Research

In addition to conducting evaluations of all types, ILI engages with its partners on research to further the understanding of free-choice learning and its role in a learning society. Typically this involves collaborating with one or more organizations to design and implement a research study that builds on and extends an existing body of knowledge.

As a non-profit organization, we are committed to participating in research that benefits the larger learning community. Disseminating our findings and putting research into practice is the foundation of our work. The experience and knowledge we gain through research is often applied to other projects, including evaluation and strategic planning. As such, the ILI staff is experienced in conducting both research and evaluation projects.

Examples of ILI research projects include:

New in 2007: Family Learning in Interactive Galleries - Institute for Museum and Library Services (conducted in partnership with the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY). This IMLS-funded research study focuses on understanding how family galleries in art museums facilitate intergenerational learning.
New in 2007: Portal to the Public - Pacific Science Center, Seattle, WA; Explora, Albuquerque, NM; North Museum of Natural History & Science, Lancaster, PA. This NSF-funded research study aims to develop and assess a model for cooperation between research scientists and museums to bring current science to the public.
Why Zoos and Aquariums Matter - Association of Zoos and Aquariums (conducted in partnership with 12 sites across the US). To find out if zoos and aquariums successfully promote conservation, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) formed strategic partnerships and undertook a three-year, nationwide study of the impacts of a visit to a zoo or aquarium. With the support from the National Science Foundation, the AZA is working with ILI and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to use the study results to better understand and predict our member institutions' contributions to public understanding of animals and conservation.
Outdoor Living History Interpretation - Institute for Museum and Library Services (conducted in partnership with Conner Prairie, Fishers, IN; Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA) This IMLS-funded research study was designed to understand visitor motivations, outcomes, the relationship of outcomes to interpretive format, the relationship of outcomes to motivations, and the long-term outcomes of visitor experiences at outdoor living history museums.
Thinking Through Art - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA. This Department of Education sponsored three-year study of the museum's "School Partnership Program" focused on understanding how student creative and critical thinking skills are developed in the unique environment of an art museum. The findings of this study provide guidance to museum education professionals as they seek to provide high quality experiences that are particularly unique to art museums, to K-8 educators and administrators as to how to consider the integration of arts in the general curriculum, and to the field in their thinking about a national museum education research agenda.
Parent Partners in School Science - The Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, PA. The NSF-funded research study was designed to demonstrate how a science center can facilitate K-4 children's science learning in and out of school, working with parents and teachers from 3 schools in a large urban school district. Results illustrate the ways in which museums can play a fundamental role in facilitating parent involvement in children's education.
Astronomy from the Ground Up - Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA (in partnership with National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), funded by NSF). This research study explores the use of online and face-to-face professional development workshops to provide informal science educators at science centers, nature centers, and museums with new and innovative ways to communicate astronomy content to their visitors.
Science Now; Science Everywhere - Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, NJ. This NSF-funded research study explores how mobile phones can be used by museum visitors to build increased connections to the content and extend their learning beyond the walls of the institution. ILI is investigating how visitors downloading customized content and applications from the science center's exhibition onto their mobile phones might increase the visitor experience.