博物馆学习视角下的展览环境效果评估——以展线与照明设计对观众注意力的影响研究为例

博物馆学习的研究成果表明,展览除了可以通过自身的内容来对观众施加影响之外,环境设计也同样会对观众的参观效果产生影响。因此,合理评估展览环境的效果、并针对性地发现环境设计中的不足之处,将有助于展览提升总体的教育效果和观众的参观体验。本文以2017—2018年间在山东博物馆所进行的一系列博物馆学习相关研究与展览评估实践为基础,从观众的注意力水平入手,计算展厅中各个区域的“吸引力”,进而实现对展览环境效果的评估。此外,在这一过程中发现,展厅环境中的“展线”与“照明”设计,对观众的学习效果有潜在影响,值得引起博物馆在环境设计时的关注。     

Motivational Factors and the Visitor Experience: A Comparison of Three Sites

Museums, art galleries, botanical gardens, national parks, science centers, zoos, aquaria and historic sites are important public learning institutions. The free‐choice learning offered in these settings is closely linked to visitors' intrinsic motivation, making it important to understand the motivational factors that impact on visitors' experiences. This paper presents data from a questionnaire administered to visitors at three sites: a museum, an art gallery, and an aquarium. Similarities and differences among the sites are reported in relation to visitors' expectations, perceptions of learning opportunities, engagement in motivated learning behaviors, and perceptions of the learning experience. The importance of learning to museum visitors and the unique opportunities and challenges of the museum in relation to other educational leisure settings are discussed. The authors argue that the study of motivational factors might contribute to the development of a common theoretical foundation for interpretation in museums and other informal learning settings.     

Visitor Meaning‐Making at Grand Canyon's Tusayan Museum and Ruin

Abstract Meaning‐making describes a process by which visitors transform museum experiences into new knowledge and memories. Meaning‐making is influenced by visitors' leisure motivations, prior knowledge, socio‐cultural context brought to the experience, personally‐guided interpretation, and events since the visit. In this study, visitors' long‐term recollections included contextual references to how and why they remembered what they experienced. Forty visitors were interviewed by telephone six months after attending a Native American interpretive program at Grand Canyon National Park's Tusayan Museum. Two patterns associated with a constructivist view of meaning‐making were discerned: a) visitors' integration of indoor and outdoor exhibits and b) visitors' comparisons of modern family and community with a more ancient culture. The presence of contextual indicators within visitor recall suggests that new knowledge may be constructed from factors carried forth from the meaning‐making process. Evidence within the data suggests that exhibits made more relevant to visitors' socio‐cultural identity may enhance on‐site experiences.     

Writing the History of Humanity: The Role of Museums in Defining Origins and Ancestors in a Transnational World

This article explores the question of how transnational audiences experience anthropology exhibitions in particular, and the natural history museum overall. Of interest are the ways in which natural history museums reconcile anthropological notions of humanity's shared evolutionary history—in particular, African origins accounts—with visitors' complex cultural identities. Through case studies of British, American, and Kenyan museum audiences, this research probed the cultural preconceptions that museum visitors bring to the museum and use to interpret their evolutionary heritage. The research took special notice of audiences of African descent, and their experiences in origins exhibitions and the natural history museums that house them. The article aims to draw connections between natural history museums and the dynamic ways in which museum visitors make meaning. As museums play an increasing role in the transnational homogenization of cultures, human origins exhibitions are increasingly challenged to communicate an evolutionary prehistory that we collectively share, while validating the cultural histories that make us unique.     

Visitors' Long‐term Memories of World Expositions

This article reports on the outcomes of a study that investigated the nature and character of visitors' long‐term memories associated with their experiences at large‐scale exhibitions. The study investigated themes that characterized visitors' memories of two global exhibitions: World Expo 86, hosted in Vancouver, Canada in 1986; and World Expo 88, hosted in Brisbane, Australia in 1988. There are a few studies in the literature that have considered long‐term memories associated with visits to informal learning environments, but no studies to date that have considered the impact and long‐term memories associated with large‐scale exhibitions such as world expositions. This study probed the long‐term memories of a total of 50 visitors who attended either Expo 86 or Expo 88, through in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews. Analysis of the interview data suggests that the key themes in memories of these events center on the social dimensions of visitors' experiences, visitors' recalled agendas at the time of the experience, and the socio‐cultural identities of visitors at the time of the experience.     

