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I've been following this discussion with great interest.
One of the things that I don't think has been discussed
is the choice of exhibit subjects to the ability to be hands-on
or minds-on.

Basic physical science exhibits where cause and effect are
happening in real time in front of the visitor (levers, pulleys,
etc.) are easy to design as hands-on and minds-on.

Unfortunately we are often called upon to develop exhibits
that are about subjects that aren't able to be experienced
in real time and on a human scale.  I often cringe when I'm
asked to do this kind of exhibit because I often think these
are subjects that might better be handled through another
media (demos, educational TV, even IMAX movies) yet they
are often associated with funds that are difficult for institutions
to turn down.

I often see these as the kinds of exhibits that have the gratuitous
hands-on activities, where the hands-on is just a gimmick to try
to engage the visitor to pay attention rather than being directly
related to the message or concept.

I'd be interested in success stories from others of you who have
faced this problem, and yet been able to turn it into a successful
hands-on or minds-on experience.

Dave Taylor
-=-=-------------------------------------------

> From: [log in to unmask]
> Reply-To: Informal Science Education Network
> Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 13:10:11 EST
> Subject: Re: Hands-on, Minds-on
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Thanks, Ian. I couldn't agree more with you about the missing ingredients in
> most glitzy exhibits. Engagement of the head, the heart, and the hands is the
> integration we are looking for. I just think the "on" is superfluous. But if
> it turns people "on," to use the term, so be it. More important to me would be
> to see the rationale for any exhibit set forth in terms of how well it
> addresses engagement of the visitor on ALL of these levels. I also think we
> should be
> discussing the ingredient of "understanding." Does the visitor comprehend
> something more deeply after being so engaged, or have they just been engaged.
> That is the difference, it seems to me, between entertainment and learning.
> Peter Dow

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