The Wild Center Climate Solutions Exhibition Summative Evaluation

Overview

In 2022, we worked with The Wild Center to evaluate its new IMLS-funded climate change exhibition, which used an innovative approach focused on presenting climate solutions through place-based examples and storytelling. Our evaluation came at a time when many museums were wrestling with how to effectively empower visitors to take climate action.

In the early stages of exhibition development, we also conducted audience research using Yale’s Six Americas Short Survey (SASSY) to help The Wild Center understand their audience’s dispositions toward climate change, which they used to guide content and messaging decisions in the exhibition. It was valuable for The Wild Center to recognize its audience is already concerned or alarmed about climate change and looking for solutions—it did not need to spend significant time or valuable exhibition space convincing people about the reality of climate change, but rather could skip to addressing solutions head-on.  

Approach 

We conducted onsite interviews with visitors exiting the Climate Solutions exhibition. We also conducted remote longitudinal interviews with a different sample of visitors several weeks after their visit, to understand the lasting effects of the exhibition. 

Client Takeaways

Overall, the Wild Center was successful in creating a hopeful and engaging exhibition on climate solutions that resonated with its visitors—a significant achievement considering the challenges of positively engaging visitors on such a critical and serious topic. As indicated in the early audience research, The Wild Center’s visitors did not need convincing that climate change is a major crisis—they appreciated the exhibition’s focus on highlighting practical and locally relevant climate solutions.

While most visitors came away understanding that anyone can be part of climate solutions, shifts in personal action were subtle. Still, we find it promising that the exhibition is deepening thoughtfulness in visitors about their everyday decisions, which is an important stepping stone to action.