Invention at Play: Summative Evaluation

This report presents the findings of a summative evaluation of Invention at Play, conducted by Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A), for the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Invention at Play is a traveling exhibition developed by the Lemelson Center in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota and is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Data collection took place at two venues: in December 2002 at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., (NMAH) and in April 2003 at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts (MOS). The evaluation documents the scope of the exhibition's impact and effectiveness at two different sites using timing and tracking observations, stationed observations, exit interviews, and telephone interviews two months after the visit.