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

I thought a lot about these makers space, what constitutes them, how to run
them, types and number of hardware and machines, facilitation. and how to
incorporate technology. In fact, at this coming ASTC conference I am doing
a Pecha Kucha presentation on whether or not they are a fad or a
revolution. Being a long standing paid member of the community (30 years),
I believe we are at a transformative moment in the history of science
centers. Just like the tipping point when the Exploratorium came online. I
also appreciate the challenge of maintaining and supporting facilitated
experience like makers labs, and that there an existing audience at most if
not all science centers of children, students and families; and that there
is a lot of investment in the current legacy model of engagement.

However, what if makers labs is not about learning? What if that is a side
benefit? What if science centers have another purpose in society? More of a
community resource and less of a teaching organization? What if programs
like makers labs have no learning goals and that the metrics of success
does not including how many people come through your doors?

I think once we start looking at alternative models of engagement,
expanding what we are the moment consider "hard to reach" audiences, that
could open possibilities of the new models of science centers to evolve.


On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Charles Carlson <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Wow! That's quite a production.  The audience primarily seemed to be young
> children and their parents, nonetheless impressive.
> C
>
> Sent from Charlie Carlson's iPad
> [log in to unmask]
> Cell 510-499-8086
> Try me on Skype (510) 984-3543
>
> On Aug 23, 2013, at 5:21 AM, Maarten Horstink <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> > Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> >
> *****************************************************************************
> >
> > Dear Paul,
> > Unstaffed is a tall order, but please check out the activities in 'de
> > uitvinderij' (spelerij.nl) and 'de ontdekhoek' (ontdekhoek.nl) in the
> > Netherlands. At 'de ontdekhoek' we manage a staffing of 1 to 20-30
> > visitors, 'de uitvinderij' manages up to 1:50 (with metalworking
> equipment,
> > which always impresses me).
> > Regards,
> > maarten horstink
> > de ontdekhoek
> >
> >
> > On 2 January 2013 19:13, Eli Kuslansky <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers
> >> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> >> institutions.
> >>
> >>
> *****************************************************************************
> >>
> >> I think the way for small museums to address the expense of floor
> >> staff would be to develop these spaces in partnerships with either
> >> existing partners or new and non-traditional ones. Then the expense of
> >> staff could be shared across organizations.
> >>
> >> It also seems that the point of Maker's spaces is not as much only about
> >> learning, although that is a significant factor, but about "making",
> >> creating, inventing. It is a different paradigm. Learning with a
> >> tangible results. This paradigm will eventually shift the way museums
> >> and science centers operate.
> >>
> >>
> >>> There's certainly evidence to justify the operational expense of floor
> >>> staff (in addition to our common-sense observations). I was at a museum
> >>> that participated in an industry-wide survey of museums and zoos and
> >>> aquariums and we learned that visitors who reported 3 or more positive
> >>> interactions with staff were also the ones most likely to give the top
> >>> score for overall satisfaction.  That said, many museums are in a
> >> position
> >>> to staff up sometimes but not all the time, maybe weekends only, or for
> >>> school groups only. Some museums I'm working with are  are operating
> on a
> >>> shoestring with one or two staff running the whole museum on weekends.
> A
> >>> staffed maker space is a best case scenario but are you suggesting that
> >>> smaller museums should skip "making" altogether?
> >>>
> >>> I'd love to see museums of all sizes move toward "learning through
> >>> making"--it seems to have so much more potential than simply pursuing
> >>> business-as-usual "learning through hands-on interactives." To offer
> some
> >>> practical suggestions for Paul's client, perhaps a "multiple
> personality"
> >>> maker space can be designed to function in multiple modes with or
> without
> >>> staff to avoid locking up scarce public space when staff are absent. We
> >> did
> >>> something along those lines in the Mystery Learning Lab at the Museum
> of
> >>> Science and Industry--text panels could be flipped over and 2 versions
> of
> >>> each software program could be launched on the same machines to
> interact
> >>> differently with the same tools (calipers, microscopes, etc). The
> >>> facilitated experience was much richer and more complex and required
> >>> teamwork across 4 different exhibit components. I called it
> >>> "capital-intensive programming"--for once we were giving educators a
> >>> big-budget resource to support programming instead of expecting them to
> >>> collect paper towel rolls. I'd say maker spaces fall in the
> >>> "capital-intensive programming" category--they'll offer the richest,
> most
> >>> complex version of an experience and all the better if there is a
> >> fallback
> >>> "exhibit mode": I'm picturing tools and supplies that come out of
> hiding
> >>> like Murphy beds. Or those ironing boards that fold up against a wall.
> Or
> >>> the sewing machines that tip over to hide under a flat counter. Or
> >>> enclosures like those secretary desks with doors that fold down to
> >> create a
> >>> work surface and reveal cubbies of tools and supplies. Heck, you could
> >> take
> >>> that strategy beyond a dedicated maker space and integrate maker tools
> >> and
> >>> supplies into existing galleries on topics like electricity or
> airplanes.
> >>> Pop-up maker spaces!
> >>>
> >>
> >> ***********************************************************************
> >> 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.
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>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
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