formative/remedial

Uncued interviews took place with a total of 30 visitors. Interviews were conducted on Friday, July 14, Monday, July 17, and Tuesday, July 18, 2006. Visitors were approached for an interview after sitting at the table for around 5 minutes. Ten visitors were interviewed for each of the three tabletops: Nano Definition, Quantum Dots, and Carbon Nanotubes.  Read more

During the NISE Program Workshop at OMSI, a school group provided feedback on the University of Wisconsin MRSEC’s Stained Glass program on March 10, 2008. After the program, a total of 15 students completed self-administered surveys designed to assess visitors’ attitudes towards the exhibits and the degree to which the exhibit realized its objectives.  Read more

The Science Museum of Minnesota surveyed 16 museum visitors after they participated in the Exploring Measurement: Ruler Activity at NanoDays. This formative testing of the activity assessed the activity’s ability to convey the size of a nanometer, and that scientists need to use special tools when working at the nanoscale.  Read more

Visitors to the Science Museum of Minnesota provided feedback on the books, How Small Is Nano? and Is That Robot Real? in order to assess the books and their ability to impart knowledge of nanoscience. The visitors, 63 adults in all, read one of the books to the child or children accompanying them, then answered a series of questions about their experience including their interest in and enjoyment of the book they read, as well as the age appropriateness of the book. The report compares and contrasts the two books throughout.  Read more

Science Museum of Minnesota visitors were invited to participate in the NanoDays activity, Exploring Materials – Ferrofluids in August, 2008. A total of fifteen visitors completed a self-administered survey after doing the activity. This formative evaluation assesses the activity’s ability to teach that materials behave differently when nano-sized, using the magnetic properties of magnetite to illustrate the idea.  Read more

Science Museum of Minnesota visitors were invited to participate in the NanoDays activity, Exploring Forces – Gravity on Thursday, August 7 and Saturday, August 9. A total of 15 visitors filled out surveys about the activity after participating. This formative evaluation assesses the activity’s ability to teach that gravity is not a significant force on the nanoscale.  Read more

The Science Museum of Minnesota surveyed 15 visitors who participated in the Exploring Materials: Liquid Crystal activity at NanoDays in August, 2008. This formative evaluation assessed visitors’ interest and enjoyment of the activity, and how easy the program was to understand.  Read more

The Science Museum of Minnesota surveyed 17 museum visitors after they participated in the Exploring Properties: Surface Area activity at NanoDays 2008. This formative testing of the activity assessed the activity's ability to teach about the important role of surface area at the nanoscale.  Read more

Cued interviews took place at the Science Museum of Minnesota with a total of 24 visitors on February 21-24, 2007. Each visitor was given the opportunity to spend as much time as they wanted with the prototype and accompanying text. Initial interviews showed that there were problems with resetting the exhibit and with visitors comprehending what the exhibit represented. Consequently we tested additional labels.  Read more

Cued interviews took place at the Science Museum of Minnesota with a total of 25 visitors on Friday, February 16, and Saturday, February 17. Each visitor was given the opportunity to spend as much time as they wanted doing the activity and reading the accompanying text. The three main issues addressed in this prototyping were: should the tubes be labeled, do people understand what this represents, and is this fun.  Read more