Generic problem: To model how the properties of exhibition layouts affect the presentation of knowledge, visitor behavior and the effectiveness of communication.

Funded research program 2000: "Exhibition Layout and Visitor Movement in Science Museums". National Science Foundation, Informal Science Education Program.

Principal Investigators: Jean Wineman and John Peponis.

Purpose: The project will identify and measure the properties of spatial layout that affect visitors' exploration and exposure to information in science museum exhibitions. It is the nature of museum learning that it is associated with movement in space. The ways in which displays are arranged in spatial sequences, the ability to simultaneously view different objects, the grouping of objects in space, the rate of change in directions, the relative distance between one display and another, all become powerful aspects of the presentation of knowledge that are far more important in the museum than they are in any other learning environment. This study will apply new techniques for spatial analysis to provide rigorous, quantitative descriptions of spatial layout. These descriptors will then be used to understand how layout affects visitor movement patterns in exhibitions.

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Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning Phone: (734)763-1497
The University of Michigan Fax: (734)763-2322
2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

email: jwineman@umich.edu