Knowing Nature:
Stories of the Boreal Forest
Evaluation Report
Emily Paterson and Jada Thrash
Overview
Over the course of our Leadership for Change internship, we worked to evaluate the learning experience of the traveling Smithsonian exhibition “Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest” at the MSU Museum.
Through a combination of on-site & post-visit research methods, we aimed to uncover the impact of the exhibition on visitors and their feelings, actions, and takeaways.
In this presentation, we will showcase our findings, offering a snapshot of the current state of visitor experience, and provide recommendations on how to further encourage and inspire visitors at current and future venues.
Main Learning Goal: Visitors will display curiosity about the boreal forest and empathy toward the Indigenous peoples—whose traditions and lifeways are intrinsically linked to the boreal.
Success Metrics
Shifts in attitude (measurable immediately after the experience)
Evaluation Plan
01
02
03
Designed to capture immediate visitor takeaways & shifts in attitude.
Designed to indicate the patterns of interaction with exhibit layout and features.
Post-Visit Survey
Intercept Interviews
Visitor Observations
Designed to demonstrate longer lasting visitor takeaways.
Intercept Interviews
01
By interviewing visitors directly after they left the gallery, we aimed to collect qualitative data about their immediate takeaways.
Methodology
We created two separate surveys to allow us to get responses from different demographics and maximize our results and responses. One was created for adults with children and the other is adults without children. Each survey had varied questions better catered to the demographic we were targeting. Our results could then depict adult’s reactions to the exhibition and also give us insight to children’s responses to the exhibition.
Adults with Children General Demographics
13overall participants
3
5
8
3
A majority of the participants lied between the 36 and 45 range.
0-2
3-5
6-12
13-17
Ages of children with participants
Adults with Children
Question 1: What did your children seem to enjoy most about the exhibit?
Most of the adults who participated in the interviews noted their children were most engaged with the hands-on aspect of the exhibition. A few did enjoy learning about other things like the ecosystem or indigenous culture.
What did your children seem to enjoy most about the exhibit?
“They liked looking at all the pictures and visuals all around the room.”
“They definitely enjoyed the things that were hands-on the best”
“He liked the bears and all the different animals.”
Adults with Children
Question 2: How interested were they in the hands-on experiences?
“They’ve been trying to touch lots of things.”
“They touched all of those things but I don’t think we read the plaques very in-depth”
All interview participants noted their kids participated in the hands-on aspects of the exhibition.
Adults with Children
Question 3: What do you think your children learned today?
All participants noted their children were learning a variety of things throughout the exhibit, but information about Indigenous culture and wildlife tended to be the key takeaways.
What do you think your children learned about today?
“I think for them it’s interesting to see the traditions of how things were made, especially for her [older child] because she’s more artsy. I think she [younger child] is still a little bit too young to understand or capture what all of this is.”
“She’s a little young to learn anything at this point. We talked about the animal prints as far as the caribou having more of a print, like horses and cows, they have hooves.”
“An appreciation for the land and the earth. We were talking about how Native American people are very connected with the Earth. Learned that there are different parts of forest and land.”
Adults with Children
Question 4: Was there anything you wish was different to help them understand better?
Participants noted that more interactives and a lower reading level would help their children better understand the exhibition.
Was there anything you wish was different to help them understand better?
“My thought would involve being able to play your own audio tours. My four year old, he’s really interested in screens so screens that move. If he could walk around with an iPhone and it played something, he would be in heaven. It might help them connect the dots more.”
“The exhibit goes into a lot of detail with everything, which is really important, but I wish it were simplified so they could understand better. There were times when I couldn’t quite understand.”
“For early readers, maybe a little less words.”
Adults General Demographics
3overall participants
2/3participants are MSU alum
A majority of the participants lied between the 36 and 45 age range.
Adults
Question 1: What part of the exhibition caught your attention the most?
“The Indian influences on the boreal forest and the boreal forest’s influence on the Indians [sic]. That was quite revealing.”
