The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a formative evaluation of proposed exhibits for “The Future of the City Lab,” an interactive gallery to be featured in the New York At Its Core exhibition that invites visitors to think about and help design the future of New York City.
How did we approach this study?
The goal of the study was to explore visitors’ opinions and understandings of five specific exhibits—the Introduction Text, the Big Challenges Wall, a Neighborhood Exploration, the “Density” iPad Activity, and the Selfie
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. This project engages members of racially and economically diverse communities in identifying and carrying out environmental projects that are meaningful to their lives, and adapts technology known as NatureNet to assist them. NatureNet, encompassing a cell phone app, a multi-user, touch-based tabletop display and a web-based community, was developed with prior NSF support.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Living Laboratory is a model for museum-academic partnership that aims to educate the public about child development by immersing museum visitors in the process of scientific discovery. Living Laboratory embraces a "mutual professional development" philosophy, in which museum educators and scientists share their expertise with one another through a variety of regular interactions.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Living Laboratory is a model for museum-academic partnership that aims to educate the public about child development by immersing museum visitors in the process of scientific discovery. Living Laboratory embraces a "mutual professional development" philosophy, in which museum educators and scientists share their expertise with one another through a variety of regular interactions.
With the suite of environmental challenges faced by today’s society growing ever more imminent, the potential role of science and natural history museums as social institutions to promote environmental stewardship is being realized. A recent collaborative effort between the
EcoTarium in Worcester, MA and six other institutions across the country, the NSF funded City Science exhibit serves to introduce the public to new research on human-ecology interactions in urban settings. The project also supports the inclusion of Public Participation in Science Research (PPSR) elements in museum exhibits
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Marissa GallantShana HawrylchakJacqueline DeLisa
The Touch the Sun exhibition showcases the stunning state-of-the-art imagery of the Sun captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and streamed to Chabot in near-real-time. Central to the exhibit is a fully interactive, 90-inch display presenting animations of the Sun's atmosphere in astounding detail. Additional exhibits give visitors hands-on experience with the forces of nature that shape the Sun's behavior. A Ferrofluid exhibit lets visitors explore the interaction between magnetic fields and magnetic material, as with the solar magnetic fields that affect plasma to form features like
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a multi-method summative evaluation of Q?rius, an interactive and experimental learning space that brings the unique assets of NMNH—the science, researchers, and collections—out from behind the scenes. Q?rius is designed as a flexible space for walk-in visitors visiting exhibitions at the Museum as well as a program space. Given the breadth of experiences available in the space, the scope of the evaluation specifically targeted walk-in youth and adult visitors to Q?rius.
In 2011 the Bishop Museum and two collaborating organizations, University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UH) and the Pacific Voyaging Society (PVS), were awarded a multi-year grant from the Native Hawaiian Education Program (NHEP) to develop classroom and dockside curricula, an online resource center for educators, teacher workshops, a planetarium show, and a field-trip program for middle school students. The overall goal of these educational products and programs is to make STEM content accessible to Native Hawaiian students by presenting it through the lens of ancient Hawaiian navigational systems.
To inform development of the Curious by Nature exhibit and related programs, staff at the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (JMZ) wants to hear from parents. Staff are especially interested in the experience of families with children who have special needs. In recent years the JMZ has developed an audience in this community of often close-knit friends and organizations. JMZ is also part of a successful collaboration with Abilities United and PACE (Pacific Autism Center for Education) in which disabled adults volunteer in the Zoo on a weekly basis. The institution’s intimate nature, good design and
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Wendy MeluchPalo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (JMZ) is working to create an accessible facility from the ground up as they plan for a new building, zoo habitats, and exhibits. During construction of the new JMZ the institution will occupy a temporary space in Palo Alto. The new JMZ is scheduled to open in 2019.
To inform their planning process, Tina Keegan, Exhibits Director at JMZ, contracted with Wendy Meluch of Visitor Studies Services (the evaluator) to conduct community conversation with two groups of parents on site at the Museum. Staff reached out to JMZ members and visitors, and local
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Wendy MeluchPalo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
This Learning Research Agenda was collaboratively developed by the Museum, King's College London, the University of Bristol, and other UK and overseas contributors. It provides a conceptual map of learning in natural history institutions while considering the the complexity of practice.
The author provides a synopsis of the Learning Research Agenda collaboratively developed by the Museum, King's College London, the University of Bristol, and other UK and overseas contributors. It includes a discussion of the research agenda process, the importance of natural history museums, and the types of research methods and questions encompassed by the agenda.