Time-based behaviors at an interactive science museum: Exploring the differences between weekday/weekend and family/nonfamily visitors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if time-based learning-associated visitor behaviors at interactive science museums differ across weekend/weekday groups and family/nonfamily groups. Forty-seven visitors were tracked through two interactive, thematic exhibitions at the Reuben Fleet Science Center. Statistical analysis of five separate dependent measures showed that: (a) regardless of the day of the visit, families spent more time than nonfamilies in individual exhibitions and in the science museum as a whole; (b) there was a separation of weekday visitors into two distinct groups: family visitors who spent, on average, almost 2 minutes per exhibit, and nonfamily visitors who spent, on average, less than 1 minute per exhibit; and (c) weekend family and nonfamily visitors did not differ in their average time spent per exhibit. These results are explained by a difference in visitor agendas and the crowded nature of weekend visits. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 81:689 - 701, 1997.