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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 something 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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