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The Visitors’ Behavior Study and an Experimental Plan for Reviving Scientific Instruments in a New Suburban Science Museum. Jeng-Horng Chen National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TAIWAN chenjh@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
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The Visitors’ Behavior Study and an Experimental Plan for Reviving Scientific Instruments in a New Suburban Science Museum Jeng-Horng Chen National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TAIWAN chenjh@mail.ncku.edu.tw Acknowledgement: This study is supported by Ministry of Science & Technology, under project no. MOST 103-2511-S-006 -008 -MY2. The author also thank Mr. CHEN, Kai-Sheng for his help on data collecting and analysis.
Introduction: The Problem Taiwan’s government and civil sectors recently notice the special role of museums for improving science literacy as a kind of non-standard platforms to provide people with opportunities to enrich scientific literacy. Museums are aimed to break through the Taiwanese students’ rigid learning mode, correct the learning attitude, and provide opportunities to learn the latest scientific knowledge. However, is it effective? Will students follow this expectation? Is it possible for a museum to effectively change visitors’ learning mode, learning attitude, and learn some knowledge?
Introduction: Location Japan Tainan City China India Phillippinnes Downtown Tree Valley Life Science Museum, Tainan City, Taiwan, combines natural history, cultural history and science history, due to its location at an archaeology activity area and nearby modern semiconductor industry. The permanent exhibition in "Science and Civilization Hall" exhibits a series of instruments and artifacts from Europe in the last several decades.
Introduction: The museum Tree Valley Life Science Museum One site of "Science and Civilization Hall"
Introduction: Interaction Exhibition with display technologies Children using tablet PC for guiding In "Science and Civilization Hall", multimedia, augmented reality and display techniques, and rented tablet PC for guiding provide visitors with exciting experience. At present, visitors, especially children, prefer to interactive audio-visual software, floating projection, and other interactive operation units.
Introduction: Instruments Operational instrument with modern structure Inductive instrument covered by a glass shell • Furthermore, visitors can learn scientific principles by operating two instruments, which are operational but cannot be directly touched. • One is inductive, covered by a transparent shell for protection; • the other is installed with a modern mechanism, such that visitors can operate it indirectly.
Introduction: “Died” Artifacts However, most historically significant instruments are only statically placed in the showcases and few crowds stop at them. Also, visitors spend more time at items using display technologies and browse artifact display as they walk through the gallery. To increase the ratio of interactive exhibitions, the museum intends to adopting operating style to reach the best exhibition efficiency of the precious cultural relics.
Introduction: Locked Instruments Few visitors pay attention to the static display. Complicated instruments lacked for interactivities.
Objectives At the beginning, some instruments were conducted under resurrectional operations and the experimental scene is reproduced. Unfortunately, the conditions from different parties failed to meet the requirements, so these instruments could not be adequately resurrected and displayed in front of visitors. Nevertheless, the present author and museum staff are still dedicated to successfully revive scientific instruments, which is an impressive subject for scientific and museum community.
Research Method: Methodology • We used surveillance system data, on-site observation and visitor tracking observation to record visitors’ behavior. • The analysis of these results provides a foundation of what and how scientific instruments will be revived. • The observer randomly chose a (group) of visitor(s) and follow him/her/them without disturbance, by hiding in a remote position, and used a stopwatch to record the time. • There were total 5 observation days in the period from late Nov. 2014 to May 2015 in “Science and Civilization Hall” on the 2nd floor of the museum.
Research Method: Observation Floor plan of “Science and Civilization Hall” The 2nd floor of the museum is separated into 7 areas as indicated from A to G. We chose Area G as the fixed-position observation site (lasting time) because there is a potential reviving instrument over there.
Result and Discussion (Lasting Time) The Lasting Time of Visitors Lasting time: the time a visitor staying in front of an object, meaning there is enough time for the visitor to see it. There were total 87 persons recorded including 54 in family group type (62%), and 33 adults without children (38%). 76% of all visitors stay less than 10 seconds. Those who stay between 10 and 30 seconds are 12% and longer than 30 seconds are both 12%.
Result and Discussion (Lasting Time) • Possible reasons of short average lasting time: • Area G is close to the exit and visitors are tired. • Only title is contained in the object’s label, but no commentary text. • Group visitors are constrained by total visiting time. • Those who stay more than 30 seconds: • Parents describe and explain the characteristics of objects to their children. • Children, usually adolescents, have strong motivation to learn, and the parents have to wait for them until they finish studying artifacts. • Self-guided people are couples having interests and knowing related topics before visiting; and therefore they usually discuss the artifacts.
Result and Discussion (Attraction) The Lasting Time in Different Areas Attraction: the comparison of lasting time between areas, meaning that an object is more attractive than others so that visitors tends to stay longer. Observer followed a visitor at a time to record the lasting time of staying in the showcases from Area A to G, and 50 visitors were recoded in total. Area G had about one minute of attraction, which was raised by very few visitors who did spend very long time to study the artifacts.
Result and Discussion (Attraction) • The top popular areas: • Area D: Operational instruments attract visitors to use them even take pictures. • Area E: Medical instruments attract specific visitors, but some still ignore them. • The second popular areas: • Area B: Visitors lost interest in sextant after touching it. • Area F: Visitors showed short attention on LCD screen in the imaging exhibition. • Area G: Visitors quickly pass through this area to leave the exhibition hall directly. • The least popular areas: • Area A:Most visitors only took a glance at the movie using limited time. • Area C:It acts like a path so visitors would not stay.
Result and Discussion (Surveillance Camera) A typical image of visitor’s behavior from surveillance camera A typical image from surveillance camera in Area G • Another fixed position observation from the surveillance camera was analyzed for lasting time. • Observed area having the possible artifacts to be revived (Area G) • Two different days (June 27 Sat. and June 30 Mon.) were compared for weekend effect, while seasonal effect is controlled. • The records in the mornings were analyzed because most visitors come according to past experience • Total 9 groups of visitors and 26 people.
Result and Discussion (Surveillance Camera) Camera Image Analysis (6/27)
Result and Discussion (Surveillance Camera) Camera Image Analysis (6/30)
Result and Discussion (Surveillance Camera) • Influence by simultaneous users • If one person is more interested in an artifact and then stays for a longer time, s/he would also trigger others to join in. • This leading person is usually the mother for family group. • Dates of observation • Most weekday children visitors were pre-school age and thus showing less patience and lower interest. • Parents had to accommodate this situation and the total visiting time was short. • Entrance fee • Visitors seems to have longer visiting time than free entrance, if they have to pay (the entrance fee policy changed in Feb. 2015). • This difference is possibly caused by visitor selection effect or by the payment induced behavior.
Conclusions Analysis of visitor’s behavior before the instrument reviving suggests that visitors are easily influenced by the exhibition design, which corresponds to common sense and general impression. Static instrument display cannot attract visitors’ attention; so interesting, playful, hand-on and interactive methods are essential for reviving these instruments. The observation results imply strong influence of entry fee, local touring culture, school teaching method and dependence of electronic devices in young generation. The effect of reviving scientific instruments will be evaluated soon after the reviving work is completed.
