Refreshing a Popular Early Childhood Exhibition to Increase Science-Based Play and Exploration at the Science Center of Iowa

Experience Design Research
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: Science Center of Iowa | Location: Des Moines, IA

 
 

We conducted a front-end evaluation to help the Science Center of Iowa refresh Small Discoveries, a well-loved early childhood exhibition that celebrates play, exploration, and ties to local Iowan themes.

OVERVIEW

In 2024, we partnered with the Science Center of Iowa (SCI) to evaluate Small Discoveries, a popular and well-loved early childhood exhibition for children ages 0-8 years (with a particular focus on ages 3-5).

While SCI staff understood that visitors enjoyed the space, they also felt it was time for a refresh and were looking for data to help them make decisions about which exhibits within Small Discoveries could be updated, removed, or expanded.

APPROACH

We designed an evaluation to help us understand what visitors onsite enjoyed about Small Discoveries, as well as get some reactions to new ideas SCI staff are considering. To those ends we collected data onsite and virtually, including:

  • Over 60 interviews with adult visitors on site in Small Discoveries, where we focused on what they liked most in the space and why

  • Virtual focus group and interviews with adult visitors, where we probed reactions to inspiration shots from other museums that represent directions SCI is considering for Small Discoveries

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

We found that visitors to Small Discoveries appreciate it because it provides safe, engaging, intuitive, and multi-level activities for children to learn and play. They also love that it provides some conveniences like a bathroom and nursing area. While participants enjoyed the activities in Small Discoveries, they also indicated that some could be improved with additional guidance on ways to engage with their kids, increased signage, more explicit ties to science themes, and reorganization within the space.

SCI plans to implement these findings as they update the exhibition, remembering everything visitors love about Small Discoveries, while keeping it fresh for new and repeat visitors alike.

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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