A Pilot Evaluation Of ‘Exhibit Shows' In Science And Technology Museum

In order to improve the audience's learning experience and attract more audiences, some of the science center to have been integrating innovative education activities once again. Exhibit shows, which put narrators' interpretation, pictures show, hands-on LABS, visitors' participation together, have been popular science education activities in many science center. However, there is no one study exhibits show about how to evaluate the effect on enhancing visitors' learning experience. Workers in science center don't know how much knowledge the audience learned from exhibits show, there is no specific reference to design educational activities.Of this study is to design a set of evaluation index of exhibit show, there are five level indicators: the degree of understanding knowledge in science, the degree of participation in scientific inquiry processes, the degree of stimulation of interest and motivation in science, the degree of identity of scientific enterprise, the degree of visitor satisfaction. For each level indicator, three to six items are designed. According to these items, we design related issues, eventually form questionnaire. About indexes of legitimacy and effectiveness have been conducted to seven experts, including five experienced workers in science center and two universities engaged in related research. They gave scores(form 1 to 5) to show their acceptance of to what extent these dimensions and items are valid to assess the impact of exhibit shows. The result indicates all dimensions received above-average scores(3.7-4.9). Dimension four was given lowest score(3.71). Most of the items got higher scores(>4). While few items were given relatively low scores(3.1 to 3.3). The reliability(Cronbach's alpha) of the scale is 0.78, showing a moderately high consistency.A pilot evaluation of three exhibit shows(Illusion, Superconductive material, Mobius band) was conducted in Dongguan science and technology museum. 190 visitors participated the after-visit survey. Visitors also reported relatively low participation and interaction in the scientific inquiry processes in all three shows. It suggests that visitor's interaction and educator's interpretation be balanced. The result of questionnaire suggest that the tool designed need to be conducted in more science center. In this paper, the research can provide reference for similar research.