Participant 1
“I would say the pictures of the little animals back there.”
Participant 2
“Between the big painted picture on the wall over here and the canoe.”
Participant 3
Adults
Question 2: What are some of the feelings that you felt as you went through the exhibit?
“Probably a heightened level of concern about climate change. Although I did know that they talked about these various periods of the boreal forest-about 15,000 years there have been warming and cooling trends through that entire time period. So that was insightful and probably a fair depiction of what actually is going on and what has been going on.”
Participant 1
“Very informational”
“Excitement, Happiness”
Adults
Question 3: How did this exhibition change your understanding about the Boreal Forest?
“Deeper understanding. I’m pretty familiar with the boreal forest but I always like to learn more. ”
Participant 1
“There’s a lot of different animals that I didn't realize were out and about.”
Participant 2
“I didn’t realize it took up so much of North America.”
Participant 3
Adults
Question 4: How has this exhibition impacted your understanding of climate change?
“It’s been a constant issue over the millenia. It’s more heightened right now than it has been in recent history. And, obviously, the Indians [sic] are concerned about it and carbon sequestration and that sort of thing so I guess I’d be too.”
Participant 1
“How things have changed over the years. I was just reading that one about how clean the water was and how you could drink straight from it and now you can’t really do that. ”
Participant 2
“I honestly didn’t really think about it. I didn’t read 100% of everything.”
Participant 3
Adults
Question 5: What did you learn about indigenous perspectives of the Boreal?
“Well, they’re very closely aligned with the boreal forest. They have a great, deep, almost a sacred respect for it. And it’s been a wellspring of light for them and their way of life. So I have probably a deeper appreciation of that.”
Participant 1
“What stood out to me most was how they use the wintertime to trade and tell stories and things like that.”
Participant 2
“I honestly didn’t really take that in.”
Participant 3
Adults
Question 6: Do you believe there are things you can do in your everyday life to improve the health of the boreal? Your local environment?
“I was telling my grandson we kind of have a mini-boreal forest in our backyard. We have large and black spruce and several kinds of spruce trees.”
Participant 1
“Taking care of the environment, the water, recycling, trying to do all the things. Same kind of things for the local environment. We now have a composter, which we never had before. I think every little thing helps.”
Participant 2
“Yeah, I would definitely continue to recycle and cut down on emissions as far as our natural resources for electricity and things like that. Keep things clean, pick up trash around the area.”
Participant 3
Adults
Question 7: Was there anything we could have done differently to help you understand the Boreal forest better?
“I did have a hard time hearing the movie part. I have hearing aids and with the background noise maybe it could be in a more acoustically soundproof area or some sound proof walls up there so it would be easier to understand.”
Participant 1
“I don’t think so. It was well-organized. I think the pictures were really good and they really helped draw me into things.”
Participant 2
“More animals.”
Participant 3
Visitor Observations
02
By observing visitors’ interactions and paths through the gallery, we aimed to uncover patterns about their experience.
Methodology
We created a diagram to represent the overall exhibition layout and then mapped out the paths of visitor groups as they walked through the space.
We also timed them (from entrance to exit), made note of interactions with hands-on activities, and wrote down any other unique engagement patterns with the exhibition.
Results
Sample Size: n=14 groups
Group Demographics: Family Groups (6), Field Trip Groups (5), Adult Groups (3)
Average Time Spent in Exhibition (minutes) : 4:34
Most Popular Interactive: Prints (9), Moss (8), Puzzle (2)
Visitor Path Heatmap
Sample: Field Trip Group
Time Spent: 6:01
As probably the most visibly engaged group of children (elementary-to-middle school aged), this group interacted with all three hands-on activities.
Additionally, one child watched the video for a few minutes, while others pet the goose decoy object. They would return back to the moss to touch it again.
It was a common thread for groups composed mostly of children to bounce from each of the three interactives and then leave.
Sample: Family Group
Time Spent: 2:07
This family group, composed of one adult and one child, was notable for their time spent with one of the exhibition panels, rather than the interactives.
