Listen: Making Sense of Sound

The Listen exhibition at The Exploratorium, which opened in October 2006, deals with the production and physical characteristics of sound, the reception of sound in the ear and its perception in the brain, and the human capacity to interpret and act on the information transmitted by sounds. Summative evaluation of Listen consists of two parts: tracking and timing and exit interviews. Instruments for the studies were developed by Minda Borun. Data were collected by Exploratorium staff members Mary Kidwell, Emily Pinkowitz, Heather Posner, and Deborah Siegel, and were tabulated by Mary Kidwell. The summative evaluation is designed to assess the impact of the exhibit on museum visitors and to determine to what extent it is achieving the goals of the exhibit developers. The questionnaires used in this study are included at the end of this report.