The Utilization of Science Museums by African Americans: Factors Influencing Free-Choice Visitation

本研究旨在探讨非裔美国人自由选择的休闲行为与科学博物馆利用的关系。没有关于非裔美国人博物馆参观者的硬统计数据；但基于个别组织进行的参观者概况研究的初步数据表明，在三类参观者频率中，大多数非裔美国人属于后两类：不频繁(每年一到两次)或根本不参观。(绝大多数常客都不是非洲裔美国人。)这项研究的目的是更深入地挖掘非裔美国人利用科学博物馆的问题。不仅将考察先前研究中确定的变量之间的关系(社会经济、文化/种族、制度和地区因素)，还将包括其他因素，如个人如何了解博物馆项目和非裔美国人家庭(家庭)的结构。这项研究将从收集动物园、水族馆、自然历史博物馆和科学中心的基线游客档案开始。有关过去参观博物馆历史的详细信息将通过随机选择几个科学博物馆的非裔美国人和白人家庭参观者的访谈来收集。最后，将在代表不同社会经济水平的六个非裔美国人和种族混杂社区进行关于休闲时间活动和偏好的深入访谈。最终目标是分析非裔美国人对博物馆的态度，并提供对博物馆项目策划者和教育工作者在设计他们的活动时将有用的变量的理解。期望的结果是使我们社会的这一部分有更好的机会从这些非正规科学教育机构的丰富资源中受益。

This research is to examine free-choice leisure behavior of African Americans as it relates to the utilization of science museums. Hard statistics for African American museum visitors are not available; but preliminary data based on visitor profile studies undertaken by individual organizations suggest that of the three categories of visitor frequency, most African American visitors fall into the lower two: infrequent (one or two times per year) or not at all. (The vast majority of frequent visitors are non African Americans.) The purpose of this research is to dig deeper into the question of the utilization of science museums by African Americans. Not only will the relationships between variables identified in previous studies (socio-economic, cultural/ethnic, institutional, and regional factors) be examined but others such as how individuals learn about museum programs and the structure of the African American family (household) will also be included. The research will begin by collecting base line visitor profiles at a zoo, aquarium, natural history museum, and a science center. Detailed information relating to the past history of museum-going will be collected by means of interviews of randomly selected African American and White family visitors at several science museums. Finally, indepth interviews regarding leisure time activities and preferences will be conducted in six African American and racially mixed communities representing different socio-economic levels. The ultimate goal is to analyse the attitudes of African Americans toward museums and to provide an understanding of the variables involved that will be of use to museum program planners and educators as they design their activities. The desired result is for this segment of our society to have a better opportunity to benefit from the rich resources of these informal science education institutions.