American Museum of Natural History

Evaluating visitor engagement

In a Nutshell

Our work with the American Museum of Natural History was some of the most challenging and enjoyable work we've undertaken. Being asked by the Director of Education to work with her to create and implement a new methodology of evaluating visitor experience was both exciting and fascinating (as well as scary and demanding). We accepted the commission in under a second!

A bit about The American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education and exhibition. The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures.

What we were asked to do

Evaluate one of their permanent exhibitions for levels of visitor engagement.
Explore new methodologies for evaluating visitor experience.
Implement a robust evaluation plan for this exhibition space that would help in the development of other exhibitions.

The Work

While the nature and results of the work are held under a confidentiality agreement, A Different View worked with AMNH to develop and implement a new and sophisticated evaluation process to measure visitor engagement. ADV did this by combining Experience DNA™ (a comprehensive research service), focus groups and observation techniques. The exhibition was evaluated in light of how it met or didn’t meet the audience’s psychological needs among 8 different age groups. Strategically this also helped AMNH consider which elements to include for future exhibitions.

Other projects that might interest you are:

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What we did -

Research & Evaluation , Visitor Experience

Sector -

Museums and heritage

Tags -

focus groups; experience design; experience development; experience DNA; museum; New York; visitor insight;