Conference Proceedings Detail Page
Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum
written by
Meghan Macias, Krista Lucas, Jasmine Nation, Erik Arevalo, Jasmine Marckwordt, and Danielle B. Harlow
Mixed-methods research focused on identifying guest behavior was conducted at four focal exhibits at MOXI, the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation in southern California. Teams researching two exhibits, Turn Tables and Keva Planks, were additionally interested in assessing whether modifications or manipulations to the physical exhibit impacted guest stay time. The team examining Turn Tables, a set of rotating tables, found that adding a graphic to the exhibit had a significant impact on engagement with increasing complexity (p < .05). Researchers investigating Keva Planks, which are small wooden planks guests can use to make structures, assessed how the presence of a museum floor facilitator or existing structures at the exhibit influenced stay time and engagement, and found a statistically significant difference in mean stay time in the case of both facilitator and structure present compared with only a structure present (p < .05). The final two studies used mainly qualitative observations to identify guest behaviors when interacting with exhibits. The team studying Magnetic Islands, a small magnetic structure guests can attach washers to, documented three engagement types: basic playing, building structures, and exploring magnetism. Findings indicate that when children engaged with peers rather than visiting the exhibit alone, they exhibited more complex engagement types. The final study focused specifically on the behaviors of young children to characterize the ways they chose to engage with the Light Patterns exhibit, a large color peg board covering an entire will. Findings suggest children exhibited many different behaviors at Light Patterns that demonstrated evidence of engagement with STEM practices. This research contributes to topics about Research Practitioner Partnership (RPP) models, mixed-methods research, museum facilitation, learning affordances in museum spaces, and the impact of exhibit design on the museum guest experience.
Physics Education Research Conference 2019
Part of the PER Conference series Provo, UT: July 24-25, 2019 Pages 342-347
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![]() <a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15240">Macias, M, K. Lucas, J. Nation, E. Arevalo, J. Marckwordt, and D. Harlow. "Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, July 24-25, 2019.</a>
![]() M. Macias, K. Lucas, J. Nation, E. Arevalo, J. Marckwordt, and D. Harlow, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, 2019, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155).
![]() M. Macias, K. Lucas, J. Nation, E. Arevalo, J. Marckwordt, and D. Harlow, Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, 2019, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155>.
![]() Macias, M., Lucas, K., Nation, J., Arevalo, E., Marckwordt, J., & Harlow, D. (2019, July 24-25). Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155
![]() Macias, M, K. Lucas, J. Nation, E. Arevalo, J. Marckwordt, and D. Harlow. "Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, July 24-25, 2019. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155 (accessed 9 February 2025).
![]() Macias, Meghan, Krista Lucas, Jasmine Nation, Erik Arevalo, Jasmine Marckwordt, and Danielle Harlow. "Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum." Physics Education Research Conference 2019. Provo, UT: 2019. 342-347 of PER Conference. 9 Feb. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Meghan Macias and Krista Lucas and Jasmine Nation and Erik Arevalo and Jasmine Marckwordt and Danielle Harlow",
Title = {Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2019},
Pages = {342-347},
Address = {Provo, UT},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 24-25},
Year = {2019}
}
![]() %A Meghan Macias %A Krista Lucas %A Jasmine Nation %A Erik Arevalo %A Jasmine Marckwordt %A Danielle Harlow %T Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum %S PER Conference %D July 24-25 2019 %P 342-347 %C Provo, UT %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2019 %O July 24-25 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Macias, Meghan %A Lucas, Krista %A Nation, Jasmine %A Arevalo, Erik %A Marckwordt, Jasmine %A Harlow, Danielle %D July 24-25 2019 %T Magnetism, light, structures, and rotational motion: Mixed-methods study of visitors engaging with four exhibits at a science museum %B Physics Education Research Conference 2019 %C Provo, UT %P 342-347 %S PER Conference %8 July 24-25 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15240&DocID=5155 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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