ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

I agree that emotion and content are connected. But in what order?  Can the
emotional context prior to the exhibit be as strong as the experience after
the exhibit? Our learning probably may have as much to do with the
conditions around how and why we are in the situation as it has to do with
the experience itself.   

The "how and why" creates the emotional buy-in so an experience can be
meaningful.  An example from program experience could be the camp-in
experience in museums. In working with groups of teachers in Ohio (usually
in their 30's and over) I often ask if any had ever been to a COSI camp-in.
Inevitably several teachers are anxious to volunteer not just that they
attended as a child, but also to describe in some detail what they did and
learned and also indicate that the experience was very important for
developing their own science learning.  And it is almost always in the
context of getting lost, eating too much food, traveling through a snowstorm
to get there, hearing strange noises et.   These results are because we
treated the experience as a camping adventure (with singing, dancing, and
exploring in the dark) which enabled them to cognitively engage in exciting
programs with materials to explore and take home.  The kids had a great deal
of control.

Another project was a school curriculum for grades 3 to 5 that we developed.
As much attention was given to inviting kids to be explorers and setting up
"cool" context and involving them in real exploration where their
participation could affect the outcome as was given to content.  The program
was a real adventure.  The results:  A follow up by independent evaluation
with control groups showed significant learning gains in all areas including
content areas that were not covered.   AND a random follow up of kids 7
years after their participation from all across the USA (when the students
were in HS or college) revealed that every student interviewed could
literally recall what they did and learned and rated the experience as one
of the most important learning experiences as students.  Many credited the
project with directly affecting their success in school.  Again we had a
strong emotional buy-in because of the way we "staged" the involvement and
the control we gave to the students.  

The Open School in Vancouver, BC had similar results.  Also we did a project
with TVO in Toronto in which we interviewed middle school kids and asked
them where they would go to be involved in or learn science.  Their choice
was a major amusement park in Toronto and not the Ontario Science Center.
The Science center, however, did get great ratings from the kids but their
top choice surprised us.

Another program that produced amazing results was the Junior Naturalist
Program at a Museum if Dayton, OH.  I am not certain what has happened to
the program.

What science learning experience do you remember from grade school years?
If you can identify the conditions around the learning experience and can
identify what you did and how you did it, you may be on to some information
that will guide your own planning.  By the way, is your memory from an
in-school or out-of-school experience?   I believe that the context of the
encounter is usually more important than even the exhibition or exhibit for
producing results.

Oh, Don't forget the High Wire Bike that George Moynihan first brought to
the US at the Pacific Science Centre.  Talk about an emotional experience!
Or think of the totally dark dome that you crawl through at the
Exploratorium (I assume it is still there).

Bill Schmitt 
The Science Center of Inquiry



-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Savory
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 11:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cool exhibit

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*

First of all, let me apologize for any confusion caused by my Canadian
English. "Exhibit" was meant to refer singular devices that comprise an
"exhibition." But thanks for your input anyway everyone.

My prediction on "cool exhibits" was mostly correct although I wasn't
predicting a particular subject area or interaction, like "particle physics"
or "making an explosion" I was predicting something far less extraordinary:
that a description of a favourite exhibit would come back with some kind of
an emotional reaction.

There is a kind of visceral reaction we can have once we have an
intellectual realization. Cognition and emotion are inextricably linked (go
on, try to extric them!). A strong memory has an episodic component related
to event context ("the most I ever threw up was at my birthday party") and a
semantic component in that it is scaffolded into our cognitive architecture.

Thus everyone knows ice is cold but when people press their hands onto it
within the context of the sinking of the Titanic, they get a memorable sense
of how unpleasant it would be to bob in water containing icebergs. And
probably everyone already knows they get a little squirrelly in a small
space but being in a confinement exhibit would create a memorable bit of
fear. And everyone knows the body is made of stringy muscles but when they
realize they are looking at real dead people in a BodyWorlds exhibition,
those weird-looking bits take on a whole new significance. Death, fear, food
and sex are no-brainers for creating the glandular buzz that leads to
cool-inducing context.

I have a picture of a kid around 9 or 10 holding a Burmese python that was
about 12 feet long and probably weighed close to 200 pounds. The look on the
kid's face is priceless: it's a mixture of fear and awe and triumph that it
seems to be the reaction we always strive for. Sure we'll settle for "Huh.
Isn't that interesting" but that doesn't make us happy as developers.

Someone brought up the spark chamber. We had one in the original iteration
of a gallery on physics and it got cut out of phase 2 although our cloud
chamber stayed in. I always thought the spark chamber was cool which put me
a demographic of about 1 person in 50 who thinks that cosmic rays from outer
space making their way to the scintillator is a cool thing. Sometimes with
enough blahblahblah- I mean context-creating interpretation- you could
interest 1 or 2 more out of 50 but it was not deemed cool enough to make the
grade. Not a python and not a dead guy.

And there are lots of science museum exhibits like this: infra-red cameras
that show your heat image, pulsing iron filings, detours detailing Darwin's
chronology. These are intellectually-cool exhibits that context-primed
science geeks like ourselves love but are hit-and-miss with the general
public, especially kids.

Which leads me to a note-to-self for an exhibit I'm developing on
alternative energy which a number of you have been kind enough to help me
with. I want to create a python not a spark chamber so I need to put visitor
experience AHEAD of science content as an outcome as I do my exhibit
development. Maybe I won't focus on making tidal power cool, I'll figure out
a way to make a giant fire vortex relevant.

Thanks for indulging this brain dump.

David Savory
Community Extensions Program Developer and Exhibit Curator
Science World British Columbia
TELUS World of Science
1455 Quebec Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6A 3Z7

t: 604.443.7561
f: 604.443.7434
e: [log in to unmask]
w: scienceworld.ca

Science World British Columbia is a self-supporting non-profit organization
which engages British Columbians in science and inspires future science and
technology leadership throughout our province.


This e-mail may be privileged and confidential. Any unauthorized use is
strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please contact
the sender immediately.

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the
Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To
learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]