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We did not really do research but we have some experience with different degrees of open ended exhibits: Last year we had a 7000 sq ft temporary exhibition in Technopolis with different types of open ended activities.
Some of the exhibits were extremely open ended ( fe: a table with material like paper, toothpicks, tape, scissors, pencils, dolls, small wooden parts, raffia, tissue, etc and some challenges) to a bit open ended ( f.e.build a ball lane with lots of tubes and connecting points and balls).
The most open ended part was a nightmare for the explainers (especially the colored feathers which got banned two weeks after opening) and not structured enough for our visitors. There was only short time involvement and very few came to really thinking and creating.
But the majority of the exhibits (style earth quake table, ball lane) were very succesfull in creating engagement and collaboration amongst our visitors.
Especially on family days when parents worked together with their children.
Of course there was a lot of work all day long to bring the loose parts to the corresponding exhibit (and the tubes from the ball lane exhibit were sometimes used as sabers).
Patricia Verheyden
Experience director
Technopolis, the Flemish science center
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Van: Informal Science Education Network [[log in to unmask]] namens Eric Siegel [[log in to unmask]]
Verzonden: zaterdag 2 april 2011 13:59
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: workbench-style activities
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hello, all:
I am looking for research on workbench/lunch counter type activities, where visitors gather at a table of "loose parts" and engage with them. We are curious about facilitation, operational aspects, visitor engagement, duration of participation, oh, and [can of worms alert] "learning" too. Also different degrees of open ended-ness, from a table full of zoobs to an earthquake table to a circuit building table...
I know about the APE report, and the PIE activities/web site, both of which are very useful (anyone not familiar with either of these, I recommend checking them out at the explo site). Any other actual research would be greatly appreciated.
Also, if people have particularly cool versions of these types of activities, or anecdotes about successes/failures I'd be glad to know about them.
Thanks!
Eric Siegel
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