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I agree with much of what Dr.Sudduth says here. We have found that it is
possible to design exhibits that reach a widely diverse audience but
it's always tricky when the folks using the device are from such a wide
age and ability range. 

A couple of observations:

It should be possible to get some sort of result without reading
anything and if there is a delay in the actual operation (thermal
inertia, etc.) you'd better have some sort of countdown timer that is
prominent to let them know something is going to be happening.

In an ideal world the activating device (lever, button, crank wheel,
etc.) should be very brightly colored and obvious to use. Hand wheels
should have arrows on them to show direction of rotation or be
operational with bi-directional use. 

In the best exhibits the results can be obtained by using one hand only.
For example, if you have a very simple test to guess which device is
used for what don't have two buttons that have to be depressed at the
same time. They won't get it!

Design for multiple age results: An exhibit on the Bernoulli principle
should be fun to use and watch even if the person is 3 and has no clue
about the Bernoulli principle.

Make the exhibit very easy to repair by relatively unskilled persons.

Put it on casters so if it does fail it can disappear from view. Out of
sight (and site!), out of mind.

John Bowditch
Exhibits Director
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of WILLIAM M. SUDDUTH
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 9:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Broken exhibits - visitor perception

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

We all have stories of visitors who believed an exhibit was broken
because
they could not get it to work.  At some point I realized that if a
visitor
could not get the exhibit to work then it was "broken" even if it was
functional.  I guess poor design is broken.  Prototyping will let you
get
to some of this.  I have on occasion inherited  exhibits that took a
redesign before most people figured out how to do it.  One in particular
was outside the door to my office and I after keeping track for a month
as
I passed by it was obviously a functional exhibit that few people could
"work".  The interface or the exhibit needs to be intuitive enough that
most people can use it without reading the instructions.  A portion of
our
audience is under 6 and can not read, a portion of our audience will
read
as a last resort.  That's one of the value of explainers or floor staff
who can bridge the gap between intuition and an exhibit.  So if you have
a
combination of some exhibits that are actually broken and some the
visitor
can not work you quickly reach "everything is broken".  That threshold
could be is as low as 5% of 100 exhibit modules.  If someone finds the
same exhibit "broken" two visits in a row it gets lower.   In other
words
the actual percentage does not matter.  Even if they all work It is the
visitor's perception that you have to deal with.  It can be handled by
design, redesign, and facilitation.  Finally customer attitude goes away
if your floor people or explainers can actually fix a broken exhibit so
that the visitor can then use it.  Of course, I am assuming you do the
normal good job and a high percentage of your exhibits are functional
and
receive daily checks and attention.

Dr. Mac Sudduth
Coordinator of Science Grants
Premier DeKalb County Schools
Department of Research and Evaluation
3770 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, Georgia 30032-1099
678-676-0675
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