Journal of the Korean earth science society (한국지구과학회지)

The Korean Earth Science Society (한국지구과학회)
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A Study of Visitor Behavior in Informal Learning Setting: A Natural History Museum

  • Published : 2004.03.31
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Abstract

This study was designed to determine whether visitor behavior at science museums differs across various exhibit styles and between Family and Non Family groups. Eight exhibits in the natural history sections of the national science museum located in Daejeon were identified to have distinctive characteristics and styles. At each selected exhibit, visitor behavior was observed for an hour. An average of eighty people stopped by each exhibit. Descriptive analyses of visitors behaviors showed that: 1) families spent more time than non-family visitors; 2) families paid more attention to exhibits, for instance, they talked and commented about the exhibits; 3) exhibit characteristics related to holding power and attention span; 4) families more frequently visited exhibits related to school curriculum rather than ones that looked attractive, fun or novel. Visitors did not play with sensory simulation types of exhibits as much as expected. This implicates that exhibit style does not guarantee long visitors holding time and attracting power. Non-significant results are explained in terms of environmental and exhibit-related factors. Several potential factors including visitor factors, setting factors, and exhibit factors are discussed and explored with topics proposed for future study.

Keywords

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