Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity – Summative Evaluation of Planetarium Show with Adults and Teens

With support from the National Science Foundation, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and Thomas Lucas Productions have produced a planetarium show entitled, Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity. The 20-minute full-motion program uses scientific simulations and data-based animations to illustrate the death of stars and the birth and characteristics of black holes.
Multimedia Research implemented a quasi-experimental separate-sample pretest/posttest summative evaluation to evaluate the show in its natural theater setting. A random sample of 126 adults and teens completed questionnaires prior to viewing the show and a different random sample of 142 completed questionnaires after viewing. A small subset volunteered to answer follow-up questions via email one week after their planetarium visit. The summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent and in what ways did the show appeal to viewers? To what extent did the show achieve its intended viewing goals? Did viewing the show influence the audience beyond the museum visit?