Summative Evaluation of Awareness of Nanotechnology by the Museum Public

During 2005-2008, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network researched, designed, implemented, and evaluated public deliverables covering various aspects of nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering. Working with four NISE Net museums, Multimedia Research used a web-based post-survey design to assess nanotechnology awareness in a sample of museum visitors exposed to nano-topic programs, exhibits, forums and activities (treatment group) compared with a sample of museum members who were not exposed to the deliverables (control group). Exposure to nano-topic deliverables appears to increase the museum public's confidence in their awareness more than influencing the specifics of their awareness. In closed-ended questions, the treatment group reports a greater awareness of the term nanotechnology, its benefits, risks, and applications, but in open-ended questions, those exposed to public deliverables demonstrated no differences in their depth or breadth of awareness compared with those not so exposed. Most of the treatment group could specifically identify having heard about or experienced one or more of the 39 nano-topic public deliverables. Respondents described the impact of the deliverables as informative, increasing their awareness of the term itself, or improving their understanding of nano scale or nano properties. Although this evaluation did not focus on the differential influence of deliverable types, significant associations between type of deliverable and some of the dependent variables reinforce the proposition that different kinds of deliverables emphasize different content and modalities and thus influence awareness of nanotechnology in different ways.