GRG conducted summative evaluation of Ganga, a NSF-funded six-segment series of NPR radio programs about the culture and ecology of the river Ganga in India and Bangladesh and its companion Website. Through a web-based survey, GRG assessed the study participants' knowledge gain from and the satisfaction with the series and the Website. The appendix of this report includes the online survey used in the study.
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Irene GoodmanIndependent Broadcasting Associates, Inc.
The Understanding Race website is informative, varied, accessible, and appealing. It speaks to people with a wide range of ages and backgrounds. It is a clear, understandable treatment of a difficult topic. The site is a rich resource for teachers who can use the content with their classes at varying levels. There is also information for scholars who wish to delve more deeply. No educational resource can please everyone, but this one comes close.
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Minda BorunS2N MediaAmerican Anthropological Association
In this article, Robert Kiihne, Director of Exhibits at the USS Constitution Museum, describes the planning and research process associated with the "Sailors Speak" and "A Sailor's Life for Me!" exhibitions. The team studied how to encourage Family Learning through hands-on, minds-on, exhibit elements. This article describes research results and makes recommendations about how to better engage multi-generational groups in the educational experience.
This article features critiques of the "Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear" exhibit at the Liberty Science Center. Brenda Cowan, Chairperson of the Graduate Exhibition Design program at SUNY/Fashion Institute of Technology, Paul Orselli, Chief Instigator of Paul Orselli Workshop, and Martin Weiss, Science Interpretation Consultant at the New York Hall of Science, share their analysis of the exhibition and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
In this exhibition review, Barbara Cohen-Stratner, the Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg Curator of Exhibitions for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, examines the "Abolition200" project, programs and exhibits that commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Parliamentary act that ended British participation in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Cohen-Stratner focuses on three major exhibitions--one that commissioned a new art work, one that relabeled elements of its permanent display, and one that combined these methods--to discuss how museums can develop exhibitions and reinterpret
In this article, Rich Faron, president, and Susan Curran, director, both of Museum Explorer, Inc., explore the importance of internal relationships among museum staff. In particular, the authors outline "Five Ts for successful teams" and other ways to improve teamwork amongst museum professionals.
In this article, Beat Hachler, co-director of Stapferhaus Lenzburg, discusses his institution's unique exhibit design approach, which uses unconventional strategies to "represent the present." In particular, Hachler describes the techniques used in "A Matter of Faith: An Exhibition for Believers and Non-Believers" and its impact on visitors and museum staff.
In this article, Mariana Galvani, Commercial Manager at Laboratorio museotecnico Goppion, describes how a defining project for this "Italian-centric" company: construction of the display elements for the British Galleries at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. This job was complex and exposed the firm to a new level of cultural debate about the role of museums and a philosophy of work that it had never experienced before.
In this exhibition review, Eric Siegel, Director and Chief Content Officer at the New York Hall of Science, critiques the "Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns, and Mermaids" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. Siegel provides a walkthrough of the exhibit and remarks about the audience and pedagogy.
In this article, Richard Faron, independent museum consultant, discusses how the act of musuem building can unite communities and the government. Faron uses Iraq as an "imaginary case study" to investigate how museums can strengthen Iraqi identity and pride.
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Richard FaronNational Association of Museum Exhibition
In this article, Ian Kerrigan, Assistant Director of Exhibition Development at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, articulates the importance of the 9/11 Memorial Museum being located at the World Trade Center site. Kerrigan goes on to explain how the museum is also serving as a archaeological site, how artifacts will play a pivotal role in the Museum's public spaces, and how the Museum's primary artifact is the site in and of itself. Kerrigan also describes how media is an integral element of the exhibition space that reflect the media age of era and allow visitors to share and
In this article, John Russick, Curator at the Chicago Historical Society, shares his adventurous experience participating in an archeological dig at a remote site in central Turkey. The experience taught Russick four important lessons related to exhibit development and foreign travel.