Articles from the Visitor Studies Association
Paying More Attention to Paying Attention
Time and attention are fundamental to informal science learning. Beverly Serrell, evaluator and veteran observer of science centers and museums, public gardens, and aquariums, has analyzed studies of visitor behavior in more than 100 exhibitions. In an article titled "Paying More Attention to Paying Attention," she offers observations about the characteristics of what she calls “thoroughly used exhibitions.” As she notes, "Time spent paying attention is a prerequisite for learning, and studies have shown a positive relationship between the amount of time spent in an exhibition and learning (Borun et al., 1998)." Her observations are suggestive not only for designers of place-based science learning experiences, but for those who study learning across the informal science education field.
Integrating Developmental and Free-Choice Learning Frameworks to Investigate Conceptual Change in Visitor Understanding
Complex ideas like evolution-which run counter to common, but mistaken, intuitive knowledge are challenging, both for exhibit developers and for the evaluation and research teams who assess the impact of exhibitions. It is always difficult to document measurable changes in deep conceptual understanding following a single visit to an exhibition (Allen, 2008, p. 58); Is this even possible with complex topics, such as evolution?
Creating a Learning Environment that Fosters Parent-Child Interactions: A Case Study from the Animal Secrets Exhibition Project
In the recent exhibition project Animal Secrets, the authors looked at the impact of three strategies for fostering parent-child interactions in an exhibition for young children: environmental design, types of activities, and labels. Results from the study indicate that all three strategies can support parent-child interactions, but environmental design and activity type were more effective than labels overall in promoting parent-child collaboration. Mixed results for exhibit labels suggest the need for further research into how best to communicate with parents of young children in an exhibition.
Border Crossings in Informal Science Education: DragonflyTV’s Experiment in Museum-Media Collaboration
A recent collaboration between the production staff of DragonflyTV and 29 institutions of informal science learning pushed beyond the traditional roles of museum-media partnerships by engaging museum professionals in the production of television content and featuring the partner institutions on the TV show. The 14 DragonflyTV episodes produced as part of these partnerships were subtitled DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science and were produced over two production seasons.