This study was designed to assess qualitative and quantitative impacts that the enactor program has on visitor experience at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS), using two temporary exhibitions (Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition) as examples. Of interest was capturing the unique visitor experience that enactors provide by combining visitor engagement, education and interaction. In turn, this affords opportunities to better consider enactor and/or theater-based programming for other areas of the Museum (temporary and permanent) in the
The Minnesota Historical Society contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a summative evaluation of the Minnesota's Greatest Generation exhibition (MGG), which was on view at the Minnesota History Center. The exhibition traces the lives of a generation of Minnesotans born in the 1910s and 1920s through the Depression, War, and Boom. RK&A trained staff and volunteers to conduct 50 interviews with adult visitors to MGG; interviews were audio recorded and transcribed to facilitate analysis. The interview explored visitors' experiences with exhibit components (such as with the
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Minnesota Historical Society
RK&A was contracted by Save Ellis Island (SEI) to conduct a front end evaluation, funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities planning grant. The objective for the evaluation was to examine Ellis Island's visitors' overall responses to the exhibit concepts, themes, and interpretive approaches for SEI's planned interpretation of Ellis Island's hospital and other medical facilities located on Ellis Island. RK&A first participated in planning meetings with SEI and their team of consultants to explore ideas for interpreting the medical facilities of Ellis Island. Upon reviewing the
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Save Ellis Island
The summative evaluation of Yuungnaqpiallerput used two evaluation strategies--tracking and timing (T&T) and an open-ended questionnaire (CQ)--to discover how visitors used the exhibition and what they could immediately recall about it. The combined data from these methods produced a well-rounded set of evidence for the degree of success achieved by the exhibition. Yuungnaqpiallerput was designed to be engaging to both an Alaska Native American audience and non-natives. Of the 61 people in the CQ sample, 69% said that they were first-time visitors to the Anchorage Museum, and 75% had no
Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World, a 2,500-square-foot permanent exhibition, contains more than 100 rare, important, and beautiful books and manuscripts from the Huntington's collections, along with artifacts and interactive experiences. The content focuses on the changing role of science through the centuries, with particular emphasis on some of the astonishing leaps in imagination made by scientists and the importance of written works in communicating those ideas. There were 52 exhibit elements in subject areas of Astronomy, Natural History, Medicine, and Light. Feedback on the
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Beverly SerrellThe Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
This front-end evaluation study provided information about how potential visitors to the Dena'ina exhibition (scheduled to open at the Anchorage Museum in 2010) might think and feel about the exhibition's themes. Twenty interviews were conducted with a diverse group that included people with Dena'ina and other Native American cultures. The key findings were: There was a lot of diversity about what participants knew, or didn't know, about the Dena'ina, and how the Dena'ina culture was similar to others. People knew about the effects of contact on religion, education, and dress. Non-Natives (as
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation to inform the reinstallation of the Ancient Latin America Hall. The study was conducted to examine visitors' experiences in the current exhibition, the nature of their connection with the objects on view, and their needs and preferences for interpretation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 English-speaking and 20 Spanish-speaking visitor groups, using a quota sampling method. Visitors were intercepted as they exited the current Ancient Latin America Hall
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In this article, Phyllis Rabineau, Vice President for Interpretation and Education at the Chicago History Museum, explores the tensions that are unique to history exhibitions. Rabineau shares highlights from conversations with Chicago History Museum colleagues, who have been in the field for 10 years or longer.
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.
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 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.
This article highlights four controversial exhibits from various institutions who, in the end, used controversy to their advantage. The authors include Kimberly Louagie, Curator of Exhibits at the Outagamie County Historical Society in Appleton, Wisconsin, Saudia Muwwakkil, Public Information Officer at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Diane Perlov, Senior Vice President for Exhibits at the California Science Center, and John Russick, Curator at the Chicago Historical Society.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Kimberly LouagieSaudia MuwwakkilDiane PerlovJohn Russick