ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Many of the comments regarding evaluation treat the outcome of a museum visit
as the purpose rather than the quality of the museum experience itself.  In a
way, asking about the outcome of a museum visit is odd.  Do we ask about the
outcome of a visit to the art museum or hearing the symphony?  Ted Ansbacher
has written extensively about experience-based exhibits and Ted and I have
conducted a number of workshops on the same issue.

We urge that museum designers and educators place more emphasis on the museum
experience itself than on the outcomes. What are visitors seeing and doing
while in an exhibit?  Are they fully engaged in the experience?  Are they
thinking?  Are they asking themselves questions?  Are they trying out new
experiments/experiences?  Are the exhibits designed to fully engaged visitors -- their
minds, bodies, or both?  Without such direct engagement, there really can't be
a significant outcome.

Ted has written a number of papers on the subject, inspired by John Dewey's
writings.  I have also tried to capture the qualities of engaging exhibits in
my brief paper "Bob's Top Ten Points."

You can find Ted's interesting papers on experience-based exhibits at his
website:

www.scienceservs.com

You can find my "Top Ten Points" at:

http://informallearning.com/links.htm  (scroll down to exhibit design
resources)

Bob Russell
Learning Experience Design
Science Advisor, Celebra la Ciencia (www.celebralaciencia.org)

(202) 997-5539
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