Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/50970

JaLCDOI : 10.14943/58920

KEYWORDS : science museum;visitors' experience;long-term memory;Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ);museum evaluation

The purpose of the present study is to clarify the characteristics of long-term memories of visitors' experiences in science museums. A total of 812 adults (293 staffs of science museums, 421 undergraduate and graduate students, and 98 elderly adults), who had experiences of visits to science museums, participated in this study. The participants were asked to rate the actual long-term memories of the museums in a questionnaire including the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ) consisting of the original 38 items and an item relating to the direct influence of the experience on the participants. The data of 692 participants (198 museum staffs, 413 students, and 81 elderly adults), out of the total, were performed with a factor analysis. It was found that the MCQ items were composed by five factors: (1) clarity, (2) meaningful interpretation, (3) sensory experiences, (4) temporal information and (5) feeling. The differential rating patterns for each factor in the three participant groups based on this factor structure of the MCQ were mainly discussed in terms of personal implication or reinterpretation of specific experiences of long-term memories. Based on these results, several practical implications were suggested from the viewpoint of museum evaluation.