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Nina - 

"If we want people to engage with exhibits in more open-ended ways, we
have to extend exhibit literacy.  I'm not sure how that change
happens."

Certainly getting people involved with the creation of an exhibit from
its inception is usually eye opening for those who have not previously
been part of the process. Given the freedom, they usually dive into the
curatorial/informal education role. But I guess that's not really a
solution for the larger population.

I can see this kind of engagement happening in a programatic fashion,
sort of like a development/design charette where you take thiry minutes
to sketch out a new exhibit based on initial subject matter and a
collection of objects. 

What would be more difficult, but worthwhile, would be translating that
into a non-staffed physical experience. Maybe a combination of the wiki
galleries folks have suggested and cabinets of curiosities. Like a wall
full of different sized cubby holes and some objects. Allow visitors to
arrange the objects, add their own, and create their own labels (based
on personal meaning).

From a non-object based exhibit standpoint - what if visitors were
given opportunities to share how *they* would have illustrated that
process/fact/concept/principle. Like an "I would have done that
differently" gallery. If this worked and could be shared, new visitors
could benefit from multiple ways of sharing information and they might
begin to think of their own "different" ways. I've often learned more
from teaching than from being the student.

This is a very interesting conundrum in a very interesting discussion. 

Karen

Karen Pollard
Exhibit Developer
Science Museum of Minnesota
120 W. Kellogg Boulevard
St. Paul, MN 55102 USA
phone: 651-221-2551
fax: 651-221-4514
www.smm.org 

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Date:    Fri, 10 Nov 2006 10:03:10 -0500
From:   Nina Simon Subject: Re: visitor participation in content
creation

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

Hanna,

One evaluator who presented at ASTC commented that the goal for most
visitors with interactive museum exhibits is to figure out "how it
works," i.e. how to achieve the presumed worthwhile result that the
exhibit designers have programmed in.  He proposed that if we want
visitors to engage in a more creative way with exhibits, we have to
change the part of our design process that prompts visitors to use
exhibits in a linear "get the carrot" way. 

I bring this up because I wonder whether the "win" of understanding
that "knowledge construction is shown as an open-ended and social
process" is something that visitors will be able to connect to.  If we
want people to engage with exhibits in more open-ended ways, we have to
extend exhibit literacy.  I'm not sure how that change happens.

Nina Simon
International Spy Museum


 
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