Case studies
How online content could fuel a new generation of science educators.
Exploratorium, San Francisco.
A public learning laboratory exploring the world through science, art, and human perception.
Services: Audience research, content strategy
The ask.
The Exploratorium is internationally renowned for its hands-on science teaching at their venue in San Francisco. But how might the online experience be transformed to reach and support a new generation of teachers across the state of California and beyond?
The answer.
Research phase.
Large scale online surveys provided a robust base for more in-depth experience research with teachers. Using simple tools such as Google Hangouts we were able to talk at length with teachers and observe how they engage with Exploratorium online content.
We learnt how they research, plan and deliver classroom activities, the challenges they face and what excites them. Structured activities gave us a window onto how they use online resources and the challenges they face. This allowed us to really ‘get under the skin’ of the teachers.
Building a shared vision.
Subject matter experts, educators and the digital team sit separately at the Exploratorium so it was critical for us to bring them together to develop a shared understanding of their audiences and a vision for the future online experience.
We used a co-analysis process to allow everyone to get to know and understand the audience–hearing it in the educators own voices about what they needed and helping the team see what that meant for the experience and the website.
The team wanted to make sure this work changed how they made decisions–always together and always audience informed. So we brought out our consensus-building tools, making sure the whole team felt they owned both the new vision for making content and an agreed online content development process.
Supporting the team through implementation.
Long-term change can be hard, so the Exploratorium asked us to stay on as consultants. We continue to work with the education team as they put the insights from the content strategy into practice in a redesigned website.
The outcome.
The shared vision and priorities have allowed them to take a more focused and creative approach. The team is able to make decisions about new online content, confident in what will really meet the needs of educators and ultimately make a positive impact on children’s engagement with science in California and beyond.
Read article here:
What’s holding us back? True Stories of User-Centered Design
–MuseWeb Conference 2019, Panel
–Mark Andrews, Former Director of Online Media, Exploratorium
Share this case study.
