Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield CT: Phase 2 of audience research, a community-based study of public awareness of the museum and interest in contemporary art.
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: confidential.
Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens, Boothbay ME: Analysis of visitor orientation, assessing the effectiveness of a new sign system and identifying unmet needs.
Colorado Historical Society, Denver CO: Begin an audience research process to inform exhibit planning for a new building; outline short-term and longer-term strategies.
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Gulfport MS: Formative evaluation of new ecological exhibits being installed in this interpretive center that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans LA: Formative evaluation studies for two challenging rooms of the exhibit-in-planning: “Living With Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond.”
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans LA: ‘Front end’ research for a new museum about civil rights in Louisiana.
Maryland Science Center, Baltimore MD: Summative evaluation of a supplemental kiosk for a Science On a Sphere installation.
Mokupapapa Discovery Center, Hilo HI: Implement the evaluation of visitor experience of exhibits at this NOAA site pertaining to the Papahanoumokuakea National Marine Monument (Northwestern Hawaiian island chain).
Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul MN: Summative evaluation of ‘Water: H2O =Life.’
Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond VA: Conduct a pilot study foran initiative to extend museum visits with electronic networking.
Texas State History Museum, Austin TX: Develop a research strategy for a summative evaluation of “Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America through Galveston Island.”
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg PA: Evaluate two versions of live programming developed for a Science On a Sphere installation.
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg PA: Evaluate “Surgery Live,” a program for high school classes involving live broadcast of non-emergency surgery from a nearby teaching hospital.
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield CT: Phase 1 of audience research, a systematic analysis of the summer audience
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: confidential.
Association of African American Museums: Completion of a national survey of African American cultural organizations (museums, archives, other organizations with collections), yielding an analysis of organizational needs and characteristics, and a national directory.
Bell Museum of Natural History, Minneapolis MN: Phase 3 of audience research (focus groups with program participants) to help inform the process of designing exhibits for the new museum building.
Boston Children’s Museum, Boston MA: Summative evaluation of Boston Black, a permanent exhibition about the diversity of African-heritage cultures in Boston.
The Florida Aquarium, Tampa FL: Front-end studies (focus groups, visitor surveys) for the development of exhibits about Underwater Archaeology.
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Ocean Springs MS: Front-end research for redesigning exhibits for an interpretive center that was damaged by hurricane Katrina; focus groups were conducted with local residents (including Spanish-speaking and people with disabilities), teachers, and tourists (in collaboration with the National Park Service and Amaze Design).
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield MA: Analysis of basic characteristics of summer and fall visitor audiences at this indoor-outdoor historic site.
Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe NM: Storyline testing for the new temporary exhibition: Wayang Kulit, an art form of Indonesian puppets and gamelan music.
President Lincoln’s Cottage, Washington DC: Summative evaluation of visitors’ experience with guided tours of the newly opened historic house, conducted for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul MN: Summative evaluation of Science Buzz – frequently updated exhibits about current developments in science.
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC: Completion of formative evaluation studies for What Does It Mean To Be Human, a permanent exhibition scheduled to open late in 2009.
Texas State History Museum, Austin TX: Completion of planning studies (front-end and formative) for a new exhibition, Forgotten Gateway, about immigration to Texas through Galveston in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Timmy’s Town Center, Scranton PA: Phase 2 of audience research for planning a new children’s museum, seeking public reactions to proposed exhibit concepts.
PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR: Jeff Hayward was hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Culture, Education, Science & Technology and by the Japanese Museum Management Association, in March 2008, to give keynote speeches at two symposiums and meet with directors and senior staff at several museums, talking about audience research and evaluation. The symposiums were generously sponsored by the Tokyo National Museum and the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum. A special issue of Cultivate, a quarterly professional journal produced by the Institute of Cultural Environments, was published based on the symposium at the Tokyo National Museum.
Arkell Museum, Canajoharie NY: Audience research for planning educational programs for this new art museum (formerly a gallery of the town library), using a community survey and focus groups.
Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plains MA: Audience analysis to determine who uses this large free urban arboretum, and how their patterns of use and interests could inform a master plan for interpretation and educational programs.
Balboa Arts Conservation Center, San Diego CA: An evaluation of Field Service workshops for the Western Region (staff of museums, archives, libraries, etc. involved in object /art /document conservation), assessing follow-up impacts and implementation of professional practices.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn NY: A survey of members, to assess member satisfaction and to help make decisions about member programs and benefits.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver CO: Formative study for the new Health Sciences exhibition; visitors interacted with mock-ups of numerous exhibit components and gave their opinions; in collaboration with Jeff Kennedy Associates.
The Esplanade Association, Boston MA: A ‘park user’ study of the Esplanade, a prominent 3-mile stretch of linear parkland along the Charles River, using census counts and exit interviews and behavioral mapping to determine who uses the park, what people do there, and their opinions about possible improvements, among other issues.
Exploratorium, San Francisco CA: Bay Area community survey, using telephone interviews, to assess the image of the Exploratorium among visitors and non-visitors, and to explore people’s reactions to a proposed move to a new location downtown.
Historic Hudson Valley, Tarrytown NY: Analysis of visitors to The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, in the third year of a large site-specific installation of pumpkin art with a rapidly expanding attendance; using entrance interviews, two versions of a follow-up web-linked survey, and follow-up telephone interviews with non-responders.
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans LA: Audience research to inform the development of a new Master Plan that may involve extensive changes in the subject matter and exhibitions at the five museums, using focus groups with local audiences and community interviews with locals and tourists.
