Introduction

DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum recently undertook a three-year research project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in partnership with the Institute of Learning Innovation (ILI) in Maryland, to study two long-standing, museum-designed interactive spaces: the Process Gallery and the Art ExperienCenter. This project was implemented because of the immense popularity of the Process Gallery with our visitors and the relative unpopularity of the outdated Art ExperienCenter, which institutionally, all staff agreed required a makeover. We wanted to learn what in particular was successful about the Process Gallery and use this knowledge to inform the re-conceptualization of the Art ExperienCenter. Quite early on in our research, however, we learned that visitorship in the Art ExperienCenter was too poor to collect meaningful data, so the Process Gallery became the primary focus of visitor research. The Art ExperienCenter has since been completely rebuilt as an educational gallery that is both a site-specific art installation and, simultaneously, a didactic space. At the end of this document you can read about the Art ExperienCenter's transformation and how the research and findings of the Process Gallery shaped the newly revamped space.

More importantly, in the process of completing the research on the Process Gallery, it was discovered that our visitors found this space more relevant and successful than we originally had presumed. We were inspired by this finding to write this how-to guide so that other museum professionals can benefit from the extensive data collection and research we have completed. The Process Gallery provides an effective and robustly adaptable model for engaging visitors of all ages, and can be implemented in a highly cost-effective manner.

To download the complete IMLS document, click here