The Interactive Video Science Consortium is a non-profit group of fifteen science centers and museums that proposes to develop interactive video exhibits about Earth and Planetary sciences with two purposes in mind. One, the video exhibits on the two subject areas will serve as educational vehicles for four million visitors, representing the combined audiences of the fifteen participating museums. Two, through extensive testing and visitor research during the development process the consortium members will enlarge understanding of the appropriate and effective uses of the interactive video medium in science museums. Consortium members will fund the costs of conducting research on the subject matter and producing the first two discs. The request to the National Science Foundation is for the systematic analysis of the effectiveness of this type of program and of the educational impact of the medium in science museums.
From the fall of 2000 through the fall of 2004, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) received funding from the National Science Foundation to create a math-based exhibit for school-aged children and their families. The end result was Moneyville, a colorful and inviting traveling exhibition offered in two configurations - the original full-size 6000-square-foot version and a reduced version designed to accommodate smaller venues, such as children's museums and discovery centers. Both exhibitions were designed to teach visitors about "making economic choices with the power of
Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, lightning, tornadoes, and other natural phenomena occur regularly as an on-going part of the natural environment of our planet. There is a clear need to increase public awareness and knowledge of these natural forces and their impact on human existence. Educating the public about effective, and often simple, strategies for protection, mitigation, and recovery based on the latest scientific knowledge, and encouraging them to personally take action, is critical to reducing human suffering, loss of life, and destruction of property from these deadly
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bruce W. HallMuseum of Science and Industry
In February 2005, randomly selected museum visitors were interviewed about their interest in and knowledge about a topic for a new exhibition under development by the Washington State Historical Society (WSHS), called "Tracking the West." (Note: The working title has since been changed to "The West the Railroads Made," but this report keeps the references to the former title.) Since this is intended to be a traveling exhibition, visitors at two potential sites were interviewed: in Tacoma, Washington (at the host institution for this front-end study), and in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Beverly SerrellWashington State Historical Society
This report summarizes a summative evaluation of Amazing Feats of Aging, an exhibition developed by staff at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon. Patricia McNamara, an independent evaluator, designed this study to document the exhibition's impact on visitors at two locations: its permanent installation at OMSI itself and at the installation of the exhibit's traveling version at the Lafayette Museum of Natural History (LMNH) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Data collection strategies included visitor interviews, self-administered questionnaires and unobtrusive
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Patricia McNamaraOregon Museum of Science and Industry
The University of Pennsylvania Museum has received a grant from the Philadelphia History Exhibitions Initiative (PHEI) to plan an exhibit on human evolution. The exhibit and associated educational programs will be produced and exhibited in Philadelphia and then travel to other venues across the United States. The working title for the exhibition is Being Human: A Design in Process. The University Museum contracted with Minda Borun, Museum Solutions, to conduct and interpret a series of focus groups with significant audience segments to assess their knowledge, preferences, and feelings about
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Minda BorunUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum
The Maryland Science Center has received a SEPA grant to develop an exhibition, intern program and web site focusing on cell biology and stem cell research. The working title of the exhibition is Cellular Universe. The exhibit is intended to serve the following audiences: Families with children age nine and older; School groups (grades four and up); Adults; 9th grade underserved high school students in three local schools and/or community centers. Topics the exhibit will treat include: Structure and function of cells; Stem cells and their potential, the controversy surrounding stem cell
The Indiana State Museum is planning a new, comprehensive exhibition about the history and uses of corn, from 8000 years ago to the present. The environmental, economic, and cultural impacts of the development of corn breeding will be explored. A front-end evaluation was conducted to see what visitors know about the biology and uses of this plant.
This front-end evaluation assisted in design and development of the Wild About Otters special exhibition at the Monterey Bay Auqarium, which opened in 2007. The evaluation included structured interviews, both a short and a long form. This report includes short interview and long interview forms in the appendix.
In this article, Mary Jane Taylor, Interim Director of Public Programs at Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, shares the Request for Proposal process associated with the "Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur" exhibition and the associated "Design your own plate" interactive. Evaluation results and RFP are included in this article.
In this article, R. Lee Carson, Contract Negotiator and Attorney with the Smithsonian Institution Office of Contracting, describes the key elements of the Smithsonian's procurement policy and general rules followed in the solicitation process. Carson also provides some common pit-falls and suggestions for improvements for improvements in proposals for exhibit design and exhibit fabrication.
In this article, Barbara A. Becker, independent exhibit developer and museum consultant and Kris Nesbitt, exhibit developer, share the benefits of traveling to the Amazon region to develop the "Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River" at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. The authors describe the trips the teams made to research and collect artifacts and analyze how travel greatly strengthened the exhibit development process, the effectiveness of the exhibit, and the power of their message.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara A. BeckerKris NesbittNational Association for Museum Exhibition