Please excuse the cross-posting.

I am preparing a paper for the VSA (Visitor Studies Association) in Boston
"Museum Theatre and Evaluation: What We Know and What There is to Learn"

Here is a brief blurb about the session:

"Practitioners of museum theatre have long claimed the effectiveness of museum
theatre as an interpretive vehicle for reaching audiences in an engaging and
effective way.   While it is indeed a vibrant, and growing, interpretive medium,
there is but a scattering of research to back up these claims and to support the
glowing endorsements of directors at institutions using museum theatre.   This
presentation will summarize studies done at institutions around the world, note
patterns in the results of the evaluations, assess strengths and weaknesses of
relevant studies, and suggest research questions and methodologies for future
visitor studies."

I am looking for relevant studies that shed light on the effectiveness of museum
-- do any of you have, or know of, any evaluations that would be relevant?   My
hope is to be able to have a relatively complete look at where we stand and
where we need to go  in terms of evaluation at the end of this process.

To date I have reviewed the following reports and/or institutions:

Museum of Science, Boston
"Buyin Freedom"  National Museum of American History
"Evaluation of Live Interpretation Program" Canadian Museum of Civilization
"Enlightening or Embarrassing?  An evaluation of drama in the Science Museum"
National Museum of Science and Industry, London
Minnesota History Center
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Baltimore City Life Museums
Walter?s Art Gallery
I have also posted on IMTAL and ALHFAM listservs.

Thanks for your thoughts and assistance.

Please feel free to email or call me.   I will somehow circulate the results or
let the lists where they can find the results when I complete the study.

Thanks,


Dale Jones
Senior Associate
Institute for Learning Innovation
166 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone:  (410) 268-5149
Fax:        (410) 268-2179
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
www.ilinet.org



========================================================Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).