Beyond Learning: Exploring Visitors' Perceptions of the Value and Benefits of Museum Experiences

Abstract This paper explores the beneficial outcomes that visitors seek and obtain from a museum visit, in terms that are not related to learning outcomes. It uses a deductive qualitative approach to investigate the meaning and value of a museum visit from the visitors' perspective. Three different levels of the meaning of the experience are considered: the attributes of the setting that visitors value; the experiences they engage in; and the benefits they derive. The findings confirm the importance of the “satisfying experiences” framework for understanding visitor experiences in museums, and extend this understanding in relation to the beneficial outcomes these experiences produce. The study also highlights the importance of “restoration” as an outcome of a museum visit. It is argued that the concept of the museum as a restorative environment, which enables visitors to relax and recover from the stresses of life, is worthy of further research attention. These insights will enable museum practitioners to better understand and meet their visitors' multiple needs and expectations.     

Why Do They Come? Listening to Visitors at a Decorative Arts Museum

This article presents the background, methodology, and results of a yearlong study of visitor motivation conducted by the Visitor Research Team (VRT) of Winterthur, a Delaware decorative arts museum. The article details the VRT's use of focus groups to determine what really motivates visitors to attend museums. Study results are consistent with recent work in the field showing that learning and recreation are the primary motivations behind museum visitation. Visitors valued museums as places for active, personal learning through the observation of objects and as outlets for physical and mental relaxation and escapism. Results also show that Winterthur visitors ascribe meanings to the words learning and recreation that are different from education and entertainment. The author calls on museums to discover the needs of their audiences and to design marketing and programming using visitors' vocabularies to promote and provide meaningful museum experiences.     

运用真实生命体创建真实自然环境的多感官参与原文选自Rowman & Littlefield 出版社2014年出版的《多感知博物馆:基于触摸、声音、嗅味、空间与记忆的跨学科视野》(The Multisensory Museum:Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Touch, Sound, Smell, Memory and Space)一书的第4章。因杂志版面限制，中译稿有少量删节。

本文从植物等真实生命体在植物园中的运用实例出发,探讨围绕多感官体验的博物馆新型展览的构建。博物馆如何借鉴植物园中的相关经验来满足观众的学习与体验需求,同时促进观众间的互动和交流沟通,通过触摸真实植物等来开展自然基础教育,这值得我国博物馆尤其是自然科学博物馆借鉴。     

Impact of National Aquarium in Baltimore on Visitors' Conservation Attitudes,Behavior, and Knowledge

This study at the National Aquarium in Baltimore (NAIB) was conducted to assess four key aspects of the visitor experience: (1) incoming conservation knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of NAIB visitors; (2) patterns of use and interaction with exhibition components throughout the NAIB; (3) exiting conservation knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of visitors; and (4) over time, how the NAIB experience altered or affected individuals' conservation knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Three hundred six visitors participated in the study, which was conducted from March through July, 1999. The study utilized four data‐collection techniques: (1) face‐to‐face interviews, (2) Personal Meaning Mapping (PMM), (3) tracking, and (4) follow‐up telephone interviews. Participants were a self‐selected population and were generally more knowledgeable about, more concerned about, and more involved in conservation‐related issues than the general public. However, they were far from conservationists. Visitors in this study clearly absorbed the fundamental conservation message at the NAIB. In fact, the NAIB visit appeared to focus visitors' conservation‐related thoughts, while also broadening their understanding of conservation. Changes in visitors' conservation knowledge, understanding, and interests by and large persisted over six to eight weeks after visiting NAIB. The NAIB experience also connected to visitors' lives in a variety of ways following their visit. However, these personal experiences rarely resulted in new conservation actions. In fact, their enthusiasm and emotional commitment to conservation (inspired during the NAIB visit) generally fell back to original levels, presumably in the absence of reinforcing experiences. The findings of this study are guiding subsequent investigations at the NAIB. More generally, the results suggest strategies to enhance current understanding of the impact free‐choice learning institutions have on their visiting public.     

