impacts studied

The Science Museum of Minnesota surveyed 15 visitors who participated in the Exploring Materials: Liquid Crystal activity at NanoDays in August, 2008. This formative evaluation assessed visitors’ interest and enjoyment of the activity, and how easy the program was to understand.  Read more

The Science Museum of Minnesota surveyed 17 museum visitors after they participated in the Exploring Properties: Surface Area activity at NanoDays 2008. This formative testing of the activity assessed the activity's ability to teach about the important role of surface area at the nanoscale.  Read more

Cued interviews took place at the Science Museum of Minnesota with a total of 24 visitors on February 21-24, 2007. Each visitor was given the opportunity to spend as much time as they wanted with the prototype and accompanying text. Initial interviews showed that there were problems with resetting the exhibit and with visitors comprehending what the exhibit represented. Consequently we tested additional labels.  Read more

Cued interviews took place at the Science Museum of Minnesota with a total of 25 visitors on Friday, February 16, and Saturday, February 17. Each visitor was given the opportunity to spend as much time as they wanted doing the activity and reading the accompanying text. The three main issues addressed in this prototyping were: should the tubes be labeled, do people understand what this represents, and is this fun.  Read more

The Nano Intro Cart Program uses several small demonstrations and experiments to give visitors an introduction to nanoscience basics. The big idea for the program is that “nanotechnology takes small things that act differently to do something useful.” The program’s learning goal is for visitors to “know that self-assembly is a process for creating nanomaterials.” A total of 31 visitors responded to a survey after the program.  Read more

During the NISE Program Workshop at Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, school groups provided feedback on a variety of nano programs. The programs were performed January 16, 2007. Fifty-two visitors (students, teachers, and chaperones) completed self-administered surveys about the Surface Area program. Most respondents (96%) were 13 and 14 year olds. This formative evaluation shows that  Read more

On May 27, 2008 a total of 15 visitors completed self-administered surveys after the Inkjet Printer program at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The visitors were asked a series of questions about their experience to assess how well the program conveyed information about nanotechnology.  Read more

On May 27, 2008 a total of 15 visitors completed self-administered surveys after the Inkjet Printer program at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The visitors were asked a series of questions about their experience to assess how well the program conveyed information about nanotechnology.The InkJet Printer program was enjoyed by 100% of the visitors survey and 86% reported that it was interesting. However, the learning objectives were not expressed by all visitors.  Read more

The Nano Fabrics activity was presented April 19th and 30th, 2009 at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The objective or main idea of the Nano Fabrics activity is to share that special fabrics are coated with nanometer-sized “whiskers” that protect them from stains. The activity has two learning goals. The first is the same as the big idea; in the second, visitors should learn that nano fabrics are an example of nanotechnology that mimics the water-repelling “lotus effect” of some plant leaves. Fifteen visitors completed self-administered surveys about the activity.  Read more

Surveys were completed by 19 visitor groups at the Science Museum of Minnesota during the March 2007 NISE Exhibits and Programs Workshop. Groups were invited to use the Crystals exhibit and then complete a survey together.  Read more