ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Paul and Erich have got an insightful, and for me, correct perspective.
It seems there is a focus for some science centers to frame themselves as a formal institution of learning, on the level of a k-12 school or even an university. One great joy of a science center is that nobody ever has to take a test. It is a place of choice too...present as much knowledge and engagement as you want, but the public can take it or leave it.
Funders I have worked with value the qualitative data too (actually just as much as quantitative), like the pictures drawn by students and thank you letters. Some funding streams require a huge amount of follow-up evaluation, and the application process is seriously over-done, so I simply do not apply to those anymore. A real funder will often give simply because they believe in you, your track record, and the proposed project.
Talk of formal evaluation, which we cannot afford, slinging big evaluative words around, which could be used on a political campaign, could easily bring an inferiority complex to smaller museums. I only hope it doesn't. Hopefully all of us can walk out on the exhibit floor or step into an informal education program, and immediately tell if we are doing this science center thing right.
The question is always there, every day: what do you want your science center to be?
--Jeff Rosenblatt--
________________________________________
From: Informal Science Education Network [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Erich Rose [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2011 7:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Exhibit evaluation
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
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
>
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|
