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Changing Museum Practice through Research (and Evaluation) Jenni - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Changing Museum Practice through Research (and Evaluation) Jenni - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Changing Museum Practice through Research (and Evaluation) Jenni Martin, Childrens Discovery Museum of San Jose Robin Gose, Thinkery Suzy Letourneau, Providence Childrens Museum Robin Meisner, Boston Childrens Museum Plan for the
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About Us
⬝ Connected initially through Lupe’s Story - an exhibit development/research project at Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose ⬝ Currently working together on Explaining and Exploring - a collaborative research project with three university partners ⬝ Each museum brings a range of experiences in doing research and evaluation both as individual institutions and with outside collaborators
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Providence Children’s Museum About the Museum
Mission:
⬝ To inspire and celebrate learning through active play and exploration ⬝ Serving children ages 1-11 and their adult caregivers
Audience:
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- Approx. 160,000 visitors each year
⬝ Most (90%) visit in family groups ⬝ 30% welcomed free of charge ⬝ 25% of visits by ~2000 member families ⬝ Children’s ages: 1-2 (31%), 3-4 (30%), 5-8 (30%), 9+ (7%); Average age = 4 ⬝
- Approx. 17,000 sq. ft.
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Mission:
- To create innovative learning
experiences that equip and inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers
- Existed as Austin Children’s Museum
since 1983; reimagined and rebranded in 2013 Audience:
- Approx. 450,000 visitors each year
- 45% of our visitors are < 8 years old
- 60% of annual visitors are members
- Approx. 40,000 sq. ft. (17K exhibit
space)
Thinkery About the Museum
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About the Museum Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Mission:
⬝ To inspire creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning so that today’s children become tomorrow’s visionaries.
Audience:
⬝ 400,000+ visitors per year comprised of families and school field trips ⬝ 60% come from within a 10-mile radius; additional 25% from up to 30 miles ⬝ Open Door Policy and Museums for All program serve 60,000 annually ⬝ Audience demographics mirror San Jose demographics
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Research Process
- 1. Gathering information, defining questions
- 2. Choosing methods, building capacity
- 3. Interpreting findings, making decisions
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Gathering Information, Defining Questions
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Providence Children’s Museum History
- Using research, theory, and evaluation to inform practice
○ Educational philosophy defined in 1978, updated in 1997 ○ Play advocacy began in 2008 with opening of Play Power ○ Detailed Learning Frameworks created in 2014 ○ Ongoing evaluation of exhibits
- Partnering with university researchers
○ Began working with Brown University in 2003 ○ Formalized Mind Lab partnership in 2010 ○ Collaborative grant-funded projects began in 2012, 2015
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Providence Children’s Museum
Research Partner’s Interests Cognitive Development Causal Reasoning Understanding Learning (in general) Museum’s Interests Learning through Play and Exploration Play Advocacy Inspiring & Supporting Learning (in context) Shared Research Interests Metacognition: Reflecting on Learning Making Learning through Play Visible (during museum visits)
Defining Questions
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Providence Children’s Museum Defining Questions
Learning About Learning Project
Funded by NSF (Award #1223777) in collaboration with Brown University
Research Questions:
⬝ How do children reflect on their own thinking and learning? ⬝ How is children’s thinking visible in their play at the Museum? ⬝ What do caregivers notice and value about their children’s play?
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Providence Children’s Museum Methods and Findings
Methods used: Observations, interviews with caregivers, discussions with educators, iterative prototyping Decisions made: Final exhibit tools connect play and learning through concrete, observable examples
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Reflection Questions:
⬝ What are priority topics for your institution? ⬝ What questions are important to you? ⬝ What questions or topics are your research partners interested in? How do they align with your own?
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Choosing Methods, Building Capacity
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Thinkery Choosing Methods
- Historically, evaluation focused on particular programs and was
driven by reporting requirements to funders. Research was driven by external research scientists.
- As the organization matures there is a move to systematically
measure and communicate the impact of the museum overall.
EXTERNAL
- University of Texas
○ Cognitive Psychology INTERNAL
- Visitor Experience
○ Surveys, focus groups, social media
- Exhibits and Programs
○ Prototypes, surveys,
- bservation
protocols
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Thinkery Building Capacity
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- Building a work culture
that mirrors design process
- Working closely and
collaboratively with University partners
- Know when you need
help! ○
Thinkery Building Capacity
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Discussion Questions:
⬝ What do you need to be able to answer your question? ⬝ What capacity do you already have (either internally or with external partners)? ⬝ What capacity could be built?
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Interpreting Findings, Making Decisions
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Interpreting Findings Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Jipson et al., 1996; Crowley et al.; 2001 Do Parents explain differently to boys versus girls in the museum? Parents gave many more explanations to boys than to girls.
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Interpreting Findings Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Can we reduce the gender gap?
Alice’s Wonderland exhibition with exhibit theme seen as relevant to girls. (Callanan, Esterly, Martin, Frazier, & Gorchoff, 2002)
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Making Decisions Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Sample finding 2: In “Alice” exhibit, no gender difference in explanations!
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Making Decisions Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
What if research and exhibit design intentions are at odds with each other?
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