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans LA: First phase of formative evaluation for an exhibition about hurricane Katrina, using Storyline Testing to assess people’s expectations, interests, and likely reactions to the sequence and content of exhibit messages.
New Mexico Museum of Nature & Science, Albuquerque, NM: Front-end research for an exhibition about the Triassic period to explore visitors’ knowledge of that era and their interests in various themes and ways of presenting information.
Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge MA: Three studies to inform strategic planning: focus groups with members, a thorough on-site analysis of visitors, and a Southern New England area phone survey to assess people’s image of this site including their awareness, interests, and factors affecting their intentions to visit.
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC: A series of formative studies for an exhibition about human origins (What Does It Mean To Be Human, scheduled to open in late 2009); visitors responded to preliminary design plans and mock-ups of the exhibits; including the sensitive issue of how to present the relationship between humans and other primates.
Powerhouse Theater, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY: Analysis of the season’s audiences to this unusual summer theatre series, which includes works-in-progress as well as large and small productions.
Timmy’s Town Center: Community research to investigate families’ interest in this proposed children’s museum, including issues about types of experiences desired and perceptions of a range of potential locations.
African Burial Ground, New York City: 'Front-end' research for exhibits in an interpretive center (multi-site intercept interviews in New York City, and focus groups); collaborating with Amaze Design for the National Park Service
Bell Museum of Natural History, Minneapolis MN: Community research to inform the concept planning for an expanded and relocated museum, exploring the public's perceptions of art, nature and science; collaborating with Andrew Merriell & Associates, exhibit designer
Boston Children's Museum: Boston Black Inside Out: Program evaluation of visitor participation in multicultural programming and its impact on black visitors' perceptions of the Museum, also including evaluation of diversity training workshops for Museum staff (National Endowment for the Humanities grant).
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn NY: Four-season audience analysis, describing visitor characteristics and investigating their perceptions and interests; analysis of audience segments.
Children's Museum of Southeast Connecticut, Niantic CT: Market analysis to explore the public's awareness and use of the museum as well as perceptions of a possible change in location (subcontract to Anne Butterfield Company)
Connecticut Science Center, Hartford CT: Audience research for exhibit planning and consulting about visitor experience issues on selected galleries for this new museum (under construction); collaborating with Jeff Kennedy Associates and Thinc Design
The Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta: Consulting about audience research and evaluation: identifying needs, describing and recommending a multi-departmental process
Heritage Museum & Gardens, Sandwich MA: Consulting related to master planning: review existing audience research reports, facilitate a staff workshop, recommend key issues and steps
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield MA: Visitor orientation study to inform architectural programming and graphic design for improvements to the central campus.
Lincoln Cottage, Washington DC: Storyline testing to analyze visitors' likely reactions to the proposed tour of President Lincoln's summer residence, conducted for the National Trust for Historic Preservation (National Endowment for the Humanities grant)
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans: 'Front-end' research for an exhibition about Hurricane Katrina and its impacts on New Orleans, using intercept interviews in three states and focus groups of local residents
Maryland Science Center, Baltimore MD: Begin formative evaluation for Science on a Sphere, investigating the use and value of add-on computer kiosks; also, outline a process of collaboration with a similar project with the Science Museum of Minnesota.
Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey CA: Summative evaluation of Tide Pool Olympics, a multimedia multi-player game focusing on conservation messages (responsible tidepooling) for a school-age audience
Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe NM: Dream On: Beds from Asia to Europe, Summative evaluation of this temporary exhibition - a first about beds and cultural variation (sleeping high, sleeping low, sleeping on the move).
Mystic Seaport, Mystic CT: Consulting on master planning, identifying and refining issues about visitor experience that could be pursued with audience research; for Haley Sharpe Design.
New York Hall of Science, Queens NY: Summative evaluation of Connections, an exhibition about networks, links and connections in any form (funding from the National Science Foundation).
Northeastern University, Boston MA: Program evaluation of pilot family programs for the PASTEL project - using science content at arts venues (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Symphony, collaborating with the Museum of Science and the Physics Department at Northeastern University); National Science Foundation planning grant.
Owens Thomas House, Savannah GA: 'Front end' visitor research for the Reinterpretation Project, which will reshape the content of the tour of this house to include interpreting the African slave quarters and a perspective that emphasizes whites and blacks together in the household (National Endowment for the Humanities planning grant).
Whitaker Center for the Arts & Sciences, Harrisburg PA: Audience research for master planning, addressing issues about the composition of the audience, use/interest in temporary exhibitions, defined space and experiences for preschool children, and logistical issues, with Roto Studio, master planners
Conferences: AAM, APGA, ASTC, Arts Reach: Sessions and presentations by Jeff Hayward included:
"Designers, Creativity and Evaluation" at American Association of Museums /Boston (co-chairs: Jeff Hayward and Veronica Jackson, Jackson Design Group),
"Defining Your Public Image, to Frame the Challenges in Connecting Audience Development with Your Mission and Operation" at American Association of Museums /Boston;
"The Uses and Benefits of Audience Research" at American Public Gardens Association /San Francisco;
"Did the World Around Us achieve its Big Ideas?" at Association of Science and Technology Centers /Louisville KY;
"Using Evaluation to Help Guide Environmental Messages in a Science Exhibition," at Association of Science and Technology Centers /Louisville KY;
"Audience Research Extends Your Mission and Informs Your Work on Identity," luncheon speaker at Arts Reach /New York City;
"Are You Ready for Audience Research?" at Arts Reach: National Arts Marketing Conference /New York City
