Applications due August 5, 2014

Research/Evaluation Associate
Description:
Research/Evaluation Associate
Museum of Science, Boston
www.mos.org

Innovation and creativity come from the unique perspectives of a diverse staff. We value your perspective.

POSITION SUMMARY:
The Research/Evaluation Associate will work with the Manager and Senior Project Manager of Research and Evaluation to plan and oversee the research and evaluation efforts. This will include the development of timelines, instruments, pilot testing, analysis, and reporting for the evaluation and research of educational and visitor service programs at the Museum of Science.

PROGRAM SUMMARY:
Since 2004, the Museum of Science, Boston has maintained a dedicated Research and Evaluation Department that studies museum visitors and professionals, specifically focusing on how they learn. This department measures the educational impact of the Museum’s various learning experiences (both those aimed at a professional and public audience), and advises project teams on ways they can incorporate visitor interests, needs, concerns and understanding into their decision-making through the effective use of existing literature and/or visitor research and evaluation studies. The Museum of Science Research and Evaluation Department consists of nine full-time staff members and two part-time staff members, making it one of the largest departments of its kind in the world. Collectively, these professionals have expertise in science education, museum education, museum studies, and special education.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Work with 4-6 research/evaluation projects (except when they are very large). Oversee any research assistants and/or data collectors who are involved with the project.

WORK SCHEDULE:
This position is grant-funded, full-time, 40 hours/week, Monday-Friday.

REPORTS TO:
Manager, Research & Evaluation

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Master’s degree or higher preferred.
More than 3 years of quantitative and qualitative research experience.

STARTING SALARY:
Exempt (Salaried). Commensurate with experience.

BENEFITS:
Benefits for full-time, exempt (salaried) staff include: free parking, T accessibility, 23 vacation days, 12 holidays, 5-10 sick days, medical, dental, and vision insurance, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, retirement and savings plan, health care/dependent care flex spending plan, employee discounts, employee referral program, tuition assistance, professional development, direct deposit, free admission, free Duck Tours, discounted movie passes, and much more!

Qualifications:
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Master’s degree or higher preferred.
More than 3 years of quantitative and qualitative research experience.
How To Apply:
For more information, or to apply now, you must go to the website below. Please DO NOT email your resume to us as we only accept applications through our website.

https://mos.applicantpro.com/jobs/115163-29461.html
Apply by:
August 05, 2014
About this Organization:
In 1830, six men interested in natural history established the Boston Society of Natural History, an organization through which they could pursue their common scientific interests. Devoted to collecting and studying natural history specimens, the society displayed its collections in numerous temporary facilities until 1864, when it opened the New England Museum of Natural History at the corner of Berkeley and Boylston Streets in Boston’s Back Bay. That Museum is now known world-wide as the Museum of Science.

After World War II, under the leadership of Bradford Washburn, the Society sold the Berkeley Street building, changed its name to the Boston Museum of Science (later, dropping Boston from the name) and negotiated with the Metropolitan District Commission a 99-year lease for land spanning the Charles River Basin, now known as Science Park. In 1948, the Museum designed and built the first traveling planetarium in New England to promote the development of a new Museum building. The cornerstone for the new Museum was laid at Science Park a year later, and a temporary building was erected to house the Museum’s collections and staff.

In 1951, the first wing of the new Museum officially opened, making the Museum the first to embrace all the sciences under one roof. Comprising 14,000 square feet of exhibit space, the new Museum’s first wing was already much larger than the entire exhibits area of the old Berkeley building. That same year, one of the most endearing and memorable symbols of the Museum, ‘Spooky,’ the Great Horned Owl, was given to the Museum as an owlet. Spooky lived to the age of 38 years, becoming the oldest known living member of his species.During the next two decades. the Museum greatly expanded its exhibits and facilities. In 1956, the Museum was successful in campaigning for a Science Park MBTA station that now brings visitors to within 200 yards of the Museum. The Charles Hayden Planetarium, funded by major gifts from the Charles Hayden Foundation, opened in 1958.

By 1968, further building expansion was under way as ground was broken for the Museum’s west wing which was completed in the early 1970s. The Elihu Thomson Theater of Electricity, which houses the 2 1/2 million-volt Van de Graaff generator — the two-story tall high voltage electricity generator given to the Museum by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1956-opened in 1980.

The Museum has remained on the cutting edge of science education by developing innovative and interactive exhibits and programs that both entertain and educate.

Two of the Museum’s more recent additions, the Hall Wing housing the Roger L. Nichols Gallery for temporary exhibits, and the Mugar Omni Theater, exemplify the Museum of Science’s commitment to making science fun and accessible to all. The Mugar Omni Theater, opened in 1987, utilizes state-of-the-art film technology to project larger-than-life images onto a five-story high, domed screen, creating a ‘you are there’ experience for viewers.

More than 1.6 million people visit the Museum and its more than 400 interactive exhibits each year.