Looking Back and Looking Forward: The Rise of the Visitor‐centered Museum

Abstract This paper presents some personal perceptions about “drivers of change,” which have impacted the role and nature of museums since the 1980s, leading to the rise of the visitor‐centered museum. Such changes mirror developments occurring in society. In the case of museums, a decline in public funding has occurred at a time when increased resources are required to enable museums to successfully compete for the visitor dollar in the expanding “experience economy.” The authors suggest that the role and nature of museums in the future will be shaped by their responses to many challenges, the most important being: how to increase visitor numbers without negatively impacting on visitor satisfaction; how to adjust policy and practice as museums approach the limits of visitor growth; how to start to reverse the trend of declining public funding by demonstrating museums’ value to society through the adoption of community‐centered policies and practice; and perhaps the most unpredictable, how museums will adjust their policies and practices in the face of possible climate change.     

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.     

Cueing the Visitor: The Museum Theater and the Visitor Performance

There are an estimated 17,500 museums in the United States. If people think these institutions are pretty much the same once you get inside or that the differences between them are unimportant, it might be hard to persuade them that all 17,500 are needed. Exhibitions can have great transformational power; why don’t they exercise that power more often? Have museums not fully understood exhibitions as a medium? Have we not devoted enough attention to the full repertoire of visitor feelings? Have visitors been telling us this and we have failed to listen? For many people, museums play many roles in their lives; for most others few or none. How can this be? “Museum‐adept” visitors seem to prize museums as theaters in which their own emotional and spiritual journeys can be staged, but what about the non‐museum‐adept? Can the museum‐adept teach us how to realize our medium’s full potential?     

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.     

Making Meaning on the Mall: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival as a Constructivist Museum

George Hein, museum education theorist, asserts that there are five qualities a “constructivist exhibition” must have (1998, 35). The authors, assembling observations of visitor engagement and qualitative data from the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, compare the event to Hein's constructivist exhibition criteria, to assess whether the Festival allowed visitors to “make meaning,” and to see whether visitor meaning‐making meshed with the goals of the curators. The answers have the potential to help improve visitor experiences and learning outcomes at museums and other curated cultural events.     

Kelvingrove: Telling Stories in a Treasured Old/New Museum

“Welcome to the future of museums” is one of the many rave head‐lines that greeted the reopening of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, after a $60 (£30) million refurbishment. This article charts the course of the project over the 16 years it was in development, tells how it survived a number of major setbacks, and recounts the key strategic decisions that led to the creation of an object‐based, visitor‐centered, storytelling museum that was more successful than we dared hope. The project team aimed to integrate the demands of research, design, conservation, education, and communication in order to bring visitors and objects—in all their richness and complexity—into meaningful contact. This process has been rewarded with unprecedented visitor numbers‐3,000,000 in the first year, in a city of 600,000 people.     

基于观众对话的博物馆学习研究新视角——来自苏·艾伦研究成果的启发

观众在博物馆中如何学习、学习效果如何评量等问题长期受到研究者的关注。观众对话作为参观学习的体现,是探究博物馆学习过程的重要材料。基于此,苏·艾伦采用社会文化视角,透过参观过程中的观众对话寻找学习的证据。本文主要目的是介绍该研究的研究问题、研究发现、方法论框架、数据收集与分析等方面的内容,以期为国内博物馆观众研究领域提供一种新的视角。     

The Museum Experience: Mapping the Experience of Fine Art

How do visitors to fine art museums experience exhibitions? Can we classify their experiences? What are the factors that drive different types of visitor experience? We set out to answer these questions by analyzing from sociological, psychological, physiological, and behavioral perspectives the responses of 576 visitors to a special exhibition 11: 1 (+ 3) = Eleven Collections for One Museum mounted at the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland, from June to August 2009. Our five‐year research project, eMotion: Mapping the Museum Experience, interpreted computer‐modeled movement‐tracking and physiological maps of the visitors in complement with entrance and exit surveys. We tested individual aspects of the visitor, such as her or his expectations of the exhibition prior to seeing it; his or her socio‐demographic characteristics; her or his affinity for art, mood just before and receptivity just after the visit; and spatial, individual, and group‐related behavior patterns. Our study breaks down three types of exhibition experience that we call “the contemplative,” “the enthusing,” and “the social experience.” The results yield new information about aesthetic arousal, cognitive reaction, patterns of social behavior, and the diverse elements of the exhibition experience.     

