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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Larry Bell was the originator of a series of exhibits designed around
the idea that science is a process.
Over the course of 15 years we built several major exhibits with smaller
companion exhibits on the processes of observation, investigation,
classification and modeling. I worked on the classification exhibit,
Natural Mysteries but Sue Sunbury was the planner on the others and can
tell you more about the struggles of balancing the experiences with the
content.
Lynn Baum
Fred Stein wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
>
> Boston Museum of Science built a set of exhibitions over
> several years, each on a different process skill.
> Check with Lynn Baum.
>
> Best,
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> Fred Stein
> Science Educator
> Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry
> 3601 Lyon St.
> San Francisco, CA 94123
> (415) 561-0332
> fax (415) 561-0307
> [log in to unmask]
Hi Scott,
Explorit has recently opened our first long-term exhibition about
motion called "Move It! Science in Action." Here is a link: http://
explorit.org/move-it/index.html. The website will be updated very soon
to show the actual exhibits rather than the concept drawings.
This exhibition follows our long-standing exhibit style which we have
used for 25 years in our Changing Exhibitions. The only difference is
that these exhibits are larger, sturdier, and there are fewer of them.
In "Move It!", we have focused on both science content and process
throughout the development of the exhibition. We always ask ourselves
"What will people do at this exhibit?" even before we ask "What will
people learn at this exhibit?".
We have designed the exhibits to be very open-ended (uh oh, is that a
bad term now?) so that people can be involved at whatever level is most
comfortable for them. If dropping a ball from a height and watching
how high it will bounce (a simple observation) is all you want to do,
that's fine. Maybe you didn't realize a golf ball will bounce that
high. If you want to compare different balls, you can do that too.
You can also measure the height of the bounces, record them and graph
them if you want. You may be learning about elastic collisions along
the way, even without realizing you are. If you want to know more
about the physics of elastic collisions, we provide that too.
"Challenges" of increasing complexity are suggested (in a booklet, not
on the wall) culminating in a short explanation about the topic. You
can work diligently through the booklet or ignore it completely and
just drop balls for fun, which is what most of our youngest visitors
do. (By the way, these exhibits have a much longer retention time than
1 minute. We haven't had a chance to evaluate the actual retention
times yet, but I would say anecdotally that it is probably closer to
10-15 minutes.)
I agree with Dave Smith that you can't really separate the process from
the content. Science involves both. You can do an entire exhibition
highlighting the various science process skills, but in each individual
exhibit you have to be observing something or inferring something or
graphing something.
Process and content are linked, but you may have to point out the
process to the average visitor more than you do the content (if that is
your aim). They may not realize they are hypothesizing or inferring.
In the end, does it really matter? They are doing science and learning
and having fun.
Humbly,
Anna
On May 19, 2008, at 4:28 PM, Scott Pattison wrote:
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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*******
We're interested in learning more about exhibits that focus on skill
building (e.g., science process skills, critical thinking skills),
rather than communicating content messages. What are some recent
examples of these type of exhibits? Any thoughts on what makes these
exhibits more or less successful?
Thanks,
Scott
Scott Pattison
Senior Exhibit Developer
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
1945 SE Water Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
503.797.4673
>
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
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