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Hey Beryl!

Interesting question - a couple of things that pop into mind  
immediately....Just freestyling here~

I'd check out:
www.designshare.com
An architectural collaborative that has an interest in powerful, new  
school designs.  In many ways, matching the school spaces to better  
meet emerging ideas in educational pedagogy and practice.    
Definitely cross-over potential to museums and other, public  
educational spaces...

They released a book on educational spaces/Language of School Design  
that you may find interesting.   Worth a pick-up, for sure.  They  
also have some of the samples from the book available online.
http://www.designshare.com/index.php/language-school-design

_________
Thinkering Spaces
http://www.id.iit.edu/ThinkeringSpaces/
ThinkeringSpace is a system, made of both physical and virtual  
environments, that aims to promote creative and critical thinking  
skills for the 21st century. Celebrating the book, it creates  
opportunities for doing things together, sharing ideas and authoring  
in new ways. Focused on school-aged children in libraries, the  
project is part of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation  
Digital Media and Learning Initiative.
________
Ray Oldenburg:
The Great Good Place
http://books.google.com/books?id=0aOjHGdSKLMC&dq=Ray 
+Oldenburg&pg=PP1&ots=sR3SUu-2ag&sig=IjyhFaGfWELBF7yoEs3NPHjHadY&hl=en&s 
a=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

Third Places
Oldenburg identifies third places, or "great good places," as the  
public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact.  
In contrast to first places (home) and second places (work), third  
places allow people to put aside their concerns and simply enjoy the  
company and conversation around them. Third places “host the regular,  
voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of  
individuals beyond the realms of home and work.” Oldenburg suggests  
that beer gardens, main streets, pubs, cafés, coffeehouses, post  
offices, and other third places are the heart of a community's social  
vitality and the foundation of a functioning democracy. They promote  
social equality by leveling the status of guests, provide a setting  
for grassroots politics, create habits of public association, and  
offer psychological support to individuals and communities.

This, to me, is something that many museums are thinking about ~ how  
are their spaces become more than a destination, more of an embedded  
part of their everyday community fabric, a place where people come  
for lively discussion, experiences, and social interaction.

________

White Oak Associates: Concept Capsules

Take a peek through their 140 ideas.  Some may pique your interest,  
and then they usually have a source right next to it....

http://www.whiteoakassoc.com/pdf/conceptcapsules_v10_042720.pdf

________

I'll keep tucking into my research stash and see what emerges.   
Beryl, would you mind summarizing other ideas that come in?  It's an  
interesting topic, and I'd love to see what other ideas emerge...

Hope all's well on the East Coast!

Best-

Samson

--------------
Sam Dean
Director - ExNet
e x p l O r a t o r i u m
3601 Lyon St.
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On Jul 3, 2008, at 9:32 AM, Beryl Rosenthal wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> ********************************************************************** 
> *******
>
> Hi all,
> Does anyone have any favorite readings on the development of ed  
> space (incl. best practices, design schematics, big/small space/ 
> budget etc.)?   I'm conducting a workshop and could use some  
> readings to distribute to our folks.
> Thanks,
> Beryl
>
> -- 
> Beryl Rosenthal, Ph.D.
> Director
> Tsongas Industrial History Center
> Boott Cotton Mills
> 115 John Street
> Lowell, MA 01854
> (978) 970-5081 (t)
> (978) 970-5085 (f)
> [log in to unmask]
> www.uml.edu/tsongas/index2.htm
> A joint program of UMASS Lowell and Lowell National Historical Park
>
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