Evaluation

The museum employs front-end, formative, remedial and summative evaluation tools to measure visitor satisfaction and test learning outcomes. Survey data is captured weekly, tabulated electronically and then shared with staff that sees what is working effectively and what requires some refinement. Teams gather to hash out concepts, exhibit components are prototyped and label copy tested. Galleries are mapped, visitors tracked and exit interviews conducted.

Evaluation at the museum can be lots of fun, too. More than 150 visitors a week participate in a unique and very popular “card and bean” survey located in the Pinzon Bar. It asks visitors to answer whether staff is friendly, entrance fees agreeable, and the programmatic mix a good balance of active and passive learning, simply by dropping a playing card in a spittoon or placing a bean in a plastic champagne glass.