Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor...
-
Upload
emory-sullivan -
Category
Documents
-
view
220 -
download
0
Transcript of Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor...
![Page 1: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience
John H. FalkSea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor
Oregon State University
![Page 2: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Key Questions for Today• Why do people visit museums?
• What do visitors do inside the museum and why?
• What meanings do visitors take away from their museum visit?
• If we knew the answers to these questions, how could we use them to improve museum practice?
![Page 3: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Some Important Definitions• Museum – any of a number of free-choice
learning settings such as art, history and natural history museums, zoos, aquariums, science centers, natural area parks, botanical gardens, arboretums, etc.
• Identity – both internal and external – how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. – We don’t have just one identity but multiple
identities; situated within the realities of physical and socio-cultural world.
– We have both “I” identities and “i” identities.
![Page 4: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Most efforts to describe and understand museums and their visitors have begun and ended inside the “four walls” of the museum.
![Page 5: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Most efforts to describe and understand museums and their visitors have focused on PERMANENT qualities of either the: MUSEUM – content or style of exhibits VISITOR – age, race/ethnicity, visit frequency or social arrangement.
![Page 6: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
The museum visitor experience is not something tangible and immutable but rather an ephemeral,
constructed relationship that uniquely occurs each time a person visits a museum.
Museum visitor experience extends beyond the museum’s spatial and temporal boundaries.
BEFORE VISIT AFTER VISIT
![Page 7: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Big Break-Through Was Realizing Why Visitors REALLY Come to Museums
• Visitors come in order to fulfill specific, personal identity-related needs.
• Identity-related needs are made “visible” through descriptions of visit motivations/expectations.
![Page 8: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Identity-Related Visit Motivations
An individual’s visit motivations represent a contextually-specific construct, intimately bound to desires for personal satisfaction.
• Identity-related motivations are based upon the ways the public (currently) perceive the attributes and value of museums.
![Page 9: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
What Happens at the MuseumAs we’ve learned over many years, the museum visit is shaped by the visitor’s Personal, Socio-Cultural and Physical Contexts.
![Page 10: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
A visitor’s identity-related visit motivation(s) creates a basic
trajectory for the visit.
WHY someone comes to the museum shapes WHAT he/she finds interesting & important.
![Page 11: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Long-Term Impact of Experience
• Why a person comes to the museum not only shapes what s/he does in the museum but also his/ her long-term memories and the meanings created about the experience.
So Why Do People Come to Museums?
![Page 12: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Explorer
Motivated by Personal CuriosityMotivated by Personal Curiosity
I came here primarily because it interested me and I thought I’d
like it..
![Page 13: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Facilitator
Motivated by Other People
I came here primarily because others would
like it or wanted to come.
![Page 14: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Experience Seeker
Motivated by Desire to See & Experience Place
I came here because it was an attraction or
thing to do in this community; its
reputation.
![Page 15: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Professional/Hobbyist
Motivated by Specific Knowledge-Related GoalsMotivated by Specific Knowledge-Related Goals
I came here primarily because it relates to my work or is
something I actively pursue as a hobby.
![Page 16: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Recharger
Motivated by Contemplative or
Restorative Experience
I came here primarily because it will help
me feel refreshed or focused or
appreciative
![Page 17: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
What My Research Shows:
• The majority of visitors to all kinds of museums can be successfully categorized as visiting for one, or some combination, of these five identity-related reasons.
Individuals with similar motivations have qualitatively similar visit experiences and long-term patterns of long-term meaning making.
![Page 18: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
One Example: The California Science Center, L.A.
Motivations Percent Facilitators 41% Explorers 34% Professional/Hobbyist 7% Recharger 6% Experience Seeker 3% Other 10%
![Page 19: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Long-Term Learning by Identity
![Page 20: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Implications for Practice
Identity-related motivations do not answer all aspects of:
* Why visitors come? * What they do in museum?
* What they take away?
However, a wide range of museum functions can benefit by using this perspective, e.g.:
Education & Exhibt Design
Marketing & Visitor Services
![Page 21: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Education & Exhibit Design:
• By knowing visitor’s entering identity-related visit motivations we can better customize the museum visit experience and provide each visitor what s/he really wants.
• Since the same visitors can come for different reasons on different days, it’s not about creating different exhibits & programs, it’s about creating different visitor experiences.
![Page 22: Re-Thinking the Museum Visitor Experience John H. Falk Sea Grant Free-Choice Learning Professor Oregon State University.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062314/56649d9c5503460f94a84ce7/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Marketing & Visitor Services:
Visitors’ identity-related motivations provide direct clues as to how the public currently perceives the benefits of our museum and why they showed up at our door this particular day.
Visitors’ identity-related motivations help us understand why visitors ARE CURRENTLY coming to our museums. They also tells us why people DO NOT CURRENTLY visit.