Final Project Evaluation: Informal Education with Arachnids

This report summarizes the evaluation results from the NSF funded Eight-Legged Encounters family event that uses arachnids as a hook to draw public interests towards science. The event involves informative and hands-on activities that bridge the gap between academia and the public, extending knowledge about arachnids to children and their parents. The Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR) at UNL was contracted to evaluate Eight-Legged Encounters. The data collection for this report involves five events and three audiences: adults, children, and the volunteers of the event. Two events were held at Morrill Hall at UNL. Other events included Bugfest, an annual open house event for the UNL Department of Entomology, an event at the Butterfly Pavilion near Denver, CO, and an event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The events ranged from February 2013 to September 2014. Includes surveys.