Mission,Message, and Visitors: How Exhibit Philosophy Has Evolved at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Since the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened in 1984, its exhibit teams have been guided by an exhibit philosophy that is mission‐driven, message‐driven, and visitor‐driven. Balancing mission, message, and visitors over the years has meant that the exhibit philosophy has evolved as the aquarium learned about their visitors, changed their mission, and kept the focus on the Monterey Bay. Like many aquaria and zoos, MBA's mission has shifted from raising awareness about nature to advocating and inspiring conservation of nature. This article reviews the history of these changes from a developer's point of view and reports on how the aquarium is continuing to examine how mission, message, and visitors interrelate. The current challenge of inspiring visitors to care about the ocean and to take action on its behalf is proving to be the most difficult challenge yet.     

Methods for studying family visitors in art museums: A cross-disciplinary review of current research

This paper examines current trends in family studies research, details the methodological and topical perspectives that are emerging, and reflects on how these findings could be integrated to provide a more coherent approach to researching the leisure, learning and recreational aspects of family visitors to art museums. Research findings from disciplines such as sociology, ethnography, education, design and marketing are of interest to the field of visitor studies, and this paper contributes to the wider research agenda by providing an overview of family research methods from a range of other disciplines, as well as those used within visitor studies.Over the last decade, there has been a growth of research in family learning in science museums, leading to an emerging disciplinary matrix, whilst many aspects of family visits to art museums remain relatively unexplored. The paper discusses the problems of gathering meaningful data from adults and children in family groups, and concludes by suggesting that a challenge for art museums is to learn from what is happening in other areas of cultural research into families, and to develop a framework for research which builds on the methodological strengths and practical experience of robust studies.     

探索博物馆“展教结合”新形态——美国史密森尼国家自然史博物馆Q?rius案例研究

在博物馆更新改造中设置与展厅相邻的教室、实验室、活动室,开展与展览内容对应的教育活动,体现了国际上博物馆“展教结合”、加强教育功能的发展趋势。美国史密森尼国家自然史博物馆Q?rius展区即是这一趋势的产物,它将教育与展厅及其展览内容密切呼应、深化展览教育,在空间规模、功能布局、对象设定、活动规划、教育资源、人员分配、突出公众的“个体化”“参与式”和“关联型”学习等方面拥有较为成功的经验,可为我国博物馆提供借鉴。     

New Ways of Looking and Learning in Natural History Museums: The Use of Gigapixel Imaging to Bring Science and Publics Together

This article describes a series of demonstration projects that use multiscalar gigapixel image technology to iteratively design, test, and study how visitors learn to observe more scientifically in museums, online, and through museum‐based programming. We consider how the particular affordances of systems like these can move science communication and learning from didactic approaches centered on one‐way communication toward technology platforms that encourage shared observation, dialogue, and engagement.     

An Analysis of Differences Between Visitors at Natural History Museums and Science Centers

As museum staff search for ways to broaden their audience, creative collaborations are emerging among various institutions with the hope that visitors who typically visit science centers, for example, will venture over to their local natural history museum. Typically, front-end evaluation is used for understanding details about visitors in the context of a proposed exhibition. Front-end evaluation can also help collaborating museums understand the nuances among their visitors regarding demographics, attitudes, and preferences for interpretive strategies. Carefully articulating the characteristics of the actual audience, potential audience, and target audience will help exhibit developers fine-tune their exhibitions to meet the needs and expectations of a more diverse public. This article presents partial findings from a front-end evaluation that analyzed the differences between visitors to natural history museums and science centers.     

The Mindful Museum

Abstract The convergence of global issues—ranging from climate change to the erosion of cultural diversity—has created a watershed of opportunity or an unprecedented crisis for museums. The contemporary museum business model based on consumption, entertainment and ancillary education is increasingly unsustainable and irrelevant in this context. This article explores the concept of a more responsible museum and the need for a heightened sense of social, environmental and economic stewardship as the foundation for a sustainable future, in a time of profound social and environmental change for society at large. Obstacles to organizational effectiveness are discussed, as are methods for enhancing greater organizational awareness of societal issues. Examples of progressive museum practice are also presented by way of illustration. The possible consequences of inaction suggest the need for museums to transform their culture‐and‐industry business model into one of a locally‐embedded problem‐solver, in tune with the challenges and aspirations of their communities.     

Investigating the Development of the “Mobile Museum” from the Perspective of Service

During economic development, modern museums face competition from various leisure activities and entertainment sites, and to achieve sustainable development, museums should reflect on providing high‐quality service to satisfy visitors’ expectations. Based on service design‐related theories, this research team conducted a case study to explore the planning, implementation, and meaning of Mobile Museums. It investigated design development from the perspective of public service design and summarized the policy, design, and service satisfaction results for Mobile Museums. Finally, the similarities in service processes are discussed between Mobile Museums and the general service industry. According to this study, attracting more visitors is the biggest issue facing museums today, as are the ways in which museums must actively provide service and become recognized to compete with others. This study identifies the onstage and backstage support of museums as well as their cultural features and non‐profit services.     

