Why can’t we just ask our visitors what they want?
Why bother evaluating our design ideas? Which type of evaluation is the biggest bang for your buck? Why is “timing and tracking” a great way to find out if your exhibition works? What is the “button-mashing code?”
Jessica Sickler (Principal, J. Sickler Consulting) discusses “Testing the Right Thing at the Right Time” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: Lego, dinosaurs, and Monets.
Talking Points:
1. Reasons (plural) to evaluate in museums
2. Mapping evaluation stages to project stages
3. Visitors can’t suggest a story they’ve never heard
4. Formative evaluation: the biggest bang for your buck
5. Timing, tracking, & the button mashing code
6. So. Many. Methods.
How to Listen:
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-museum/id1674901311 Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6oP4QJR7yxv7Rs7VqIpI1G Listen at Making the Museum, the Website:
https://www.makingthemuseum.com/podcast Links to Every Podcast Service, via Transistor:
https://makingthemuseum.transistor.fm/ Guest Bio:
Jessica Sickler has spent 20 years as an evaluator, helping museum and education teams turn their questions and hunches about what's working into real evidence. As Principal of J. Sickler Consulting, she leads studies across the full arc of projects – from gauging visitor interest, to testing prototype ideas, to understanding what people actually take away from the experience. With training as a museum educator, classroom teacher, and in-house exhibit evaluator, Jessica approaches evaluation as a way to help designers and interpreters see their work through visitors' eyes. She holds an M.S.Ed. in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Learn more about the creative work of C&G Partners:
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ Links for This Episode:
The Evaluation Therapy Newsletter
https://www.jsickler.net/newsletter Jessica on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicasickler/ Evaluation Firm: J. Sickler Consulting
www.jsickler.net “When is it worth evaluating an exhibit?” Graphic & Article
https://www.jsickler.net/updates/make-evaluation-worthwhile-in-exhibit-design “Every step they take: Three things we’ve learned from Timing & Tracking” Article
https://www.jsickler.net/updates/every-step-they-take Links for Making the Museum, the Podcast:
Contact Making the Museum:
https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact Host Jonathan Alger, Managing Partner of C&G Partners, on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger Email Jonathan Alger:
alger@cgpartnersllc.com C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio:
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ Making the Museum, the Newsletter:
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
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