In this article, Charlie Trautmann, Executive Director of Sciencenter, and Maureen McConnell, Education Manager at Ecotarium and Exhibit Developer for Jan Crocker LLC, argue that museums who seek to change visitors perceptions and behavior through exhibitions on sustainability, they need to address four issues: the focus of the exhibition, the museum context, and post-visit engagement through programming. The authors include a checklist to help museum professionals plan exhibitions on sustainability.
In this article, Sonal Bhatt, Assistant Director of Interpretation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (headquartered at the Bronx Zoo), describes the Zoo's Eco-restroom project, a multi-part experience that embodies their mission of conservation. Bhatt highlights the key features of Eco-restroom area, evaluation results, and lessons learned.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sonal BhattNational Association for Museum Exhibition
This article outlines a case study using social media as a front-end evaluation tool to revise or redevelop content and themes from an exhibition at the Australian Museum, Sydney, on the topic of evil. The study also explored the time investment and the outcomes achieved through the use of social media compared with undertaking a front-end study in a more traditional way.
This one-pager provides the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. This sheet defines LEED, explains who uses LEED, and provides information about the rating system, project certification, and professional accreditation.
In this article, Steven Lubar, professor of American civilization and director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University, describes the final project--producing an exhibition--he gives the students in his Methods in Public Humanities course. Lubar explores the process, successes, and learning opportunities associated with student-curated exhibition, "Remember the Old Times: Cape Verdean Community in Fox Point."
In this article, Douglas Simpson, Associate at Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., describes the unique design process the Newton History Museum employed to create a new exhibition on immigration. The Museum recruited seven local high school students from immigrant families to curate an exhibition about themselves. The exhibition became known as "Hyphenated-Origins: Going Beyond the Labels." Simpson explores this unique exhibit design process and its successes.
This article describes the research effort of ASTC and Reach Advisors to explore the motivations and engagement levels of visitors to science museums. The team discovered surprising and telling information about mothers who visit with their children. This article explores the survey methodology, key findings including helpful terms to describe four types of visitors, and conclusions with recommendations.
In this article, Carlos Plaza, exhibit developer and bilingual communications specialist at the Miami Science Museum, summarizes the museum's general guidelines and strategies for writing and designing bilingual exhibitions. These guidelines address label hierarchy, personnel (translators and editors), interpretation vs. translation, regional variation, and layout and design.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Carlos Plaza
resourceevaluationProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Nanoscale Education Outreach (NEO) workshop participants were interviewed 6+ months after their attendance to determine the effect of the workshop on the participants' professional capacity and to determine the effect of the participants' involvement in the broader NISE Network. 33 of the 87 total participants were interviewed over several months.
Revised Simpson-Troost Attitude Questionnaire (STAQ-R) is a revised version of the original tool – Simpson Troost Attitude Questionnaire (STQ), a 58-item Likert type scale created by Simpson and Troost in 1982. For reference, please see Simpson, R. D., & Troost, K. M. (1982). Influences on commitment to and learning of science among adolescent students. Science Education, 66, 763-781.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
S.V. OwenM.A. ToepperweinC.E. MarshallM.J. LichtensteinC.L. BlalockY. Liu
Learning Science in Informal Environments draws together disparate literatures, synthesizes the state of knowledge, and articulates a common framework for the next generation of research on learning science in informal environments across a life span. Contributors include recognized experts in a range of disciplines--research and evaluation, exhibit designers, program developers, and educators. They also have experience in a range of settings--museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, state parks, and botanical gardens. Learning Science
This white paper is the product of the CAISE Public Engagement with Science Inquiry Group. It describes how public engagement with science (PES) in the context of informal science education can provide opportunities for public awareness of and participation in science and technology. The term engagement is characterized by mutual learning by publics and scientists rather than a one-way transmission of knowledge from experts to publics.