Evaluation and Learning Research
Kirsten Ellenbogen - Director of Evaluation and Research in Learning
Kirsten has been in the museum game since 1987, working as a Demonstrator, Hall Interpreter, Exhibit Developer, Museum Consultant, and Jill-of-all-trades for science museums in Detroit and Chicago. She was the first Project Director at King's College (London) Center for Informal Learning & Schools, and later worked as a Senior Associate at the Institute for Learning Innovation.
Since coming to the Science Museum of Minnesota, Kirsten had led evaluation and learning research across the museum for exhibits and education, as well as conducting marketing-related and institutional-impact studies. She serves as PI for the Family Learning Initiative and co-PI for Brighter Futures: Public Deliberation about the Science of Early Childhood Development. Beginning in the summer of 2009 Kirsten will serve as the President of the Visitor Studies Association.
Kirsten focuses her research on exhibits designed to encourage science talk; adapting visualization technology to engage the public in exploring scientific data; and understanding the role of museums in family life. Kirsten holds a PhD in Science Education from Vanderbilt University and a BA from the University of Chicago.
Kirsten's favorite non-Science Museum exhibit is Etiquette of the Undercaste at the Experimental Gallery of the Smithsonian, 1992. She describes it as "an unforgettable experience. Arguably, this was more a theater piece than an exhibition, but we definitely need more exhibition laboratories that support experiments like this."
Sarah Cohn - Evaluation and Research Coordinator
Sarah works on most of our in-house evaluation projects. From Water: H2O = Life and the Big Back Yard to the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) and Science Buzz, she has been involved in many studies undertaken by exhibit and program projects to improve their effectiveness. Before coming to the Science Museum of Minnesota she spent 10 years in customer service in retail, recreation, sports and public relations.
Sarah holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Bowdoin College, and is currently working toward a Master's in Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies and a minor in Evaluation at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Sarah lists her favorite museum (besides the Science Museum of Minnesota) as the Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri. "By traversing the natural landscape, you see, and sometimes get to climb, various art pieces located throughout the park. I started visiting this park as a small child. Trying to climb a four-foot diameter red pipe and sitting in the eye of a smiling face made out of grass were my two favorite aspects of the park. If the City Museum is not quite enough of a reason to take a trip to St. Louis, you can go for Laumeier as well."
Amy Grack Nelson - Evaluation and Research Associate
Before joining the Science Museum, Amy worked in informal education as an interpretive naturalist for North Dakota State Parks and at the Dakota Science Center, developing content for an on-line natural science learning environment.
Here at the Science Museum of Minnesota, Amy has carried out a range of front-end, formative and summative evaluations on the museum's exhibits and programs. These include the exhibits Science on a Sphere, the Big Back Yard, and Disease Detectives. Program she has evaluated include MathPacks, IDEA Cooperative, Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) programs and regional workshops, and the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center's (KAYSC) Park Crew program. She's also doing youth participatory evaluation and evaluation capacity-building with the youth and staff in the KAYSC.
Amy holds an MS in Environmental Education, an MA in Evaluation Studies, and a BS in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, all from the University of Minnesota. Her graduate work focused on evaluating environmental education materials and programs for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' MinnAqua program. As a graduate student she also carried out summative evaluations of two exhibits at the Bell Museum of Natural History.
Asked to name her favorite exhibit, Amy cites the Tornado Object Theater at the Minnesota History Center. "[It] does an amazing job of recreating what it would be like to be in a tornado. It is also great to talk to relatives about the exhibit and hear them remember what they heard about that particular tornado."
Steven Guberman - Senior Evaluation and Research Associate
Steve holds a BA in Human Behavior and Institutions from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in Psychology (major in Developmental Psychology) from UCLA. Before coming to the Science Museum, Steve spent 16 years as a professor and chair of the Educational Psychology program, School of Education, University of Colorado at Boulder. During that time he conducted evaluations for several museums in the Denver area, and served on the Board of Directors of the Collage Children's Museum, Boulder.
At the Science Museum, Steve works primarily with the Professional Development Department to evaluate their offerings related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for teachers and district coordinators. Current projects include Nexus (for district STEM coordinators) and MUSE in Minnesota (Materials and Understanding for STEM Education, a statewide initiative).
Steve rates the legendary Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA as his favorite museum. "It's easy to lose track of time exploring the dark, dusty, and somewhat cluttered storefront museum," he says. "I'm never quite sure if the museum serves the traditional functions of collecting and preserving artifacts for the sake of science and public education, or if it is an ironic commentary on those functions. Perhaps it is both."
Molly Phipps - Senior Evaluation and Research Associate
Molly recently came on board with the Science Museum to work on the Future Earth initiative. Before that she worked as exhibit evaluator for IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions of Seismology) computer-based exhibits; program evaluator for the Oregon Coast Aquarium volunteer training program; researcher and evaluator at the Hatfield Marine Science Center; external evaluator for Northwest Regional Educational Labs; and climate change researcher Brown University and Oregon State University.
Molly holds a ScB degree in Geology-Biology from Brown University, and a PhD in Free-Choice Learning (Science Education) with a minor in Oceanography from Oregon State University.
Molly is among the many Science Museum staff singing the praises of The City Museum. "The City Museum in St Louis is my favorite museum because it is a fun and unique take on what a museum is, and what sorts of things belong in a museum."