Practical Evaluation Guide: Tools for Museums and Other Informal Educational Settings (American Association for State and Local History)

Administrators of museums and other informal-learning centers often need to demonstrate, in some tangible way, the effectiveness of their institutions as teaching tools. Practical Evaluation Guide discusses specific methods for analyzing audience learning and behavior in museums, zoos, botanic gardens, nature centers, camps, and youth programs.

Evaluation is essential because it allows you to answer critical questions like:

• How can one measure the impacts of educational experiences in a museum, zoo, or aquarium?
• Are digital technologies more effective than traditional exhibits for enhancing visitor interest and understanding?
• How does one measure learning in these informal environments where visitors themselves decide what they will experience?
• Since we know many visitors come to informal institutions for social interaction and play, how does one access these social impacts?