In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and Ann Cleghorn share findings from a study that attempted to assess recall for three different types of exhibit events: visual (exhibit objects), semantic (label content), and other sensory impressions (sounds, temperature, darkness, touch). The aim of the study was to compare recollections for these three types of knowledge across exhibit areas at the Anniston Museum of Natural History.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood reviews two studies that assessed knowledge gain in addition to other measures of exhibit effectiveness. These studies used tests of semantic knowledge as measures of exhibit effectiveness, which Bitgood argues are incomplete measures of knowledge and restrict researchers from assessing other types of memory (e.g. visual and episodic).
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood provides a brief overview of the psychology of memory as it relates to visitor studies professionals. Bitgood outlines stages of memory, types of memory, other memory concepts, knowledge and exhibit experiences, and the measurement of memory.
In this article, William A. Barnard of the University of Northern Colorado and Ross J. Loomis of Colorado State University discuss a series of research studies they conducted to address three basic questions concerning the evaluation of visual learning from exhibits: (1) Was it possible to determine how well people remember specific items that they had previously seen in exhibit collections? (2) What, if any, optimal number of exhibited items would serve to maximize visual learning? and (3) What is the potential relationship of the amount of time spent viewing objects and the retention of
In this article, evaluation consultant Harris H. Shettel outlines the value of remedial evaluation. Shettel cites evidence from a study of the "Man in His Environment" at the Field Museum in 1976.
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Harris H. ShettelVisitor Studies Association
In this article, Roger Miles, of the Natural History Museum in London, defends his 1993 proposal that deems the concept of remedial evaluation unnecessary. Miles presents counterarguments against proponents of remedial evaluation, Screven, Bitgood, and Shettel and argues for a classification based on the cyclical model of exhibition development.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Amy Cota and Stephen Bitgood address the following evaluation questions: (1) Would label reading decrease when the number of labels is increased? (2) Do groups who visit in families behave differently than groups composed of adults only? and (3) Do label readers view exhibit objects longer than nonreaders? The researchers share findings from a study that evaluated these questions in the Egyptian Mummy gallery at the Anniston Museum of Natural History.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood responds to Roger Miles, a proponent of the Occam's Razor principle in determining the number of exhibit evaluation types, which argues for parsimony (fewest possible). Bitgood offers a rationale for Screven's four-type evaluation model based on multiple dimensions (when, why, how, what and who), accepts Miles's three-stage model of evaluation, and addresses Miles's criticisms of the use of remedial evaluation as one of the evaluation types. which Bitgood argues should not be cut from the list of evaluation types.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Amy Cota summarizes a 1984 "British Journal of Psychology" article written by M.B. Alt and K.M. Shaw, in which the authors attempt to classify museum exhibits in terms of "the way they are perceived by museum visitors." Cota discusses how this research suggests that there are a number of exhibit factors of greater importance than interaction or participation.
This report presents the findings from a front-end evaluation for Stormy Weather, a major traveling exhibition on severe storms. This exhibition is being developed through a collaboration among the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, National Museum of Natural History, St. Louis Science Center, and National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The purpose of conducting a front-end evaluation is to better understand visitors' perceptions and their baseline knowledge regarding a particular subject--in this case, severe storms. The
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Randi KornSmithsonian InstitutionSusan Ades
The Exploratorium is developing a model program that demonstrates the vital role science museum exhibits can play in supporting formal science education reform. The development of exhibitions and enhancement activities is based on the Science Framework for California Public Schools and the emerging National Science Education Standards. The project includes: A series of four museum exhibitions (with a total of 60 exhibits) based on the Science Framework themes of Patterns of Change, Stability, Scale and Structure, and Systems and Interactions Publications (Exhibit Guides and Pathways) for each collection A series of workshops and evening events for teachers, families and students A symposium, video and Internet resource for museum and education professionals An important feature is an information desk and resource kiosk to inform teachers, parents and the general public about science education reform efforts. The project aims at 5,000 teachers, 32,000 parents and caregivers, 140,000 students and 1,320,000 members of the general public.
New and developing science centers make up a significant percentage of ASTC membership. They often have limited funds, facilities, exhibits, education programs and experience developing and operating a science center. These institutions desire ready-to-use exhibits, demonstrations and education materials, as well as management workshops concerning the basic operation of a science center. This project proposes the formation of a Science Carnival Consortia, a partnership of the Pacific Science Center and five to eight new and developing science centers. Building on the success of the Pacific Science Center's Science Carnival, Consortia members: (1) Obtain twenty to forty Science Carnival exhibits (2) Obtain six ready-to-use demonstrations (3) Obtain supplementary education materials (4) Obtain appropriate training regarding the implementation and maintenance of the above items (5) Participate in a week long management workshop at the Pacific Science Center (6) Receive ongoing consultation with Pacific Science Center Staff (7) Participate in three annual meetings of Consortia members The project also produces a Science Carnival "cookbook" which provides instructional for fabricating and maintaining all exhibits in Science Carnival, plus scripts and material lists for each demonstration, and enrichment class. The project also evaluates the success of this model for serving other new and developing science centers.