Paying More Attention to Paying Attention
(From Introduction)
In 1998 I wrote Paying Attention: Visitors and Museum Exhibitions, a book supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant called “A Meta-analysis of Visitor Time/Use in Museum Exhibitions.” The grant accomplished three main goals:
- Created a database of tracking-and-timing studies of visitor use of 110 educational exhibitions
- Generated new metrics for analyzing and interpreting tracking-and-timing data
- Established parameters of relative success for thoroughly used exhibitions.
Since Paying Attention, tracking-and-timing (T&T) findings have become increasingly important and useful. In this report, I will present additional data and discuss the uses, implications, and how analysis of these data can inform practitioners in the planning and evaluation of exhibitions as well as other forms of informal science education (ISE) programs. Attracting and holding people’s attention is obviously a goal for most ISE endeavors.
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| Author | Beverly Serrell |
| Publisher | Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education |
| Publication Date | January 1, 2010 |
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| Submitted to Point K | October 28, 2010 - 3:55pm |
