yard and what they learned about earth-surface processes, teaching others, and STEM careers. A mixed-methods design was used to gather evaluative data. Data collection methods included observations of youth presenting activities to visitors and pre- and post-interviews with the youth. A total of 11 youth (sophomore through
In October 2009, the Tennessee Aquarium began an ambitious program, Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean (CTWO), funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CTWO consists of several individual projects, all intended to increase the ocean literacy of Aquarium audiences and to promote their adoption of an ocean stewardship ethic. This formative evaluation report summarizes the extent to which the Aquarium has made progress toward these goals in the first year of the project and provides an information base for identifying opportunities to strengthen
This report presents the results of a front-end exploration study conducted at Boston Children's Museum in September and November, 2010. This front-end study was designed to determine visitors' existing knowledge of the living things and natural processes in their neighborhood, and more importantly, their level(s) of interest in finding out more about the animals and plants with whom they share their neighborhoods. A copy of the survey instrument used in the study is included in the appendix of this document.
Listening to the River (LTTR) is a watershed science education project funded by the National Science Foundation. Its aims are to deliver education experiences in the local area, Traverse City, Michigan, and also to develop a model that could be replicated in other locations. Inverness Research was contracted by the Listening to the River project to conduct both formative and summative evaluations. Our work began in 2005 when the project received a planning grant, and continued through the life of the project. Primarily through interviews and product reviews, along with some direct program
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mark St. JohnHeather MitchellDawn RoblesElizabeth HorschLaura StokesLand Information Access Assocation
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate its new exhibition, Madagascar!, located at the Bronx Zoo. Madagascar! showcases the wildlife and landscapes of the world's fourth largest island. Built in the historic Lion House, the exhibit transformed the interior, while preserving the historic building's Beaux-Arts beauty. The exhibit offers opportunities to see the island through the eyes of a conservationist at various interactive stations. RK&A worked with WCS to clarify its goals and objectives for Madagascar!. and to identify criteria
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Wildlife Conservation Society
A research study was conducted to help inform UC Davis's Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) about the greater Lake Tahoe area community's perceived value of the center and two 3D visualizations included as part of their guided tour of the center. Research questions focused on how various local groups perceived the center, how TERC can better engage locals and tourists alike, the potential for the current 3D visualizations (Lake Tahoe, Earthquakes) for impacting attitudes and behaviors about the Lake and how the Lake Tahoe 3D visualization impacted middle school students during a school
The following comprise the CONCLUSIONS of SRA's evaluation: POLAR-PALOOZA toured the United States at a time when the topic of climate change and global warming appeared relatively low on a list of Americans' concerns (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 2006), with the economy, war, and health care taking precedence. Nevertheless, POLAR-PALOOZA was a powerful format for engaging the public and teachers with science, while also being a rewarding and worthwhile experience for the traveling scientists. PPZA was an ambitious and complex undertaking designed to bring what is
EDX Exhibits approached Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to test prototypes for exhibits being developed for a new welcome center at the Big Cypress National Preserve. The formative evaluation, which took place during the summer, followed a front-end evaluation conducted during the spring. All data was collected at the Oasis Visitor Center at the Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida. Having conducted a front-end evaluation that explored Big Cypress visitors' perceptions of and familiarity with ideas that would be explored in the exhibits, RK&A identified concepts that were most
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.EDX ExhibitsBig Cypress National Preserve Visitor Center
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
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Nick VisscherUniversity of WashingtonSarah MartinezErin Wilcox
This report represents the results of a summative evaluation study of visitor response to new interpretive signage in Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Tropical Pavilion. The evaluation aims to reveal the extent to which the new signage succeeds in providing the outcomes for the visitor experience identified in the Garden's Interpretive Master Plan (IMP). The IMP's overarching goal is: to create interactions and experiences with visitors of all ages and backgrounds which are rich, enjoyable, personally relevant, and communicate the key message,Plants are essential to life. The following content goals
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen GiustiBrooklyn Botanic GardenKathleen Condon
"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
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen GiustiFlorida Museum of Natural History