Interactives and Visitor Learning

Abstract Interactives—computers and other multimedia components, physical manipulatives (including whole‐body and tabletop activities), and simulations—occur in all types of museums. There is considerable interest in the nature of the learning that happens when visitors use interactives. Museum professionals have enlisted constructivist theory to support the notion that interactive elements are invaluable components of any exhibition experience, and are effective learning tools that enable active visitor engagement. Interactives are also seen as vital to sustaining institutional image and expanding institutional popularity. Despite the increasing use of interactives in exhibitions and the substantial investments being made in their design and maintenance, there is a paucity of research as to whether these constructivist assumptions are supported. There is little work exploring visitors' perceptions of specific types of interactives, or the role of interactivity in the visitor experience generally. Museum staff thus have a limited ability to make informed decisions about the level and type of interactivity that might enhance exhibition experiences. This paper describes a collaborative effort in 2001 by researchers at the Powerhouse Museum (PHM), Sydney; the Institute for Learning Innovation (the Institute), Annapolis, Maryland; and Curtin University of Technology (Curtin) and Scitech Discovery Centre (Scitech), both in Perth, Western Australia. This study investigated two aspects of interactivity: 1) visitor perceptions of interactivity in two different contexts, a museum and a science center; and 2) the types of short‐ and long‐term learning that resulted from use of interactives in these two institutions.     

观众究竟在博物馆里参观到了什么？

在当今社会,博物馆为提升全民素质起到越来越重要的作用。为了更好地发挥博物馆的社会教育功能,博物馆馆员在教育活动设计或者展览设计的过程中有必要了解观众的参观需求以及参观偏好。因此,为了体现“以观众为中心”的工作理念,作者从“观众”的视角,对一次博物馆的参观体验进行观察和反思。本次探索发现,由于观众自身所处的社会文化背景的差异,他们面对同一件展品有着不同的关注点和兴趣点。这种差异性提醒博物馆馆员在与观众进行互动的过程中,需要了解观众的不同需求和不同偏好。并且,这种参观视角的多样性也为博物馆的教育工作提供了创意的源泉。     

From Knowing to Not Knowing: Moving Beyond “Outcomes”

The ways that museums measure the success of their exhibitions reveal their attitudes and values. Are they striving to control visitors so that people will experience what the museum wants? Or are they working to support visitors, who seek to find their own path? The type of approach known as “outcome‐based evaluation” weighs in on the side of control. These outcomes are sometimes codified and limited to some half‐dozen or so “learning objectives” or “impact categories.” In essence, those who follow this approach are committed to creating exhibitions that will tell visitors what they must experience. Yet people come to museums to construct something new and personally meaningful (and perhaps unexpected or unpredictable) for themselves. They come for their own reasons, see the world through their own frameworks, and may resist (and even resent) attempts to shape their experience. How can museums design and evaluate exhibitions that seek to support visitors rather than control them? How can museum professionals cultivate “not knowing” as a motivation for improving what they do?     

Stay Behind the Yellow Line: Young Children Constructing Knowledge from an Art Exhibition

Studies exploring very young children visiting museums and art galleries are few. The majority of research about museum and gallery visitors explores family group interactions. This paper examines the findings of a study involving three‐ and four‐year‐old children visiting an art exhibition in a national museum on more than one occasion. The children's construction of knowledge about being a museum visitor and exhibitor indicates their ability to develop an appreciation of art and an understanding of the purposes of museums and art galleries.     

Using a Behavior Change Model to Document the Impact of Visits to Disney's Animal Kingdom: A Study Investigating Intended Conservation Action

Abstract Over the last 10 to 15 years, zoos and aquariums have set out to influence visitors' conservation‐related knowledge, attitudes, affect, and behavior. In 2000, the Institute for Learning Innovation collaborated with Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) on a comprehensive baseline study conducted to assess the outcomes of a DAK experience on visitors in four areas: knowledge, attitudes, affect, and behavior. This article describes one aspect of the comprehensive study: an investigation of the long‐term (two‐to‐three‐month) impact of a visit to Conservation Station at Disney's Animal Kingdom on visitors' intended conservation action. The study used a behavior change model from the health arena: the Prochaska Model of Behavioral Change. The model proved helpful but had some drawbacks, suggesting the need to develop a more sensitive change model. The implications of this study could assist institutions in thinking about what audiences or messages to emphasize in order to influence behavior.     

