Visitor interactions with 3-D visualizations on a spherical display at a science museum

A study conducted at the Maryland Science Center (in Baltimore, Maryland) and at Hatfield Marine Science Center (in Newport, Oregon) focusing on visitors' interactions with 3-D visualizations on a spherical display (specifically the Science on the Spherecopy in Baltimore and Magic Planetcopy at Hatfield) reveals the following preliminary points: 1. There is a distinct, repeatable pattern of exhibit exploration displayed by the participants. Visitors arrive at the exhibit and immediately begin to quickly explore the entire surroundings, touching the display monitors, circling the sphere. If there is a docent present, visitors tend to remain, if not, they tend to leave soon after initial exploration. When images on the sphere changed and the visitor was still in eye sight of the sphere, they returned to look at the new image. 2. Exhibit control by the visitors both constrains and supports participant hold time at the exhibit. 3. The presence of a docent appears to ameliorate the exhibit holding time and overall experience for the participants. This poster reports on the above three preliminary points based on two types of data collected; observational data and action data (researcher as participant observer, open and closed ended interview data, and written responses from participants). This research serves to examine museum visitors interactions with 3-D visualizations on spherical displays to gain information on the learning experiences that are occurring in this free-choice environment. The academic topic area used with both spherical display systems is focused on the oceans and the oceanic data available for both display systems. Significance and general interest: In our society today we are bombarded with visualizations on a daily basis. These visualizations have made their way into educational settings, specifically informal educational settings. It is important that the educational community has an understanding of how these visualizations support or hinder the learning process. For this pilot study, both observation and action research were conducted with visitors from around the United Stated to see how they interacted with the Science on the Sphere (SOS) and the Magic Planet, both National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsored exhibits. These exhibits show scientific data as images and various animations in a 3-D spherical display. The SOS exhibit can be programmed to run one of two films (one form NOAA and one form NASA), have one single image on the sphere, or have a docent running the images manually with a pre-programmed play list of images accompanied by docent narration. The Magic Planet also comes with pre-selected images and data sets that are programmed into the system. Because it includes an interactive kiosk that allows for some choice over content, this system allows for greater visitor control. In our world today we are inundated with visualizations that are meant to captivate us, sell us something, or teach us something. These exhibits are meant for educational outreach purposes. My research hopes to help answer some of the following questions: What do educators really know about the positive effects of these visualizations' Even though these visualizations are very impressive to look at, do they loose visitors' attention due to a lack of full control? What level of science knowledge is appropriate for the information used on the sphere? How should visualizations produced by and for scientists be adapted for public audiences? Both of these exhibits combine the opportunity to study visitors' interactions with the visualizations lending to the perfect research tool for further understanding of these questions. For this study the participants varied from summer day camp groups visiting the science center, to families, individuals, teacher training groups, and middle school children participating in the Junior National Youth Leadership Council (JrNYLC) overnight program.