In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood discusses an evaluation study of a "Falling Feather" gravity-themed exhibit at a science museum. Bitgood shares key findings from the evaluation, which revealed several problems with the exhibit.
In this editor's note, Stephen Bitgood discusses the upcoming 1992 Visitor Studies Conference in St. Louis and summarizes the theme of the issue of "Visitor Behavior," which focuses on the design and evaluation of interactive exhibits.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood presents a literature review of successful interactive exhibits. Bitgood outlines guidelines for designing interactive exhibits, focusing on two aspects of interactive exhibits: stages of evaluation; and design of the exhibit in terms of the physical device, labels for instruction and explanation, and the visitor-exhibit interface.
This article discusses a 1988-1990 study that analyzed the effectiveness of a collaborative effort between a museum and a school system to build an integrated curriculum package. The partners included the York County School System (VA) and the Yorktown Victory Center (operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation). The theme of the curriculum was 18th Century Medicine and the unit was designed to enhance the science, math, and social studies instruction of fourth graders.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ronald GieseJudy Davis-DorseyJoseph Gutierrez
In this article, researchers from Jacksonville State University and the Center for Social Design discuss a study that attempted to use questions as label-reading prompts in a new way. Questions were written on a sheet of paper and made available as a handout to visitors at the Birmingham Zoo and Anniston Museum of Natural History. The answers to the questions could be found in the exhibit labels.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BitgoodDonald PattersonArlene Benefield
In this article, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Don Thompson summarizes a portion of a dissertation research project that focuses on the relationship between people's educational background and their perceptions of exhibits. In particular, visitors were asked to rate photographs, under varying conditions, of exhibit objects (mounted animals) from the Anniston Museum of Natural History.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Valerie Cox summarizes a 1991 paper in "Visitor Studies: Theory, Research & Practice," written by C. Vance and D. Schroeder. Cox summates findings from the researchers' investigation of linking visitor learning styles (based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) with exhibit types. The subjects of this study were visitors to the "Rain Forest: Exploring Life on Earth" exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood discusses visitor variables --how these variables influence other visitors and the visitation experience. This report focuses on findings from a study of attitudes toward animals conducted at the Birmingham Zoo. This study focused on the impact of particular variables, including education, gender, leisure reading and knowledge about the subject matter.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood presents general principles related to visitor orientation and circulation. These principles are divided into three major areas: conceptual orientation, visitor circulation, and wayfinding.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Kay Allen summarizes a 1988 paper in "Curator" written by J. Diamond, A. Smith, and A. Bond. Allen outlines key findings from a study of 14,961 visitors over a three month period as they visited the California Academy of Sciences Discovery Room, which features a collection of games, objects, and exhibits.
In this article, the Center for Social Design's Don Thompson summarizes a 1988 paper written by K.D. Hirschi and C.G. Screven featured in the "ILVS Review." Thompson summates findings from the researchers' investigations of the use labels which ask questions. The study was conducted with family groups of visitors to five different exhibits at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
In this article, the Center for Social Design's Don Thompson summarizes a 1985 article written by E. Feher and K. Rice featured in "Curator." Feher and Rice suggest that the museum can be a valuable environment in which to study learning processes. Thompson describes key findings from the researchers' investigation of the role of naive, or preconcieved notions, on learning which takes place at museum exhibits. The researchers interviewed school children at two exhibits centered around the principles of light and vision.