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Expectations and interests of the potential visitor
Interests
Knowledge
Associations
Expectations
Front-End Evaluation
Front & End, Evaluation ?
When Front-End Evaluation?
• After the concept is identified
• And primary take-home messages are defined
• Ask the right questions!
- Never ask just what people want to know, that will always end up in familiarity
- Never ask just what people are interested in, that will only reflect their knowledge on a
topic, not per se an interest
What type of research should Front-End evaluation be?
• Focus group • Guided interview
Qualitative questions (open-ended)
What to do with results?
• Guidance in the exhibition concept, themes and communication
• Discuss the expected interest in the exhibition in the projectteam
• It might help matching the targetgroup and the exhibition
Case Study: X-tremes (workingtitle)• Animals and plants living in Extreme
Environments– How plants and animals have adapted to extreme living
conditions
• International Travelling Exhibition• Opening in fall 2006 in Naturalis• Partners:
– Naturalis (Dutch Natural History Museum)– Natural History Museum in Belgium– Experimentarium, Science Centre in Denmark
The Evaluationin Naturalis
• 2 students of Museology, 1 taperecorder
• On various days• Chosing various
Naturalis visitors• Guided interview• Pictures as props• 36 respondents
Questionnaire
• Topical Framework
• First questions with only a short explanation of the concept
• Following questions while showing pictures
Pool: Koud Lange dagen en lange nachten
Soda meer: Lage PH van het water
Bergen: Weinig zuurstof Koud Droog Veel UV-straling
Koude woestijn: Grote temperatuurverschillen Droog Koud
Grot: Permanent donker Laag zuurstofgehalte
Hete Woestijn: Droog Hoge temperatuur Warm
Main results and remarkable responses
• Interested visitors, but difficult subject• Examples of extreme environments:
– Desert, Deep Sea, Poles– Remarkable responses: Pollution, city,
enemies– Remarkable in Denmark: Mars and Jungle
• Adaptations to extremes– Familiar things (not surpisingly)– Ramarkable: protective coloring
Questions while showing the pictures
• Animals that live there– Familiar answers again: polar bear, pinguin etc.
• Plants that live there– Remarkable: many think plants can live almost
anywhere, especially moss
• Can a human survive here, and with which adaptation?– Yes, many think humans can survive– With: fur coat, flash light, boat (esp. Dutch and
Danish)
Pool: Koud Lange dagen en lange nachten
Soda meer: Lage PH van het water
Bergen: Weinig zuurstof Koud Droog Veel UV-straling
Koude woestijn: Grote temperatuurverschillen Droog Koud
Grot: Permanent donker Laag zuurstofgehalte
Hete Woestijn: Droog Hoge temperatuur Warm
• Most interesting environment:– Mountains (familiar)– Soda Lake (unfamiliar)
• Would you like to visit the exhibition?– 81%: yes!– Remarkable: frequent Museum visitors
are likely to go, those who consider themselfs as non visitors are not likely to go
• Would you bring (your) children?– 50%: NO, too difficult, or decide
themselves
• What would you expect to see in the exhibition?
– See which animals live where and how they adapted
– Film, pictures, examples, feel– Comparison between animals and humans– Lots of hands-on (esp. Experimentarium)– Want to be surprised (!)
Considerations for the exhibition
• Use familiar as well as unfamiliar environments
• Decide how to talk about adapted plants• Two sidethemes in the exhibition, to
trigger the visitors mind: – The City as an extreme environment
(from nature point of view) – Mars: why not life there?
• For communication in exhibition, and external communication:– Surviving has a temporary meaning to
people, where biologists mean permanent
– Adaptation as well• Main targetgroup from an age of 12 years • Exhibition not so easy to promote (subject
rather difficult to tell)• Titles have to be tested in an early stage
Funny Quotes
• What animal lives in the mountains?
Answer: Yeti
• What animal lives near the Soda Lake?
Answer: raccoon (washing bear)
• What plant grows in the mountain?
Answer: Edelweiss, hihi!
Front-End Evaluation: worth it!• Makes a varied
exhibition team aware of the visitors mind
• Gives input for concept development
• Forces a team to have a well-thought concept and take-home messages
But:
• Should be well planned and well thought through
• Tell the whole team how to use the information!
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