GB/T 45952-2025 in English

Background of Standard Development and Technological Evolution

GB/T 45952-2025, "Specifications for Operational Evaluation of Science and Technology Museums," is the first national standard for systematic operational evaluation in my country's science and technology museum industry. Proposed by the China Association for Science and Technology and managed by the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Science Popularization Services, this standard, officially released in 2025, marks a new stage in the standardization and regularization of the operation and management of science and technology museums in my country.

This standard is based on over 40 years of practical experience in the construction and development of science and technology museums in my country. It references existing standards such as GB/T 40147-2021, "General Principles for Science and Technology Evaluation," and WW/T 0092-2018, "Indicators for Museum Operation Evaluation." Furthermore, it establishes a specialized evaluation system based on the unique science popularization and education function of science and technology museums.

Analysis of the evaluation index system framework

This standard adopts a four-level index system structure, including 4 first-level indicators, 14 second-level indicators and 27 third-level indicators, and sets differentiated score weights for the four types of science and technology museums: extra-large, large, medium-sized and small.

From the score distribution, it can be seen that exhibition education accounts for the highest proportion (46-48 points), reflecting the positioning of science and technology museums with exhibition education as the core function; small science and technology museums have higher requirements for basic guarantee (26 points), reflecting their reliance on basic conditions.

In-depth interpretation of core evaluation indicators

Basic guarantee indicators

Basic guarantee indicators include three dimensions: building area, human resources and management system:

• Building area per unit population: calculated based on the building area corresponding to the permanent population of 10,000 people in the city where the science and technology museum is located, reflecting the rationality of resource allocation
• Number of staff per unit building area: including regular employees and other forms of employees, reflecting the efficiency of human resource allocation
• Perfectness of management system: examines the establishment and implementation of financial, safety, complaint handling and other systems

Exhibition education indicators

This is the indicator group with the highest weight, which includes 5 secondary indicators:

• Permanent exhibitions: evaluate the density of exhibits, the proportion of interactive exhibits and construction conditions
• Short-term exhibitions: counted by scale, large exhibitions can get double the count
• Educational activities: Distinguish between exhibition-based, other activities within the museum, and off-site educational activities
• Online science popularization: Evaluate the number of users of the online platform, the amount of resource dissemination, and the degree of participation in online activities
• Film and television science popularization: The number of audience members served per seat in the special effects theater

Quantitative evaluation calculation method

Quantitative indicators are normalized using the extreme value method, and the calculation method is as follows:

Extreme-scale indicators: x_ij* = (x_ij - x_ijmin) / (x_ijmax - x_ijmin)

Interval-type indicators (such as permanent exhibit density): Calculate the deviation based on the optimal interval [q1, q2]

Characteristic innovations and key technical points

Differentiation evaluation system

The standard innovatively establishes a differentiated evaluation system for science and technology museums of different sizes, fully considering the differences in resource endowments and service capabilities:

• Extra-large museums (over 30,000m²) focus on R&D output and social impact
• Large museums (15,000-30,000m²) balance the development of various functions
• Small and medium-sized museums (under 8,000m²) emphasize basic guarantees and service efficiency

Dynamic performance evaluation

This standard emphasizes "operation evaluation" rather than "construction evaluation", focusing on the dynamic operational efficiency of science and technology museums:

• The proportion of visitors served to the local population reflects the service coverage
• The number of visitors served per unit of operating funds reflects operational efficiency
• The amount of online popular science resources disseminated measures digital service capabilities

Equal emphasis on quality and quantity

A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is used to assess both quantitative indicators and quality levels through expert review:

• Quantitative indicators: number of exhibits, number of educational activities, number of visitors, etc.
• Qualitative indicators: representative exhibitions, quality of educational activities, level of academic achievements, etc.

Implementation Suggestions and Operational Guide

Evaluation Preparation Phase

1. Self-evaluation and Diagnosis: Science and Technology Museums should conduct self-evaluation in accordance with the indicator system in Appendix A and identify weak links
2. Material Preparation: Systematically collect operational data within the evaluation cycle to ensure its authenticity and completeness
3. Data Standardization: Conduct data statistics and processing in accordance with the methods specified in Appendix C

Evaluation Implementation Phase

1. Establishment of the Evaluation Team: Ensure the professionalism and independence of the evaluation experts and implement an abstention system
2. On-site inspection: Verify the authenticity of materials through environmental inspections, file review, and discussions
3. Comprehensive review: Organize experts to conduct a centralized review of the quantitative and qualitative evaluation results

Result application phase

1. Feedback and improvement: Develop an improvement plan based on the evaluation report, focusing on improving low-scoring indicators
2. Continuous optimization: Establish a normalized evaluation mechanism and integrate evaluation into daily management
3. Experience exchange: Learn from excellent cases through industry exchanges and improve the overall operation level

Industry development impact and future prospects

The implementation of GB/T 45952-2025 will have a profound impact on the science and technology museum industry:

• Standardization orientation: Provide clear quality standards and improvement directions for the operation of science and technology museums
• Resource Optimization: Guide science and technology museums to rationally allocate resources and improve service efficiency
• Innovation-Driven: Encourage science and technology museums to strengthen R&D and innovation and enhance core competitiveness
• Digital Transformation: Promote science and technology museums to strengthen online science popularization and informatization

In the future, with the in-depth implementation and continuous improvement of the standard, the following development trends are expected:

• The evaluation indicator system will be dynamically adjusted to adapt to the development of new technologies and new business models
• Technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence will be more widely used in the evaluation
• International benchmarking and cooperation will be further strengthened to enhance the international influence of my country's science and technology museums