As museums, zoos, and other science institutions are increasingly trying to promote connection to nature and environmentally responsible behavior, there has been a recent shift away from interpretive nature exhibits to constructed immersive nature experiences. However, the impact of this new form of nature experience on visitors' connection to nature and behavior has not been well studied. Accordingly, the researchers investigated how the experience of visiting an immersive free-flying butterfly exhibit impacted feelings of connection to nature and environmentally responsible behavior.
Researchers designed a questionnaire to measure connectedness to nature and environmental responsibility and administered it at the Florida Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville, where visitors can walk through the butterfly habitat, among the butterflies. Over four randomly selected days (one weekend day and three weekdays), the 426 visitors who completed the survey represented a range of gender, education, ethnicity, income, age, and group composition. The researchers used a posttest-only experimental design to examine the effect of the butterfly exhibit visit: Of the surveyed visitors, 257 were in the treatment group and given the survey only after they visited the butterfly exhibit. The other 169 visitors comprised the control group and were given the questionnaire only before they went into the exhibit.
The questionnaire measured connectedness to nature with the 14-item Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS). Two indices of environmentally responsible behavior were measured with 11 items created by the researchers. Because the exhibit encouraged backyard wildlife-friendly behaviors, the survey also asked questions about human behaviors that might attract backyard wildlife using four survey items. The survey also included an open-ended item asking about the visitor's overall experience in the Butterfly Rainforest. For all three measures (connectedness to nature, environmentally responsible behavior, and likelihood to engage in behavior that attracts backyard wildlife), there was a significant difference between the treatment group and the control group. The treatment group was higher on all three measures than the control group, suggesting that visitors were positively impacted by the exhibit. However, environmentally responsible behavior intentions were variable even in the treatment group, which could be explained by connectedness to nature. Visitors would already have had varying levels of connection to the environment, which would have then resulted in variable intentions toward pro-environmental behavior.
Forty-six percent of visitors also responded to the open-ended question about their experience. Qualitative analysis revealed that these responses could be divided into four themes: appreciation for the beauty of nature, feelings of awe, restorative feelings, and feelings of oneness. Such themes suggest the positive impact that the short, but unique and memorable, experience had on visitor attitudes.
The Bottom Line
Connectedness to nature and intentions to undertake environmentally responsible behavior can be positively influenced through immersive nature-based exhibits in places such as museums, nature centers, aquariums, and zoos. This finding is especially relevant for environmental educators in urban areas or places with fewer opportunities for immersive nature-based experiences outdoors. Environmental educators in such places can leverage rich nature-based exhibit experiences to enhance visitors' sense of connection to nature, which may also increase their intentions to adopt environmentally responsible behaviors.