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Hi Dee,
I've done similar evaluations at several places and find them to
extremely useful. One suggestion I have in working with this age is to
have the kids fill out the survey and then interview them if you can,
they can usually provide a lot more insight in their conversations than
what they can write on a survey.
Have fun!
Debra
Hi Dee,
Your question was:
"Have any of you ever done this? If so, we would be extremely grateful
if you could share any information with us."
My answer (hopefully it is helpful!):
Yes, I have. When I was working at COSI (Toledo, Ohio) we started
several new public programs (demonstrations, activity carts, exhibits)
in which we prototyped the interactives first. It is a great thing to do
if you have the time for several reasons:
First: You get to see your audience's reaction in an informal setting.
If something doesn't work, it's ok, you are just practicing. You have
time to tweak.
Second: You might discover that a specific component or activity is
better suited to a workshop setting rather than out on the floor. Maybe
you discover the component should have never set foot inside a science
museum. It's always better to find this out now than after everything is
finished and permanent.
Third: At a very basic level, you are able to practice before making
the component a permanent part of whatever you are working on. You end
up with a much more put together program. It's like free time where you
are allowed to make some mistakes.
Do you know what group of 8 year olds you are going to be pitching to?
We hooked up with some teachers our museum had partnerships with
whenever we needed a group of "guinea pigs" to practice on. We would
either take the programming components we were prototyping to them (at
their school) or if they were going to be in the museum on a field trip,
we would set up a time to meet and go over things. The teachers loved it
b/c it was always something free for their students to participate in.
The best thing I discovered was to tell folks exactly what you were
doing right at the beginning. "We are creating somethin g new and need
your help in making it the best it can be." After their eyes lit up and
they were "invested" we told them we would have questions for them to
answer at the end of the activity. People get a kick out of knowing they
had a hand in creating something cool at the museum. Also, once you let
them know you need help, they are usually very willing to give what they
can.
In Ann Arbor, we did an exit survey with visitors for an event that is
going to happen every year. This was the first time we had done the
event and wanted to see what the visitors thought. We made a sign and
had a very small give-away (inexpensive toys left over from another
event) that the visitors received when they turned the survey into the
admissions desk. True, it was a kind of bribery, but it was quite
successful :)
Anytime we have asked questions, especially to kids, the questions were
pretty general. What did you like? What didn't you like? What do you
think this activity was trying to teach? What do you like about science?
What is your favorite exhibit in this area? What kinds of activities
would you like to see done in the museum? I must confess, I have never
done anything like this with 8 year olds but I would think similar
questions could be asked with some rephrasing.
Anyways, that's my experience. I hope this rambling has been helpful to
you. Good luck with your project and have a spiffy day!
-Erin
Erin S. Mattimoe
Public Programs Manager
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
220 E. Ann St.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 48104
Phone: 01.734.995.5439
Fax: 01.734.995.1188
Web: www.aahom.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Dee Davison [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 9:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Using children to evaluate new interactives
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hi All
Season's greetings and Happy Hogmanay!
We are currently creating a number of new children's interactives and
have
designed them to be pitched at the level of eight year old children.
We hope to undertake evaluation trials with children early in January
and
would like to give the children simple evaluation forms for them to
complete, with standardised questions.
Have any of you ever dome this? If so, we would be extremely grateful
if you
could share nay information with us.
Huge thanks
Dee Davison
Education Manager
Dynamic Earth Enterprises Ltd
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-------------------------------------------------------
Debra Klich
Exhibit Developer
Derse Museum Group
1234 N. 62nd Street
Milwaukee, WI 53213
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(800 ) 562-2300
(414) 257-2000
(414) 257-1145 fax
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