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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This balls-rolling-down-tracks example nicely touches on a fundamental
question that still vexes science centers--namely, what is the purpose of our
exhibits. One prevalent answer is that we are helping visitors to LEARN
science--which, even by us, is mostly understood to mean learning the concepts/principles
of science. Another answer, however, can come from stepping back and looking
more broadly at science as (by my favorite definition) a method for describing,
understanding, and extending our experiences with the world. Our purpose then
is to help visitors get involved in just this--DOING science. From this
perspective, the first thing we can do is broaden the vistor's experience by, for
example, presenting interesting phenomena that can be explored. Then we can
also encourage them to pursue their own inquiry to reach some level of
understanding. This understanding will vary with the individual, and it will probably
not be the same as the expert's understanding based on the established
principles of science. But that is OK. From this perspective, the concepts of science
may be useful for some visitors to understand the phenomena; but learning
them is not the goal, they are a means to the end of understanding. Often, with
"what's going on" labels, science centers try to both teach the concepts and
use them to explain the exhibit, which can end up succeeding in neither.
Getting back to the balls in the tracks, I would suggest a good exhibit might
be to have two tracks side by side; one a fixed, straight track, and the
other a flexible track that could be bent into all kinds of shapes. Visitors could
race balls down the two tracks and through their own exploration find which
shape got the ball to the finish line first. This could involve quite extensive
trials. Some visitors might go away with just the experience, perhaps
wondering how come the straight track wasn't the fastest. Others, with more
background (such as Jonah) would pursue their inquiry to finding an explanation based
on science principles. But I (along with Dave) would feel the former was also a
success.
This exhibit could be fancied up with electronic instrumentation that
measured the speed of the balls at given intervals along the track or at given
intervals of time, which could lead to quite sophisticated investigation.
Particularly nice would be to measure the balls' speeds as they crossed the finish
line--which in all cases would be the same (or nearly so) speed.
Ted Ansbacher
Science Services
29 Byron Ave
White Plains, NY 10606
914-328-5407 • [log in to unmask]
www.scienceservs.com
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