Poster 69: Measuring Learning in Youth Development Programs Using Personal Meaning Maps Presenter(s): Amy Grack Nelson, Science Museum of Minnesota, agnelson@smm.org Gayra Ostgaard, Science Museum of Minnesota, gostgaard@smm.org Abstract: Many youth development programs have content-related outcomes. Evaluators often measure these outcomes using methods that fit the nature of an informal learning environment. Evaluators at the Science Museum of Minnesota have found success using Personal Meaning Maps (PMMs) to evaluate their youth development programming. The PMM method captures experiences and knowledge of individuals around a particular concept. For the PMM method, a word or phrase related to a content outcome is written on a sheet of paper (e.g. "climate change"). Youth write words or draw images that they associate with the word or phrase. The map then serves as an interview prompt where youth explain what they wrote and why. Maps can be compared over time to look at changes in youth's breadth and depth of knowledge around a topic. This poster will provide an overview of the method, its strengths and weaknesses, and examples from formative and summative evaluations.#YouthFocusedEvaluation #ArtsCultureandAudiences #youthdevelopment #drawing #Interviews #2012Conference #Informallearning #personalmeaningmap