ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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THANK YOU PAUL!

Oh lord, I have been sitting this one out because I didn't know how to say just that in as few words. Thank you Paul.  

What I will say is that on too many occasions I found myself sitting in yet another meeting getting all antsy and wanting to just yell out "Can we stop talking, I need to build something!"  The only question that will really matter is "Did you have a good time at the museum?"  AND I assure everyone here that if the answer is "yes", then they DID learn something, even if they can't tell you what it was.  

If you want to call tweaking a prototype "testing" then fine but all in all it's just another tool in the bag and we don't always need a wrench to build a box.  Testing afterwards is fine as well but only as good as what is shared with others.  Most small museums I work(ed) with barely have the resources to get the thing built in the first place.   All this talk of formal evaluation just gives them an even greater inferiority complex.

As always a bit more than two cents...

Erich Rose

Erich Rose Design
807 The Living End
Austin, TX 78746
512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]


On Oct 30, 2011, at 6:03 AM, Paul Orselli wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> For a group that so often argues about the important differences between "informal" museum experiences and "formal" classroom experiences, I find it ironic how vociferously the benefits of summative evaluation are stressed --- and how often we are reminded that funders will only give money to enterprises that can demonstrate "impact." 
> 
> I can't help but hear echoes of the "need" for standardized testing in schools --- most often tied to educational funding, as well.
> 
> There is something in a creative enterprise (which I sincerely believe the making of exhibits to be) that resists experts and data, and I can't help but think that the world of books and movies and art, and, yes, even classrooms and museums, are better for this tension.
> 
> Of course, I don't have any longitudinal studies to support my position ... ;-)
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Paul Orselli, President and Chief Instigator
> 

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