Evaluation of Public Visitors' Experience at the Nationa

OMB Control Number 0648-0582

Expiration Date:

Evaluation of Public Visitors’ Experience at the National Marine

Sanctuary System Visitor Centers and Exhibits

Hi, we’re talking with people to help us modify or add to our exhibits.

May I ask you some questions about your visit today? [if they didn’t look at exhibits, discontinue]

[hand out visitor rights page:] Because this is a federal site, this is a summary of your rights.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 8 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other suggestions for reducing this burden to Dayna McLaughlin, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subjected to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: The collection of this information is authorized under section 314 of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, codified at 33 U.S.C. 893(a) and 15 U.S.C. § 1512, Powers and duties of Department.

Purpose: The purpose of this information collection is to obtain the information necessary to improve Visitor Center services, satisfaction, and educational materials. Survey results will be used by sanctuary/monument site superintendents to improve visitor services, education and outreach programs where the survey is administered. Survey responses will also aid sanctuary/monument communication and education staff in effectively communicating key messages and stewardship actions.

Routine Uses: Disclosure of this information is permitted under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. Section 552a) to be shared among Department staff for work-related purposes. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all of the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notice COMMERCE/NOAA-11, Contact Information for Members of the Public Requesting or Providing Information Related to NOAA’s Mission.

Disclosure: Submission of this information is voluntary, but requested in order to assist the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries with program improvement.

1. Socio-demographics and Accessibility

1. Where do you live? _______________________________________

[state if U.S.A. / country if not U.S.A.]

2. Please answer the 3 questions below (helps us know we’re talking with a cross-section of people)

Your Age:___ 18–29 ___ 30s ___ 40s ___ 50s ___ 60s ___ 70

Education, so far: ___ some school ___ high school graduate ___ some college

___ college graduate ___ graduate school

What is your race and/or ethnicity?

Select all that apply.

 American Indian or Alaska Native

For example, Navajo Nation, Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, Nome Eskimo Community, Aztec, Maya, etc.

 Asian

For example, Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, etc.

 Black or African American

For example, African American, Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Somali, etc.

 Hispanic or Latino

For example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, Cuban, Dominican, Guatemalan, etc.

 Middle Eastern or North African

For example, Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, Israeli, etc.

 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

For example, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese, etc.

 White

For example, English, German, Irish, Italian, Polish, Scottish, etc.

3. How many people in your group today (group size)?

____ 1 ____ 2 ____ 3 ____4+

4. How many ____adults and ____children under 18 are in your group?

Ages of children: ___________________

5. Did you or anyone in your personal group have a physical condition that made it difficult to access or participate in sanctuary activities or services, during your visit to [Site Name]? Please mark one.

• Yes -> Continue to next question

• No -> Skip next questions, go to Section B.

If YES, what activities or services did you or the person(s) have difficulty accessing or participating in? (Please describe) _______________________________________________

6. If anyone in your personal group had difficulty accessing or participating in [site] activities or services because of a physical condition, which specific difficulties did the person(s) have? Please mark (●) all that apply

• Hearing (difficulty hearing programs, audio-visual exhibits or programs, or information desk staff even with hearing aid)

• Visual (difficulty seeing exhibits, directional signs, or visual aids that are part of programs even with prescribed glasses or due to blindness)

• Mobility (difficulty in accessing facilities, services, or programs even with walking aid and/or wheelchairs)

• Other (please specify) _________________________________

7. On your most recent visit, did you or anyone in your personal group use any of the following?

• Cane

• Walker

• White Cane

• Seeing-eye dog or other K-9 assistance

• Crutches

• Motorized scooter

• Manual wheelchair

• Motorized wheelchair
  Other (please specify) ___________________

2. Familiarity with center/exhibits

1. Have you been here before? ___ no (1^st time) __ yes, if so, how many times? _______

2. Did you know anything about the [site] prior to coming? ___yes ____no

3. Did the visitor center play a role in your decision to visit the area? ___yes ___no

4. How did you learn about the visitor center? _______________________________

5. Approximately how long was your visit to the [Name of Visitor Center] today?

__ less than 30 mins __ 30 min to 1 hour __ 1–2 hours __ more than 2 hours

6. What was the primary purpose of your visit to [Name of Location/Venue] today?

____ Vacation or leisure

____ Part of an organized school group

____ Part of an organized tour group

____ Special event such as a lecture, program, or festival

____ To see a temporary or traveling exhibit

____ Other (please specify) ______________________________

7. How much influence did each of the following have on your travel plans to the [XX Region]?

	Primary Reason	Very Much	Somewhat	A Little	Not At All	Don’t Know
XX Visitor Center
XX Aquarium, Landmark, Exhibit

8. These exhibits are about the [Venue/Location] and [Name of national marine sanctuary/monument].

Had you heard of that name before: the “[Venue/Location]” or “and [Name of national marine sanctuary/monument]”? __ yes __ no

9. How did you hear about [Name of Location/Venue]?

____ Been here before

____ Tourism site - Google, TripAdvisor, etc.

____ Word of mouth

____ Printed material (e.g., brochure, magazine)

____ Hotel/Inn

____ Local recreation business

____ Website

____ Social media /email newsletter

____ At school

____ Tourism/recreation office

____ Walking/driving by the facility

____ Other (please specify) ______________________

10. Did the exhibits adequately inform you that [Name of Visitor Center/Exhibit] was the educational center for [Name of national marine sanctuary/monument]?

____yes ____no

10.a Are you familiar with NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary System, America’s network of underwater parks? ____yes ____no

10.b Did the exhibits inform you that this facility is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries?

