Change Your Game / Cambia tu juego Summative Evaluation

With funding from a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) grant #2005404, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) launched the project Change Your Game / Cambia tu juego. The project aimed to develop a STEM exhibition for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History with embedded research into visitors’ exploration of inventive identity.

From 2020-2024, we conducted multiple evaluations to support the project team in developing the exhibition and ultimately measuring the impact of the project.
-Alpha and beta prototyping with priority audiences including females 10-17 years, African American males 10-17 years, and people with disabilities
-Title testing with English- and Spanish-speaking walk-in visitors at NMAH
-Summative evaluation exploring the impact of the exhibition on walk-in visitors and the aforementioned priority audiences
-Process evaluation exploring the efficacies and challenges of the exhibition development process to contribute to understanding new approaches and understanding of the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments

The summative evaluation of the Change Your Game / Cambia tu juego exhibition indicated that project team members did a good job at identifying stories that represent many different people and sports. Visitors found it novel to consider invention in relation to sports and games, thus serving as an entry point to inventive identity exploration in terms of ontological-epistemological beliefs within audiences’ role as a museum visitor. Beyond ontological-epistemological beliefs, the evaluation results are indeterminate about how the exhibition affected audiences in other areas of identity exploration. The evaluation raises questions about inventive identity to be considered along with the research findings for further exploration.