The goal of our Research and Evaluation department is to measure the Museum’s impact on guests and our community. Our interdisciplinary team of researchers and evaluators apply the best practices from a wide variety of social science fields to get to the core of the guest experience in a way that is meaningful to the Museum and the community of which we are a part.

Active projects

In addition to work supporting the Museum’s exhibit and educational programming, the team is also running longer-term studies supported by the National Science Foundation and others. They include:

• Studying how guests feel a sense of belonging at the museum, how it compares to other science and art museums and how it differs among cultures and age.
  • Our first product is a free survey Tool Kit for how to measure a sense of belonging at museums and cultural institutions.
• A 7+ year study to investigate the long-term impacts of the Science Minors and Achievers program on its participants as they matriculate through college and start their careers.
• An experimental study of a community health-focused field trip experience analyzed through a race and ethnic identity lens.

To ensure our methods meet with best practices and to help advance the field, we pride ourselves on publishing findings in peer-review research journals and conferences.

Read our publications

We welcome external investigators who wish to conduct research related to Museum programs or spaces. Learn more about our policies (PDF). If you would like to discuss conducting a study at the Museum, please contact us.