____yes ____no

11. Before your visit here, had you ever heard of a national marine sanctuary or marine national monument?

___ yes ___ no

12. Did you view the NOAA/national marine sanctuary exhibit today? ___ yes ___ no

13. Before your visit, were you aware of the NOAA/national marine sanctuary exhibit on display here?

___ yes ___ no

14. Have you ever seen an exhibit elsewhere about a national marine sanctuary or marine national monument before today?

___ yes ___ no

15. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about [location/site] facilities, services, or recreational opportunities.

__________________________________________________________

3. Use of exhibits

1. Which of these exhibits did you stop at?

____ [name of exhibit]

____ [name of exhibit]

____ [name of exhibit]

____ [name of exhibit]

____ Other (please specify) ________________

2. Were you able to use all of the exhibits today?

____ yes ____ no

If no, why not:

_____ Exhibits not accessible

_____ Exhibits down for maintenance

_____ Technology not working

_____ Other (please specify) _________________________

3. Did you speak to a staff member during your visit?

___ yes ___ no

4. Did any staff or volunteer talk with you about the exhibits?

___ yes ___ no

4. Reactions/satisfaction

1. Thinking about your experience with these exhibits today, would you say this visit was:

__ great __ good __ OK __ fair __ needs improvement

1.a What did you like most about [Name of Visitor Center/Exhibit]? [check __ if parent asks child/ren, who answer]

_________________________________________________________

2. Using a 5-point scale, how important do you think these exhibits are, for people like you (yourselves) – “1” would be the lowest: not at all worthwhile, “5” would be the highest: very worthwhile – what number would you say? ______

[if rating # less than 2, ask this] Is there anything important about them?

[otherwise, ask:] What’s “important” about them?

_____________________________________________________

3. What did you like the most here?

__________________________________________________________

4. What types of exhibits would you like to see more of in the [Name of Location/Venue]? (check all that apply)

__ interactive __ educational __ entertaining __ challenging

__ static __ web accessible __ textual based __ video based __ game based

__ kid oriented __ responsive __ collaborative

5. Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements.

Statements	1 strongly disagree	2 disagree	3 neither agree nor disagree	4 agree	5 strongly agree
I have a better understanding of national marine sanctuaries /monuments
I understand what a national marine sanctuary is
I am more likely to take actions to protect a national marine sanctuary or monument
I learned a new way to protect a national marine sanctuary or monument
I learned about opportunities to get involved in sanctuary programs
I am more likely to visit a national marine sanctuary

6. What topic(s) are you most interested in learning about? (choose as many as you like from the list below)

____ Water quality

____ Ocean acidification

____ Climate change

____ Marine debris / Ocean pollution

____ Fish, whales, and other marine wildlife

____ Seabirds

____ Marine ecosystems (e.g., tide pools, kelp forests, coral reefs)

____ Shipwrecks, maritime heritage, or underwater archaeology

____ Scientific fieldwork

____Citizen Science

____Ways to reduce human impacts to the ocean and Great Lakes

____How to protect national marine sanctuaries or marine national monuments

____What national marine sanctuaries/monuments accomplish and why they exist

____ Other (please specify) _____________________________________

7. What is your style of learning? (check all that apply)

__ hands on __ reading __ listening __ by teaching others __ immersive

__ collaborative _ visually

7.a How do you learn about things? (check all that apply)

__ internet searches __ blogs __ TV __ teachers __ friends __ family

__ social media __ games __ radio __ websites __ books __ movies

__QR codes __ magazines

8. If [Name of Visitor Center/Exhibit] had additional educational information, games, and media online would you want to use that as a learning resource? __ yes __ no

9. For each of the following activities that you experienced, please rate your level of satisfaction.

Statements	1 very dissatisfied	2 dissatisfied	3 neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	4 satisfied	5 very satisfied	N/A
Videos
Electronic interactive components
Hands-on interactive components
Staff Member Interaction
Online tour
Audio tour

10. Would you like to see more or fewer interactive exhibits or multimedia components?

____ more ____ less ____ no preference

If you would like to see more, what type? (check all that apply)

____ videos ____ online tours

____ audio tours ____ 360-degree images/virtual reality images

____ 3D movies ____other, examples:____________

11. What do you believe the value is of visiting the visitor center?

5. Perceptions on messages

1. What do you think the main idea or themes of the exhibits are?

_________________________________________________________

__ no main idea; there are different exhibits on different topics

__ didn’t see enough to figure that out

2. These exhibits are intended to be about the [venue/location]. Have you heard of that name before?

____ Yes ____ No

3. Did you find out anything interesting or surprising about the [Venue/Location] from these exhibits?

____ Yes ____ No

If yes, what? _________________________________________________

4. Which of these ideas or themes did the exhibits demonstrate and explain? – If you could, tell me Yes or Not Really for each one:

Yes __ Not __ a. [idea/theme 1]

Yes __ Not __ b. [idea/theme 2]

Yes __ Not __ c. [idea/theme 3]

Yes __ Not __ d. [idea/theme 4]

5. Do you think that human actions affecting [site] would be:

__ negative? or __ positive? __ some negative and some positive?

6. What kinds of negative impacts are you aware of? (or would you guess?)

_____________________________________________________

What kinds of positive impacts are you aware of? (or would you imagine are possible?)

_____________________________________________________

7. Is there anything that you or I could do for the benefit of the [site]?

____ Yes ____ No

8. Are you likely to do anything differently after seeing the exhibits here?

____ Yes ____ Not really

If yes, what?

__________________________________________________________

10. In your own words, describe how the visitor center (or exhibit) could be improved.

__________________________________________________

11. Would you recommend this visitor center (or exhibit) to family and friends?

__ Very Likely __ Likely ___Neutral __ Unlikely __ Very Unlikely

Please explain your answer: ___________________________________

12. Do you have any questions about the interpretive content/exhibits?

___________________________________

13. Do you have any suggestions about the exhibits or visitor center?

___________________________________