我国专业科技博物馆发展现状与对策研究

本文在课题调研和数据分析的基础上,提出了当前我国专业科技博物馆在场馆和观众数量快速增长的同时,在发展质量上存在诸多问题,制约着专业科技博物馆科普教育功能的发挥,提出了我国专业科技博物馆“十三五”期间的五个战略重点:全面免费开放;开展监测评估,进行分类指导;专业科技博物馆充分利用新媒体;强化专业科技博物馆科普职能;推动专业科技博物馆校结合。并针对存在问题提出了六项对策与建议。     

Educating Zoo Visitors about Complex Environmental Issues: Should We Do It and How?

Modern zoos are committed to environmental education and thus have a mandate to inform the public about biodiversity and conservation. Historically, zoos have avoided complex topics like biodiversity loss from overpopulation and overconsumption in their educational materials, for fear of being offensive or creating a sense of hopelessness. To measure visitor attitudes towards educating about such topics and to help determine effective presentation techniques, we assessed people's knowledge of and attitudes towards the commercial hunting and consumption of wildlife in West and Central Africa (the bushmeat crisis) and examined how the use of different types of images affected these variables. Zoo visitors were exposed to one of six series of photographs, each accompanied by the same text. Photos in three of the series contained explicit, disturbing images of dead animals. The other three series presented benign images related to the bushmeat crisis (i.e., logging, changes in hunting practices). While 83 percnt of visitors had never heard of the bushmeat trade, 98 percent felt zoos should be educating about the topic. Ninety‐seven percent felt the disturbing images were appropriate for zoo visitors except for children under the age of 12. While people spent significantly more time looking at the disturbing images, this did not lead to increases in knowledge (factual or conservation‐related) on the topic. However, visitors who saw the disturbing images were significantly more likely to report being influenced by the images. While the type of image did not affect the frequency of conservation‐related behaviors, significantly more people engaged in a conservation‐related behavior when an opportunity was provided on‐site rather than off‐site. The results demonstrate that the public believes zoos should educate about bushmeat, and that realistic images influence people's perception of an issue. However, visitors' lack of knowledge gains, even when disturbing images are used, suggests that a static display of text with photographs may not be the most effective method for educating about complex issues like bushmeat. Finally, the results show that zoos should provide on‐site opportunities for people to turn their conservation interests into action.     

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.     

Effective Management of Museums in the 1990s

A survey of thirty-three museums of various kinds in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States sought to identify the features distinguishing the more effective organizations as assessed by independent experts. Staff at each museum responded to a questionnaire about features common to all organizations as well as some particular to museums. Teamwork, a concern for quality, and an emphasis on public programming are common to effective museums. Executive leadership champions a vision, models appropriate behavior, and works together effectively. Board members use their skills and knowledge to advance the organization's mission. There is a concern for quality, shared goals, good communication, respect for the contribution of others, attention to training, strategic allocation of resources, and an integrated, flexible, and responsive structure. Public programming emphasizes strategic approaches to achieving positive outcomes for visitors, including provision of a variety of learning strategies.     

The Museum Profession: Protecting and Promoting Professional Commitments

Throughout their history, museums have performed diverse public services: from preservation, collection, and exhibition, to interpretation, education, and civic engagement. As Stephen E. Weil ( 2002 ) explains, since the mid‐twentieth century, museums have experienced two major revolutions. First, a revolution in focus from collection‐oriented to visitor‐oriented practices, and second, a revolution in public expectations as museums secured a position within the nonprofit sector (81–82). With competition for public, private, and philanthropic support resting upon measurable results, the evaluation of museums depends upon its ability to “accomplish its purpose” (5). However, the question remains: what is the museum's purpose? Which is the more important: collection and artifact preservation, or public engagement and education? An overview of museum practices reveals a multiplicity of professional tasks distributed among three imperatives: preservation, scholarship, and programming (Weil 2002 , 11). The competition for resources devoted to each of these imperatives can spark controversy—particularly if museum professionals answer the question of the purpose of museums differently. Organizational communication scholar, Janie M. Harden Fritz, developed a theoretical framework that seeks to respond to such controversies in Professional Civility: Communicating Virtue at Work. This essay considers Fritz's “professional civility” in the context of the American museum sector, lending insight to the question of museum purpose and function.