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!