Roots of Wisdom Summative Evaluation for Public Audience Impacts

Roots of Wisdom (also known as Generations of Knowledge; NSF-DRL #1010559) is a project funded by the National Science Foundation that aims to engage Native and non-Native youth (ages 11-14) and their families in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and western science within culturally relevant contexts that present both worldviews as valuable, complementary ways of knowing, understanding, and caring for the natural world. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and its partner organizations, The Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Tulalip Tribes, Pacific American Foundation and Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society (Native Hawaiians) and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, worked collaboratively to develop all aspects of the project, which includes the following deliverables: (a) a 2,000 square foot full exhibition, (b) a 100- linear-foot traveling graphic panel exhibition, (c) a website, (d) an activity kit for Native youth in informal and formal settings, and (e) opportunities and resources for reciprocal collaboration between ISE and Native American partners.
The Lifelong Learning Group (Columbus, OH), in collaboration with Native Pathways (Laguna, NM), was engaged to conduct summative evaluation of the Roots of Wisdom public audience impacts. Evaluation questions focused on understanding visitor use and engagement, the extent to which intended outcomes were achieved, and what supported the learning outcomes. To answer the evaluation questions, mixed methods were used. Exhibit evaluation included reflective tracking and exit interviews; and an expert review was used to assess the youth activity guides, in addition to participant feedback tied to the reflective tracking and exit interviews. Overall, 320 visitors participated in the traveling exhibit evaluation; 39 visitors in the Banner Exhibit evaluation; and 6 educators in the expert review. A summary of findings is presented below, based on each deliverable.