ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hi All,
If I were to take a pass at this. The hallmark of science centers is a focus on emotional and intellectual engagement, they're a somewhat theatrical production of science with an attention to verisimilitude. Engagement varies with people, cultures and social recognition and time. It will into the foreseeable future.
A Science Center experience builds upon initiate human capabilities and desires: these include things like an acquisition of knowledge, sensory engagement, exposure to a variety of different stimuli, sharing, social contextualization, parenting, childing, theorizing, hypothesis formation, testing, tool manipulation and instrument building. We all do these things to different degrees. These initiate capabilities and tendencies have been and continue to be selected for and form a distinct advantage in variable and changing environments and build upon one another. They are all vital to our existence.
Science centers are an expression of an individuality of approach, which is inherent in every brain and its development. As such they reflect a movement away from more regimented experiences and towards a broader set of metrics which correspond to individual proclivities. They are about empowering the observer participant. They are about non-conformity and theory testing.
As with most museums of note, Science Centers share a profound devotion to evidence and the growth of human knowledge, but we typically differ with respect to regard for object and institution.
It would all be vaporware, if we didn't need to eat, meet, or mate.
C
On Mar 30, 2011, at 4:29 PM, Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Erich,
> Agreed, children's museums have not always been consistent with having collections. The use of the word seems to fall in and out of favor.
>
> Bringing the discussion back to science centers/ science museum- at the end of the day, I'm not sure if visitors notice the distinctions/difference between them. And for us to equate those with museum in their name as less visitor focused seems unnecessary as well.
>
> Just my two cents,
> Rita
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 30, 2011, at 5:44 PM, "Erich Rose" <[log in to unmask]> 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 agree that one can make a broad generalization about science museums with or without collections but it does not exactly fit for Children's Museums. By example the Brooklyn CM has a collection. And yes, but most CMs do not. Children's Museums certainly grapple with what they are all the time. Many years back when I first went from strictly design to working at a Children's Museum a good friend who was educated in England and had a very traditional museum image in his head was surprised when I described what the Staten Island CM was like. He had imagined I worked in a place that was full of dioramas about how children's lives had changed over time with displays of their clothing and toys.
>>
>> Erich Rose
>>
>> Erich Rose Design
>> 807 The Living End
>> Austin, TX 78746
>> 512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 30, 2011, at 12:46 PM, Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt wrote:
>>
>>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>>> *****************************************************************************
>>>
>>> Hi Andrea (and Everyone),
>>>
>>> The traditional definition of science centers vs. museums has been the possession of a collection. Thus, older informal science institutions have been "museums" while younger institutions are called "centers." This applies to children's museums as well. For an excellent quick overview of the evolution of science museums/centers, I recommend Alan Freidman's 1996 article in The Informal Science Review. The full citation is listed below:
>>>
>>>
>>> Friedman, A. 1996. " The Evolution of Science and Technology Museums" The Informal Science Review (pp.1, 14-17) (March/April 1996)
>>>
>>> Hope this helps,
>>> Rita
>>>
>>> --
>>> Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt
>>> Assistant Director of Traveling Exhibits and Special Projects
>>> Franklin Institute
>>> 222 North 20th Street
>>> Philadelphia, PA 19103
>>> Phone: 215 448 1309
>>> Fax: 215 448 1188
>>>
>>
>> ***********************************************************************
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>>
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> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
>
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The opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own and should in no way be construed or attributed to the Exploratorium or related organization, and do not represent an institutional position.
Charles Carlson
Senior Scientist
exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
[log in to unmask]
Tel: 415-561-0319
Fax: 415-561-0370
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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