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At 09:36 10/11/2003 -0700, Bill Schmitt wrote:

>Ian,
>
>Great article!  This kind of thinking is critical if we are to actualize the
>potential of our resources.
>
>The parts that mostly got me thinking are the issues of exploratory and
>explanatory.  Is it possible that the objects of our exploration are the
>bubbles and, through our explorations, the bubbles themselves become the
>explainers if we have created a situation where the visitor can truly
>manipulate the variables?
>
>This then begs another question:  If we have staff in the exhibit hall, and
>we believe that the notion of "explainer" may be counter to exploration,
>then what do they do (and what do we call them) that helps define their
>mission to improve exploratory behaviors?  Maybe they could be called good
>listeners, or collaborators, or observation coaches, or possibility
>creators, or question generators, or students of the visitors, or even
>matchmakers.

I believe a correctly designed interactive exhibit IS the explanation.

I've always been very outspoken against calling Science Centre people
"explainers". Here in the UK there have been many attempts to find a more
appropriate word. Examples used in various British science centres include:
facilitators, guides, helpers, crew, pilots.

Another model I find helpful is to see the exhibit, visitor and
staff-member as a triangle marked on the floor. When the visitor-exhibit
interaction is being correctly facilitated, the visitor and staff-member
are both looking at the exhibit while they speak. Neither is speaking for
longer than the other. When an explanation is being perpetrated, the
hapless visitor is looking politely and respectfully at the staff-member,
who is hogging air-time and doing most of the speaking. The exhibit only
receives occasional glances.

Like "exploratory behaviour" I find that such behaviour patterns are
actually monitorable and therefore available for evaluation. It is easy to
detect when a visitor is being explained-at, even from a distance of a
hundred paces.

Many fortunate children actually bring their own facilitator-guide-helper
in with them. These are called "grandmothers", and instinctively understand
what is required better than any of us. Children accompanied by
grandmothers seem to have a wonderfully educational and empowering science
centre experience.

What seems to work well is a skillfully cultivated "low-status" persona. In
terms of transactional analysis, it needs to be child-child. Not
parent-child, or adult-child. Most of us here are in this business, myself
include, because we are compulsive explainers. Therefore we actually find
it almost impossible to achieve such humility or to ask truly open
questions, with voices that do not imply that we already know the correct
answer.

Grandmothers have no difficulty in asking beautifully empowering questions,
such as, "Er, what does this one do?" and "Oooh! THAT was good. I wonder
why?" and "I don't know; is there anything about it on the label?"

Explainers can't do this.

[log in to unmask] * http://www.interactives.co.uk
*
People forget what you said, people forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.
*
Ian Russell

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