Collaborative Exhibitions and Visitor Reactions: The Case of Nitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life

Collaborative exhibitions built by aboriginal communities and museums often seek to reposition aboriginal peoples as the authors and experts of their cultures, and to assert their active and continued presence in the contemporary world. This article explores the impact of collaborative exhibitions on museum visitors' experiences and their potential to reshape the public's perception of aboriginal peoples. Interviews conducted with visitors to Nitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life, a permanent exhibition created by Blackfoot Elders and museum staff at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, demonstrate that museum visitors rarely recognized the extent of the collaboration, and thus rarely equated Nitsitapiisinni with concepts of self‐representation or self‐determination. However, other messages were successfully communicated to museum visitors, namely the impact of colonialism, the efforts to revitalize Blackfoot culture, and the importance of Blackfoot spirituality. This study provides some interesting insights about public perceptions that will help promote deeper reflection on the issues surrounding collaboratively developed exhibitions and the first‐person authorship of First Nations cultures.     

An Identity‐Centered Approach to Understanding Museum Learning

This paper advances the thesis that museum visitors' identities, motivations and learning are inextricably intertwined. All individuals enact multiple identities, many of which are situational and constructed in response to a social and physical context. Identity influences motivations, which in turn directly influence behavior and learning. Visitors to museums tend to enact one or various combinations of five museum‐specific identities, described here as: explorer; facilitator; professional/hobbyist; experience seeker; and spiritual pilgrim. Preliminary findings suggest that these identity‐specific motivational categories might help to explain the long‐term learning impacts of a museum visit.     

Equity of Access to Cultural Heritage: Museum Experience as a Facilitator of Learning and Socialization in Children with Autism

This article discusses a study focused on investigating the effects of an art museum cultural experience on learning and behaviors of visitors with special needs. The participants, selected by specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, were 10 families with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The author examined how the museum environment, with its opportunities for free‐choice, object‐based, and inquiry‐based learning, helped facilitate their educational and social needs. To record changes in the subjects' content knowledge and behavior, the author employed a mixed‐methods design, including the standardized Social Responsiveness Scale, parent surveys, behavioral observations, task evaluations, and parent interviews. The findings demonstrate that participation in a tailored educational museum program positively influences cognitive and social behaviors of children living with autism, thereby contributing to their overall well‐being. The paper also discusses implications for other museums nationwide working to establish quality access programs with long‐term benefits for special needs communities.     

Accessing and Incorporating Visitors' Entrance Narratives in Guided Museum Tours

Abstract Museum visitors arrive at an exhibit or tour with their own individual experiences, memories and knowledge related to the subject — in a phrase, their “entrance narrative.” We tested what happens to participants in guided tours when the guide first accesses — by two different methods — the entrance narratives of their visitors, and then makes specific connections from these entrance narratives to the content of the tour. The subject of the tour was a guided tree walk at Hebrew University's open‐campus museum. Behavioral measures and questionnaires both indicated that accessing and incorporating participants' entrance narratives profoundly enhanced their experience. The enhancement was somewhat greater among visitors from the general public than among groups of university students. We suggest that guides could use the simple methods described here, in a wide variety of tour types, to enhance visitor experiences.     

课堂提问框架在自然博物馆讲解中的运用

博物馆讲解中的提问互动,在吸引观众注意力、激发观众兴趣、引起观众思考、加深观众对展览理解方面发挥着重要的作用。本文利用课堂教学研究常用的提问框架分析了两位自然博物馆教育人员讲解过程中的提问类型、观众回答情况和教育人员的反馈方式。发现教育人员有比较强烈的提问互动意识,能够围绕展品和讲解主题提问,但还存在问题层次性不明显、对观众认知水平分析不够、各类问题比例不均衡、候答时间过短、提问反馈中有效追问和鼓励不足等问题。可以通过设置核心问题、基于观众认知水平控制问题难度、增加问题多样性、适时调控候答时间、在提问反馈中追问并增加评价性语言等方法提升提问的有效性。