This summative evaluation was commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to explore visitors’ perceptions of the exhibition, “Climate Change: ” – which was installed from October 2008 through August 2009. This report provides systematic information about visitors’ perceptions of the intended messages and about the different types of exhibitry used to create the educational and experiential value of the exhibition. The information can be used to reflect on the exhibit development and design process, to consider whether to rent the traveling exhibition, and to inform future
This study, requested by Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, was conducted between April 2004 and May 2005, over all four seasons, and used the following methods: 1) open-ended interviews with 55 visit groups; 2) formal observations of a sample of 100 visitors, for which the observer estimated the age and gender of visitors and noted their paths, all stops over 3 seconds in length, what displays they looked at, and which hands-on devices they used; 3) a peer review panel comprised of seven ex- hibition specialists (curators, designers,writers, educators, and exhibition developers) who work
This newsletter issue focuses on natural history dioramas. Articles describe children's responses to dioramas, biological interest development in natural history dioramas, and inquiry at natural history dioramas.
It is common knowledge that U.S. students have fallen behind in the acquisition of science knowledge and that the necessary solution is greater investment and better practices in our schools. But is better schooling really the solution? Drawing on a large base of research, the authors demonstrate that by the time U.S. citizens are young adults, they are better informed about science than their international peers; that the most important sources of scientific knowledge are not schools; and that the informal infrastructure of museums, aquariums, broadcast programming and other sources of
This application requested (and received) an exemption from the consent requirement. The key in this application is that all data collection was done anonymously.
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University of California, San DiegoLoren ThompsonJeremy Babendure
Signs in both English and Spanish alert museum visitors when evaluation activities are taking place. Signs indicate whether filming, photography, or videotaping with audio are taking place.
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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
This umbrella protocol developed by the Exploratorium outlines their policy of determining whether they can share video recordings of minors based on whether or not they have obtained parental consent. Distinctions are drawn between recordings filmed in public and non-public (ie. focus group) spaces.
This document outlines OMSI's general approach to consent, differentiating between adults and minors and between adults who have been explicitly “invited” to participate and those who are in non-invitational settings, then describes details of consent for each method and audience.
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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
The purpose of the project is to develop, initiate, and disseminate a collaborative and sustained learning research agenda to inform how natural history museums can best use their resources to support our audiences in the 21st Century. A key component of the project was the 21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference, held at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, February 12 - 15, 2012. During the conference, 100 participants from across the US and three international sites engaged in a dynamic process of initiating the development of a Call to Action and Learning Research Agenda
This study was commissioned by Intel Corporation to explore the ways in which corporate sponsorships of museum exhibitions influence visitor perceptions of both the corporation and of the museum exhibition. [Note: Intel was not one of the sponsoring companies studied during this research, and was not mentioned to visitors during the course of the study.] The overall implication of this study for museums is that carefully chosen and presented sponsorships, for a majority of visitors, have no impact on opinion of exhibits, but, in some cases, can lead to improvements. For companies, such
This article begins with two examples that demonstrate adult interactions with young learners during conversations in informal learning environments. Family visits to informal learning environments provide opportunities to learn together, interact, engage in conversations, and learn more about one another. This article explores family learning in informal environments and suggests ways for parents to guide young learners in conversations to make sense of exhibit and program content. Parents can maximize learning and draw children into equitable learning conversations through the strategies