Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium: A Multi-institutional Research Project

September 1st, 2003 - August 31st, 2010 | PROJECT

Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium: A Multi-institutional Research Project will create a functional taxonomy of zoo/aquarium visitors' entering knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. This taxonomy, in conjunction with data about the specific experiences visitors have during their visit, will enable investigators to understand and predict the contribution of zoos and aquariums to the public understanding of animals and their conservation. The results will clarify the role of zoos and aquariums as centers of informal learning and point to ways to strengthen their educational impact. The AZA convened a national advisory committee that commissioned and completed a thorough review, confirming a critical need to conduct more research, particularly research that attempts to ask broad questions, collect data systematically, and includes sufficient number and types of institutions to permit community-wide generalizations. Twelve AZA institutions of various sizes, geographic regions and types will participate in the study. The net result of the study will be a descriptive model of zoo and aquarium visitor learning experiences and development of a set of diagnostic tools to help zoo and aquaria staff understand and enhance the nature and extent of their public impact.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Team Members

Paul Boyle, Principal Investigator, American Zoo & Aquarium Association
Bruce Carr, Former Principal Investigator, American Zoo & Aquarium Association
Cynthia Vernon, Co-Principal Investigator, Monterey Bay Aquarium
John H Falk, Co-Principal Investigator, Oregon State University

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0205843
Funding Amount: 901686

Tags

Audience: Evaluators | General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Education and learning science | Life science
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Aquarium and Zoo Exhibits | Exhibitions