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Aloha Kate,

Thanks for the wonderful vivid anecdote.  Searching eyes can often
recognize far better exhibits outside the walls of science centers than
jaded eyes ever see presented within them.  But how to get visitors to
be active searchers?

Practical or not, the bike-blended smoothie experience has an
ingredient missing from many bike generator exhibits: an intrinsic
motivation for the user to generate power, a real need for the power
produced. The "pedal to see yourself on TV" version that George wrote
of yesterday is a similarly delightful idea.

The first generator exhibit I built years ago was the simplest and the
best.  We had a dark sewer vault installed in an "underground" setting
for children to explore.  I hooked up a flashlight on ten feet of cable
to a small hand cranked generator at the entrance to the sewer.  A
child with the light would enter the dark,with a parent or friend
stationed at the crank.  Then you would hear  shouts from inside,
"Crank faster!  We need more light!"

I like exhibits that allow users to discover such relationships on
their own. The harder you pedal, the better your smoothie will taste -
why is that?

All the best,

Tom Nielsen
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

On Friday, November 21, 2003, at 06:24  AM, Kate Hintz 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 don't know how practical this is in a museum setting, but  . . .  We
> just
> returned from Hawaii and on a back road came upon a Fruit Smoothie
> vendor
> who powered her blender with a bicycle powered generator.  We rode the
> bike
> and watched the banana, passion fruit, coconut, and payaya get blended
> into
> a tasty drink.  The best application of a bicycle generator I've seen
> so
> far--and a multi-sensory experience too!
>
>> -----original message-----
>>
>>> Our museum is looking to replace our well-worn bicycle generator
>>> exhibit
>> with a new one. The current exhibit consists of a Schwinn exercise
>> bicycle
>> hooked up to a generator that is wired to a series of light bulbs. The
>> faster the visitor pedals, the more lights light up. Next to the
>> lights, we
>> have illustrations of household items that could be powered by the
>> different
>> amounts of electricity generated.
>>> This exhibit is a good one, and still quite popular, so we'd like to
>>> offer
>> the same type of exhibit, but we think maybe it can be done better.
>>>
>>> Has anyone seen an exemplary version of this exhibit anywhere?
>>> Anybody know of a fabricator that builds one of these in an off-the
>>> shelf
>> version?
>>> Have you ever seen one of these done with a recumbent bike?
>>> We would appreciate any suggestions.
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Bruce Quast
>>> Exhibits Director
>>> Discovery Center Museum
>>> 815/972-2833
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>
>>>
>>
>> **********************************************************************
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>> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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>
>
> Kate
> ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Kate Hintz
> Science Museum of Minnesota
> Collections Gallery Manager
> 120 West Kellogg Blvd.
> St. Paul, MN  55102
>
> 651-221-4508
> 651-221-4528 (fax)
> [log in to unmask]
> ========================================
> Witness an 8,000-mile journey that shaped a nation on the Omnitheater's
> giant screen. "Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West" is now playing at the
> Science Museum of Minnesota. Call (651) 221-9444 for reservations.
>
> ***********************************************************************
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