Comparing visitor motivation and demographics between an insect festival and science festivals

Abstract

Abstract Both science festivals and insect festivals have increased in frequency in the last few decades. In order to compare insect festivals with science festivals, we modified a validated science festival visitor survey (EvalFest) for Purdue’s Bug Bowl, a long-running insect festival. Benchmarking against EvalFest and Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experience Studies (COVES) results, we found that Bug Bowl audiences were similar in having high levels of education, a high interest in science, and frequently visiting science venues. In fact, 23% of Bug Bowl survey takers indicated that they were actual scientists themselves. In contrast to EvalFest results, Bug Bowl had a higher rate of returning visitors than new visitors. Bug Bowl visitor motivations were primarily to have fun and bring their children for a learning experience, and they rated their experiences very positively. Ninety-one percent of Bug Bowl attendees surveyed lived in the state of Indiana. We discuss gaps in expected visitor demographics and possible applications for a shared common evaluation within a working group of insect festivals.