They spent a majority of their time looking at the map of Michigan depicting the protection of Lake Superior caribou.
Visitors felt the most invested when they were able to put the exhibition into the context of their own lives.
Sample: Adult Group
Time Spent: 2:56
This was a group of 3 young adults. The biggest thing to note with them is how quickly they went through the exhibition overall. They would stop to look at some of the pictures, but spent very little time reading through any of the panels.
One adult started to read through a panel and did ask a question to the other two adults regarding what she had just read
They did discuss the beauty of the pictures and artifacts throughout walking through the exhibition. They were also taking lots of pictures.
Post-Visit Survey
03
By providing a survey after the visitor experience, we aimed to determine what takeaways left a lasting impact for them.
Survey Overview
This post-visit survey was emailed to ~650 visitors who had visited the museum between May 15th and July 16th. It was also available via QR code for about 3 weeks in the exhibition space.
Did you visit KN?
What is your age range?
40 respondents, 82.5% had visited KN.
56+ age range had the most responses (54%), second was 36-45 (27%).
Short Answer Survey Insights
Visitors responded that they…
“Interesting to learn about the animals there.”
“A region that I knew little about.”
“Facts about certain animals and other living things.”
How would you summarize the exhibition "Knowing Nature?"
Most frequent response was about how “informative” the exhibition was on a less familiar subject.
2. Moved by the Visuals & Storytelling
“Interesting visuals; great photography.”
“The interconnected relationship of the people, nature and art.”
“The beauty of the settings.”
“The storyline of the area.”
Respondents connected with the visual storytelling; powerful images communicated the beauty of the landscapes, animals, and its people.
3. Awareness of Threats Impacting Planet
“Such an important topic, especially as of late with the fires in boreal forests. Would be a great class trip after classroom study.”
“I am somewhat familiar with the logging that has gone on in Michigan. The loss of trees whether boreal or not is tragic.”
“How things are changing in relationship to climate change.”
After experiencing this exhibition, I am concerned about the health of the boreal forest.
Generally, respondents feel concerned about about the health of the boreal.
Neutral
23%
5%
Disagree
This exhibition helped me gain a better understanding of the relationship between the boreal forest and climate change.
Overall, respondents agree they gained a better understanding of the relationship.
9%
Disagree
9%
Neutral
This exhibition made me feel hopeful about our ability to address climate change.
Respondents feel less hopeful or in the middle when it comes to addressing climate change.
Neutral
32%
Disagree
32%
9%
Extremely Agree
Knowing Nature Visitor Objective
When reflecting on exhibition objectives, here’s room for growth in inspiring a sense of hope, given that visitors tended to skew more towards unhopeful or neutral.
“Shifts in attitude from despair to hope are essential in a trajectory that moves from this understanding to action.”
After experiencing "Knowing Nature," how likely are you to change things in your everyday life to improve the health of the…..
Respondents are likely to change their behaviors to impact the boreal’s health. They feel even stronger about their ability to help their local environment.
Boreal forest
Local environment
Unlikely
9%
Neutral
32%
Unlikely
9%
Neutral
9%
4. Children were disengaged
“Not engaging for kids.”
“We were unable to spend as much time in that section due to age of children with us, than the adults might have preferred.”
Recommendations
Types of Recommendations
Actions that can be taken while “Knowing Nature” is on site at the MSU Museum.
More involved suggestions to consider when this exhibition goes to the next venue.
Long-Term
Short-Term
Medium-Term
Larger changes to keep in mind when developing future exhibitions on a similar subject.
Short-Term: MSU Museum
Introduce new interactive (Boreal Balance - student-developed game)
Add captions to video
Reset seasonal puzzle interactive more frequently (daily?)
Medium-Term: Next Venues
Younger visitors need additional interpretation
Future layout may need more spacing in panel-dense areas
Video should be harder to skip past
Local connections are essential to understanding
Long-Term: Future Exhibitions
Less words will help all audiences
More concrete actions for visitors to take