Abstract: . . .  written and unwritten messages command the visitor not to touch. It is ironic that the outside entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art is used quite differently than originally intended. Skateboarders fly down the stairs 16 Page 17 Museums and Zoos - 17 while would-be Rocky imitators run up the stairs and jump up and down as Rocky did in the movie. A children’s museum is designed quite the opposite. The message here is come in and enjoy, play, touch, have fun. Bright colors, attractive objects, and easy-to-do activities are the norm. VISITOR VARIABLES The environmental factors described above (lobby, exhibitions, amenities, macro- architecture) are only part of the museum formula. Visitor variables also play an important role. In addition, environmental and visitor variables invariably interact. Demographics and leisure values As one might suspect, age, gender, educational level are important variables in understanding the museum environment. In addition, Hood (1983) has provided evidence that leisure values are strongly correlated with visitation patterns. Social influence The overwhelming percentage of visitors come in groups — usually with families or friends unless they are part of a school group. Consequently, museum visitation is, to a large extent, a social experience. Groups typically approach an exhibit together and discuss the exhibit, point to exhibit elements, and try as a group to make sense of the display. Provocative exhibits tend to stimulate group discussion and . . .
. . .  and self-report data are necessary to assess thoughts, feelings, and attitudes associated with the visitor experience. There are currently several major problems with data collected in museums. First, many evaluators and consumers of the data lack the knowledge and skills to collect and use the information in a reliable and valid manner. Second, there has been very few studies reporting reliability and validity of the instruments used to collect the data. A third problem is that the museum stakeholders (e.g., directors and boards) lack the knowledge to judge the reliability and validity of the data collected. These problems should be reduced as professionals and consumers become more knowledgeable in evaluation. THE HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IN MUSEUMS Visitor studies in informal learning settings has a short history and will be given a very brief treatment here. Interested readers are referred to Shettel (1989), Shiele (1992) and Bitgood and Loomis (1993) for more detailed descriptions of this history. The 1920s and 1930s: Focus on environmental design. While a few isolated studies of visitors were conducted prior to the 1920s, the first systematic research was conducted by Edward Robinson and Arthur Melton at Yale University (e.g., Melton, 1933; 1935; 1972; Robinson, 1928; 1930; 1931). Robinson and Melton were primarily interested in studying how the physical design of the museum environment influences visitor behavior. Among their major contributions were a systematic . . .
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