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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As Janet said earlier, Science on a Sphere is here at the Science  
Museum of Minnesota. It will be on display in the former Visible  
Paleo Lab, as a stand alone exhibit  into summer 2008.  It then will  
get incorporated into the new Water Planet exhibition in fall 2008.   
(And then begin a national tour in fall 2009.) Pat Hamilton, Bette  
Schmit, and the Water Planet team are doing quite a bit of  
prototyping with SOS over the next year or so to figure out the best  
ways to allow visitors interact with the sphere (i.e., without a  
staff-led demonstration).

In 2004, Maryland Science Center had RMC Research Corporation conduct  
a front end study of the visitor experience with SOS during staff-led  
presentations (they actually had science center staff and NOAA staff  
lead presentations). The appeal rating from visitors was very high.  
98% of visitors - across age groups - rated SOS as either very good  
or excellent. The length of time visitors were willing to spend  
listening to the presentation was extraordinary. Presentations lasted  
40 minutes, and the majority of the visitors stayed from beginning to  
end. If you're interested in getting more detail about this study  
Roberta Cooks is probably the best person to contact: [log in to unmask]

We conducted a front end study here at the Science Museum of  
Minnesota to find out more about the unfacilitated visitor  
experience. We used a standard set of four NOAA-provided images  
(e.g., Blue Marble, Earth at Night...) with voice over. The "show"  
lasted 6 minutes and 55 seconds and looped continuously. We found  
that the median stay time for visitors was 3 minutes. That's a long  
time for us compared to other video based presentations, or even our  
interactive software. When asked what they found most interesting,  
40% of the visitors mentioned something related to do the technology  
(e.g., "it looks like its floating," " you always see maps on the  
wall, but this is something you can walk around") which is similar to  
the responses the Maryland study got to a similar question. The  
second and third most common responses we got were related to  
visualization of the earth ("how earth looks from outer space") and  
the affective experience ("I'm here, I'm somewhere in this world.")  
We also asked specific questions about what the visitors thought they  
were seeing for each of the four images as we are trying to figure  
out the best ways to help visitors understand complex satellite  
images. One of the confusing quirks of SOS is that visitors are not  
sure where they should stand (particularly as the voice over directed  
visitors to "walk to the other side" at one point). Unless you have  
staff on hand to say - walk over here to see the wild fires or stand  
there to see the hurricane - you can miss exciting imagery. The team  
here is working on a combination of mediation techniques (not staff- 
led) to help people know where they need to be to see a  
geographically-localized spot on the sphere. Our study showed that  
visitors have a strong interest in being able to control the images  
that are displayed and being able to display temporary labels to  
identify images (more than 90% of visitors rated their desire to do  
these two things at 5 or above, on a ten point scale). These desires  
are counter to the current design of SOS, but the team here is  
working on ways to supplement the sphere with computer kiosks that  
allow visitors to "capture" an image from the sphere and interact  
with it by adding other layers of satellite imagery or adding  
explanatory details.

We'll be working on this over the next two years, and also  
coordinating with other folks dealing with public understanding of  
satellite images. One of the groups we're collaborating with is Shawn  
Rowe and Molly Phipps at the Hatfield Marine Science Center/Oregon  
State University. SOS would take up most of the exhibit space at  
their institution, so they're studying the public's experiences with  
other (smaller) technology-supported exploration of satellite  
imagery. We're working on coordinating our studies to see what the  
public gains from 3-D experiences with satellite imagery compared to  
2-D experiences, as well as the comparative pros and cons of the  
various projection technology out there. You can reach Shawn at  
[log in to unmask]

Ok, probably far more detail than you wanted, Eric.....

Kirsten


Kirsten Ellenbogen
Director of Evaluation & Research in Learning
Science Museum of Minnesota
120 West Kellogg Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Phone: +1-651-221-2560
Fax: +1-651-265-9811

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