In 2006 I visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. The museum was fascinating, shocking histories sat next to beautiful objects. But as a museum researcher, what stayed wit...

ABSTRACTSummative evaluation plays a critical role in documenting the impacts of informal science education (ISE), potentially contributing to the ISE knowledge base and informing ongoing improvements in practice and decision-making. In response to the growing demand for capacity-building in ISE evaluation, this article presents a framework for summative evaluation based on an extensive review of literature and research-based refinements. The framework synthesizes key elements of high-quality summative evaluation into three dimensions: (a) Intervention Rationale, (b) Methodological Rigor and Appropriateness, and (c) Evaluation Uses. Judgment of the value of the intervention (e.g., program, exhibition) should draw upon all three dimensions.

ABSTRACTThis article documents the development and use of a mystery shopper protocol for observing scientists’ interactions with the public within the context of science festival expo booths. A team of field researchers was trained to act as members of the general public and approach scientists participating in a science festival. After visiting each booth, the mystery shoppers documented their experiences; 192 booths were observed and data were compared with those from 186 intercept surveys collected from members of the public attending the expo. Descriptive statistics document the range of booth logistics and scientist interactions captured, and inferential statistics explore the relation between protocol items and event ratings. The results indicate that mystery shopping is an effective way to document scientists’ interactions with the public, providing a unique perspective that serves as a measure of quality control when compared with best practices. The utility and implications of mystery shopper data are discussed in relation to evaluation of and research on public science events in particular and informal learning institutions overall.

Who could resist opening a book with the subheading “100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions”? Sounds like one of those low-cost kitchen gadg...

ABSTRACT Educators, docents, and interpreters are considered integral to the learning experiences at many museums. Although there is growing recognition that these staff members need professional development to effectively support visitor learning, there has been little research to describe their work or identify effective facilitation strategies. To address this need, we explored the nature of unstructured staff-facilitated family learning at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, OR, videotaping and inductively analyzing 65 unstructured staff-family interactions. The analysis highlighted the importance of role negotiation between staff and adult family members, particularly during the initiation of interactions, staff and visitor facilitation of family learning, and the introduction of new learning goals by staff members. Aligned with prior research on family learning in museums, adult family members played a critical role in shaping the nature of the interactions and determining the level of involvement of staff members. Findings have important implications for both future research and the professional development of staff.

ABSTRACT Self-reflection is critical for visitors to make sense of an exhibit collection in which they are the subject of investigation and may play an important role in any informal learning context. This study examines this construct by listening for self-reflective talk at Mind, an exhibit collection focused on helping visitors explore aspects of themselves rather than external objects or phenomena. It addresses 3 questions: (a) What does self-reflective talk sound like in such a collection? (b) What categories of self-reflective talk are prevalent? (c) What types of exhibits engender what categories of self-reflective talk? Findings indicate that self-reflective talk comes in various forms. Self-monitoring talk, including self-assessments about how visitors are feeling and doing and what they know, is more prevalent than self-connecting talk, comments about visitors’ own lives, values, and their sense of self. Comparisons among different types of exhibits suggest that exhibits designed for multiple users prompt high frequencies of self-connecting talk and self-monitoring talk, whereas interactive exhibits and exhibits that pose a challenge elicit high frequencies of self-monitoring but not self-connecting talk. Additional work is needed to better understand self-reflection, its role in informal learning, and effective means of fostering self-reflection in science museums.

ABSTRACT This study explored how the physical context of a species enclosure might affect visitor exploration of the exhibit space. Tracking and timing studies were conducted in 2 different designs of an exhibition space focused on African apes to determine if the new, more naturally designed exhibit was explored in a manner different from the former, more traditionally designed space. Observations of 825 individuals demonstrated that visitors spent 59% more time within the more naturalistic setting and moved more slowly through the space compared with the more traditional structure. In addition, significantly fewer visitors engaged in inappropriate glass tapping within the new space. The naturalistic design seemed to affect certain groups more than others, as females tended to have longer visit durations and adults tended to observe the resident apes more than children. This research highlights the importance of physical context to the overall learning experience of visitors to zoos and assists in understanding the links between sensory experiences and science content.

ABSTRACT In science museums, teaching panels are an important means of cultural mediation and communication. This study focused on the use and features of panels in museums and we tested panels’ efficacy in conveying information. We assessed the understandability of their messages by verifying the acquisition of information over the short term (quantitative aspect) and identifying difficulties in reading (qualitative aspects). Two panels in the Museo di Biologia Marina “Pietro Parenzan” in Porto Cesareo (Province of Lecce, Italy) were evaluated. The panels had the same content but were different from linguistic and graphic points of view. The study was carried out by interviewing 1,898 middle and secondary-school students of the Province of Lecce (their ages ranging between 11 and 19 years).

ABSTRACT This article offers a theoretical overview of how diverse disciplines, such as cultural studies, sociology, philosophy of art, education, and marketing, have contributed to the evolving conceptualization of museum audiences over the past 50 years. Audience research has moved through different paradigms. Every shift in the way audiences are viewed unavoidably influences the way museum professionals view themselves, their role, and the way they interact with their audiences. The most recent audience conceptualization envisions visitors as active interpreters who selectively construct meaning based on their personal experiences, associations, biases, and sense of identity, whereas the museum is envisioned as an open work that is only completed by the visitor. However, certain challenges loom over this new audience conceptualization. It is argued that such visualization underestimates power issues while romanticizing the power of audience activity, thereby ignoring issues of responsibility.