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 have found that a lot of people who come to the Hall of Science  
don't have the kind of ready access to high speed connections that  
your audience has.  But I agree that it is seeming a bit off- 
mission.  Libraries seem to be the main place where people who don't  
have access at home go to do whatever they want to do on the the web,  
other than downloading stuff.

Eric Siegel
New York Hall of Science
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(718) 699-0005 x 317



On Sep 22, 2006, at 12:09 PM, Jonah Cohen wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> ********************************************************************** 
> *******
>
> (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 Whatever you do is soon outdated.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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> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
> Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http:// 
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