Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity – Summative Evaluation of Planetarium Show with Students

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 one-group pretest-posttest summative evaluation focused on appeal to and impact on upper elementary school students. Participating fourth graders (n = 104) and fifth graders (n = 64) were drawn from four public schools in urban, suburban and rural areas around Denver, CO. A researcher administered a pre-viewing questionnaire as part of the regular classroom activity. About one week later, the students took their museum field trip to see Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity. The day after the field trip, the researcher administered the post-viewing questionnaire. The summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: In what ways did the show appeal to elementary school students? To what extent did the show achieve its intended viewing goals? The summative evaluation showed that Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity successfully both entertains and educates the upper elementary age student.