Summative Evaluation of the Deep Time Exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Experience Design Research
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: National Museum of Natural History | Location: Washington, DC

 
 

We measured the impact and effectiveness of the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils: Deep Time exhibition, designed to connect visitors to the big idea that Earth’s distant past is connected to the present and shapes our future.

OVERVIEW

In 2020, we partnered with the National Museum of Natural History to conduct a summative evaluation of the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils: Deep Time, a 31,000 square foot exhibition that explores how Earth’s distant past shapes our future.

Our evaluation explored how visitors process complex scientific topics, such as climate change, mass extinctions, the evolution of life on Earth, and humans’ role in positively impacting Earth’s future.

APPROACH

We designed a large-scale evaluation study with four distinct but interrelated parts:

  • A timing and tracking study that explored visitors’ engagement through dwell time and behaviors

  • A main messages study that assessed interest in and comprehension of the main exhibit themes

  • An Age of Humans study that explored visitors perceptions and experiences with climate change

  • A longitudinal study that assessed which messages and experiences resonated with visitors

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

We found that the backward journey through time that NMNH employed as an interpretive strategy worked to communicate the overall big ideas of the exhibition despite the short duration of most visits.  The messages visitors took from their visit tended to be broad and impressionistic rather than specific and detailed, as well as dependent on which parts of the exhibition they visited and their own pre-existing knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about extinction, evolution, and climate change.

While the study showed few changes in visitors’ understanding of the nature of scientific work, visitors emerged with a clearer understanding that mass extinctions are transformative events that affect the evolution of life. And, while messages around humans’ role in climate change were not top of mind, visitors entered Deep Time in agreement that humans and nature are interconnected and the exhibition reaffirmed this idea for them.   

Overall, visitors enjoyed the experience of Deep Time and were highly engaged by the fossils and exhibits featuring scientists. One distinct aspect of the exhibition is FossiLab where visitors can observe scientists at work preparing fossils. Findings show that visitors were highly engaged with FossiLab with many stopping and conversing with each other when FossiLab was open. And, weeks after their visit, visitors cited the experience of seeing scientists at work as one of their most memorable experiences.

Cathy Sigmond

Cathy brings many years of experience in education and experience design to her role as Head of Strategy at Kera Collective. 

Having previously worked in a variety of educational settings, Cathy is driven by her constant fascination and delight at how people make discoveries about the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Cathy loves helping to shape experiences that spark curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives. She particularly enjoys the rapid, iterative nature of design-based research and the deep insights that come from qualitative research, especially on projects exploring interactions with the digital and built environments. 

Cathy shares her passion for experience design research widely and regularly guest lectures for graduate programs, including the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Exhibition and Experience Design Program and the Pratt Institute’s School of Information. Cathy served as the co-chair of the Museum Computer Network’s Human-Centered Design special interest group from 2018-2021.

Outside of work, you can usually find Cathy playing soccer, thrifting, or making her way through her large cookbook collection. 

Cathy’s favorite museum experiences are immersive; she will always vividly remember walking through the giant heart at the Franklin Institute, being surrounded by birds at the Peabody Essex Museum, and hearing centuries-old instruments come to life at the Museum of Musical Instruments. 

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