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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(Donning Asbestos-lined suit)

So, am I the only one who finds science center computer labs to be a
ludicrous waste of space and resources?

We have one, and it can't die soon enough. Why, you ask?

1) Moore's Law. Whatever you do is soon outdated. When our lab got DSL
lines donated by SBC some years back, they used it as a big promotional
event to launch DSL, where they made all our camp kids attend an
ultra-boring speech by some company bigwig, and they showed a shill
video which - I kid you not - compared DSL (repeatedly) to the moon
landing, in that both were among the greatest technological achievements
in human history. Yeah, the DSL hookup is nice, but we already had T1
lines which were ok, and the cable modem I have at home is better. 

In 1994, maybe computer labs were cutting edge, now it's stuff most
visitors can do at home, oft-times even better.

2) Speaking of which, my observations have shown that visitors to the
computer lab use it for playing Snood or other games, or surfing the web
on sites that have nothing to do with our mission or yours (unless
you're some kind of boy band museum).

3) Yeesh, talk about a passive, hands-off exhibit that bears a striking
resemblance to hitting the remote control on the TV!

OK, I can see uses for computers - but as accessories to other exhibits.
For example, a couple years ago at ASTC, the maestro Eddie Goldstein
gave a talk about how docents at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
carry laptops with wireless connections. Visitor have a question you
can't answer? Do some on the spot research? Want to supplement an
exhibit or demo? No prob. ie if you've got a bird exhibit, you can pull
up a site that has a webcam of a nest; or if you do the mentos/diet coke
demo - and you should! - then you can show how you're sadly not as cool
as the guys from www.eepybird.com Someone wants to see that site again
later? Just e-mail em the URL. Great! (I now hope Eddie will be moved to
buy me a drink in Louisville.)

Or if you have one of those nature exchange/trading posts where kids
bring in shells/rocks/other stuff they've collected, you're sure to have
books around so visitors (and staff) can research the items. May as well
have net access too.

But a whole room where you've just got a bunch of PC's (or Macs)? Show
me the exit.

OK, done ranting,
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager, & Luddite
The Children's Museum (formerly The Science Center of Connecticut)

"The internet is not a thing you can just put stuff into, like a truck.
It's a series of tubes."
         -Sen. Ted Stevens

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