Summative Evaluation, “Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond” at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans

The purpose of this Summative Evaluation was to assess visitors’ use and perceptions of ‘Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond’ at the Louisiana State Museum (LSM) as an informal science experience. The exhibition is distinctive in that it is presented in a museum which has been primarily focused on history. The overall experience, affective impact and learning were evaluated for visitors leaving the exhibition. More specific questions of science learning were evaluated in mini-studies in Room 3. This report also examines the degree to which emotion affects informal learning in the museum environment. Emotional impact from the exhibition had substantial impact on other aspects of visitors’ experiences. People who had a stronger emotional experience rated the exhibition more highly (65% of those gave it the highest ratings), were more likely to say they learned something new about hurricanes and disaster management, and saw greater relevance to their own lives. They were not, however, different in recognizing major themes and did not spend more time or less time exploring Room 3 (“What Happened?” /the science room) than people who experienced less emotional impact.