Marino et al. (2010) recently published a critique of a three-year National Science Foundation—funded investigation of the impact of zoo and aquarium visits on the public's understanding of animals and their attitudes toward conservation (Falk, Heimlich, & Bronnenkant, 2008; Falk, Reinhard, Vernon, Bronnenkant, Deans, & Heimlich, 2007; Heimlich, Bronnenkant, Witgert, & Falk, 2004). This critique of that critique will show that Marino et al. seriously misrepresent both the intent of the research and the methods used. The methods used by Falk and his colleagues were consistent with current
Zoos, aquariums and ecotourism experiences have the potential to positively impact visitors’ awareness, appreciation and actions in relation to the wildlife they encounter and the environment in general. This paper presents findings from a three-year study of the impacts of wildlife tourism experiences on visitors’ environmental learning.
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
In 2009, the Monterey Bay Aquarium began looking at new ways to interpret its Seafood Watch program. This nationwide conservation program strives to educate the public about the importance of buying sustainable seafood. As part of the program, the Aquarium publishes a printed pocket guide that lists the types of seafood consumers should buy and the types they should avoid. (For more information, visit www.seafoodwatch.org.) Over the years, several zoos, aquariums and museums that partner with the Aquarium have expressed interest in displaying an exhibit to encourage more of their visitors to
In 2010, WGBH Boston (www.wgbh.org) was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore the development of a new animated television series for children about environmental sustainability. In preparation for the series development, NSF requested that WGBH perform a needs assessment to determine how much kids know and understand about topics related to environmental sustainability. In September 2010, the focus groups took place at WGBH in Boston, MA. Each focus group was comprised of a mix of girls and boys aged 6 - 9 years old. We recruited 60 children from the greater
In 2009, Insight Evaluation Services conducted a summative evaluation of Junior Zoo Crew (JZC), a summer service program at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (MZB) for teens ages 14 through 17. The goal of the evaluation was to assess the long-term impact of the JZC Program on its past participants in four main areas: 1. How and why participants are attracted to the Program and what support they get from their parents. 2. The extent to which the Program meets participants' expectations, as well as offers a satisfactory volunteer experience that also increases their appreciation for the value of
LOOP is a new animated television series from WGBH for children that is designed to improve the environmental and scientific literacy of children ages 5-8. WGBH developed a pilot episode of the program and tested it in the fall of 2010. WGBH hired independent evaluator Concord Evaluation Group, LLC (CEG) to conduct formative evaluation of the full pilot episode including the 25-minute animatic and the live-action video to assess the impact of LOOP on kids' knowledge of environmental science concepts. CEG performed an experimental study specifically a posttest-only control group design to
The YardMap Network (see www.yardmap.org) is an NSF-funded citizen science project at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which will allow participants to map their habitat management and carbon neutral practices in backyards and parks, interact socially within the network, and display their activities and carbon footprints in an online platform such as Google maps. In 2010, the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), in collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, conducted a front-end evaluation to assess the following evaluation questions: 1. What are gardeners', and birders', citizen
The Nurture Nature Foundation’s Flood Forum project, funded by a two-year National Science Foundation (NSF) planning grant effective August 1, 2009, explored innovative means to promote science learning by and for local communities. The NSF planning grant allowed Nurture Nature Foundation (NNF) to develop a model of outreach for science centers that engages rural and underserved audiences in public dialogue on the science underlying an issue of high public concern—frequent flooding in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Building on a public forum model used by other science centers such as the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice ApleyNurture Nature Foundation
This document outlines front-end and formative evaluation findings including baseline use; improving attraction and holding power and interactions; and improving interfaces. While we found that people like the globe and will stay and interact especially with the redesigned kiosk, there is still room for improvement in support for information transfer and meaning generation, as well as opportunities for retaining user choice and control while adding usability features such as narration.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Shawn RoweKatie StoferCéleste BarthelNancee HunterHatfield Marine Science Center
The Peabody Museum of Natural History's program on Biodiversity and Vector-Borne Disease was successful in meeting all of its goals. The following is a summary of the program in terms of these goals. Goal 1: To build teacher capacity for bringing research in biodiversity and disease ecology to grades 5-11 in an engaging, inquiry-based style. A total of 64 teachers from Connecticut and 4 teacher-trainers from California, Texas, and Wisconsin participated in training institutes to learn about vector-borne diseases. All participating teachers successfully implemented most or all of the curriculum
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Minda BorunPeabody Museum of Natural History