Exploration of a Method To Assess Children’s Understandings of a Phenomenon after Viewing a Demonstration Show

Chemical demonstration shows are a popular form of informal science education (ISE), employed by schools, museums, and other institutions in order to improve the public’s understanding of science. Just as teachers employ formative and summative assessments in the science classroom to evaluate the impacts of their efforts, it is important to assess learning outcomes in ISE settings. However, assessment in ISE, which necessarily takes place outside of a classroom, presents unique challenges. Designing assessment forces the researcher to find a balance between a rigorous assessment that will yield insightful results while avoiding any measures that might violate the free-choice, leisure atmosphere of ISE activities and risk alienation of participants. This research explored a potential method for evaluating the effects of a demonstration show on audience understanding of a chemical concept. Two formats for presenting demonstration shows, the traditional format and the Fusion Science Theater format, were compared via brief interviews with child audience members about their understanding of a molecular-level explanation for bouncing.