During the run of the study, 62 people completed our interviews and 59 completed surveys. I am happy to report, that generally speaking, the exhibition works. That is, most of you (85%!) recognized the main idea. This tells me that our didactics—our labels and wall text—are clearly communicating what we hope you will take away from the exhibition. The 85% includes both survey takers, who were able to select from multiple choices, and interviewees, who had to put the main idea in their own words. Survey participants could only select one choice from the options, but those interviewed were free to articulate the main idea in any way they wanted. What I find interesting is that most people had more than one answer, which makes me think that most visitors are clearly finding the meaning we are presenting, but also coming up with their own meaning—which is great! Our presentation is just one interpretation and should be treated as such. The more visitors that can find their own meaning, the better.

In addition to wondering if you recognize the main idea, we also wanted to know how you were using the exhibition. Our hope is that it serves as a kind of template to your experience. On the most basic level, we hope it gets you thinking about art in new ways.  On a slightly more complication level, we hope that it encourages you to find and explore cross-cultural and cross-collection connections throughout the other galleries.  In this arena, we could do a little better. Only 45% of participants (combined survey and interview) used the exhibition in this way and for most of them it was more “thinking about art in new ways” than “find and explore connections”.  Still, I am encouraged by the enthusiastic responses of some visitors who really picked up on this idea and ran with it. After all, it’s a suggestion not a mandate.

On a large scale, our next steps include identifying ways we can underscore the template function of Connecting Cultures by providing additional opportunities throughout the galleries to make connections (for those that want it). Now we are armed with input from you as we update some of our long-term, collections-based installations.

On a small scale, I would like to spend more time combing through the rest of the data. Other questions asked included what visitors want to know about works on display, how long they spend (or really think they spend) looking at a work of art, and more. Though the study answered some immediate questions about Connecting Cultures, I have a feeling it will spark even more questions once I can really sink my teeth into all the information available.

A big thank you everyone who participated—your time and effort in letting us survey your experiences helps us improve the visit for everyone.

Assumption Number 1:  Placing the survey table near the exit would encourage visitors to stop on their way out.

By the time visitors are heading to the exit, they have mentally checked out of the museum. Many won’t even make eye contact with you (maybe this is a New York thing?), so trying to get their attention as they are headed out the door does not work. I think many visitors see a table at the exit and assume we are trying to sell them something.

Adjustment: We moved the table from the exit area of the lobby to the entry area near the gift shop. This has actually made a big difference, especially to the staff manning the table who now have a line of sight to the admissions desk. The table feels like it is part of the museum experience and not an afterthought.

The survey table is now located closer to the exhibition entrance and along the (well-traveled) path to the restrooms, providing better visibility.

Assumption Number 2: A sign inviting people to participate in the survey will draw people to the table.

Survey table sign inviting participation.

The sign is simply not enough. Some people read it, some people don’t. Some read it and then ask what the table is for. Some people simply assume it is not for them.

Adjustment: While the interview was always by personal invitation, the survey was not. Sure, we might smile and say hello, but we would still sit behind the table waiting for the visitors to come to us. By getting up from the table and actively telling people about the exhibition and inviting them to participate in the survey, there is no question in the visitor’s mind that they are welcome to participate. You simply can’t beat personal interaction.

Assumption Number 3:  Visitors would be more willing to participate in the computer survey than the interview.

This one is perhaps the most surprising to me. I truly thought visitors would be less likely to spend time on an interview-based survey than they would on a computer-based survey. Somehow I thought the interview would be more daunting, but not for our visitors. We reached our target number of completed interviews in two weeks! At my guess, more than half the people asked to participate did. The same enthusiasm is simply not there for the computer-based survey.  Some visitors will approach the survey table simply to tell us what they thought, but when invited to take the survey on the laptop, they decline. Simply put, they’d rather talk than type.

Adjustment: I reorganized the schedule to decrease the number of interview days and increase the number of survey days. Even with almost exclusively doing the survey for several weeks, we still weren’t getting the number of responses, partially due to miss-assumptions 1 and 2. Another adjustment was to increase awareness of the survey by having admissions staff tell people about it when they purchase a ticket and by adding a sign to the entrance of the exhibition. These are our most recent adjustments. My fingers are crossed that they work.

A sign at the entrance to the exhibition lets visitors know we are running a survey and want their input.

Although we are only half way through our visitor study, I have already learned several lessons, the most important of which is that it pays to be flexible. I can’t wait to see what the actual responses teach me.

In our visitor survey, we have two main objectives: to learn if you recognize and understand the main idea of the exhibition, and to determine how you are using the exhibition.

Visitor studies are nothing new here and we’ve been doing them regularly for several years; they help us understand who visits us and why. Every three years we complete a general visitor survey in order to keep track of trends in our visitorship. We have also been known to do exhibition-specific studies, and this is one such study.

We have two main objectives with this study: to learn if you recognize and understand the main idea of the exhibition, and to determine how you are using the exhibition. Is the main idea clear? Are the WikiLink QR codes noticeable? Are people engaging with the staff person stationed in the exhibition? How is this introduction to the museum collection changing (or not) the visitor experience? We want to know what works and what doesn’t so that we can improve upon our current efforts.

Sarah Sonner, Associate Manager of Interpretive Materials, interviews a visitor for the Connecting Cultures survey.

The study has two parts: a survey administered via laptop and an interview with a Museum representative. The survey and interview will not happen simultaneously, but alternate weekdays and weekends, so one portion is going on every day the Museum is open during the duration of the study. The survey will be available at a desk in the lobby to anyone who wishes to provide feedback on the exhibition. Questions will focus on the first objective: to determine if you recognize and understand the main idea of the exhibition. The interview portion of the study will focus on the second objective: to determine how you are using the exhibition. The interview will consist of two parts: an entrance interview and an exit interview. For the interview portion, a respondent is only eligible to participate if they’ve not yet seen Connecting Cultures so that we might get a clearer “before” and “after” picture of a visitor’s experience.

So if you are approached by a nosy staff person the next time you step through our doors, I encourage you to share your thoughts so that we might satisfy our inquiring minds.