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I am totally down with Matt's point about using various m.o.'s to
complement each other. I'm a little surprised at why many seem down on
the idea of IMAX flix as being a part of that. (The barfing thing
aside.)
In the real vs. simulation scale, I'd say these documentaries fall
closer to the real end. Yes, it's film of people/places/stuff, not
actual people/places/stuff --- but it IS film of REAL people, places +
events. "Everest" was filmed on the biggest mountain in the world, not
on a soundstage or with CGI. [Insert your own wisecrack about fake moon
landing conspiracy theorists here.] And frankly, that's as close as I
ever want to get to the place known as "the death zone".
I see John's point about I-MIN and considering what the best allocation
of resources is. Heaven knows my museum can't afford an IMAX theater.
(Heck, I'm not entirely sure my last paycheck didn't bounce.) But there
is certainly something to be said for a 70' screen, especially in an age
when we're urged to watch things on the 2" screen of a cell phone.
And you wanna talk wise resource allocation? Sure, live people can be
brought in for concerts, lectures etc... for one or two presentations.
[How long do you plan to pay to keep paying appearance fees and room +
board for these guests?] How about the folks who can't see that one
presentation? An ongoing exhibit/exhibition and/or movie makes it
easier.
Think IMAX is tough to maintain? How many places can keep the squids
seen in "Deep Sea 3-D" around? And while seeing them live is
unquestionably great, in one respect, the movie would be realer than the
aquarium exhibit: the film shows the animals in their (real) natural
habitat exhibiting (real) behavior. The aquarium cephalopods are in a
very artificial environment, and who knows how they behave then.
Sure, taking a tour of Costa Rica to see the rain forests is a WAY
better experience than seeing the IMAX movie "Tropical Rain Forest". But
the latter is nothing to sneeze at, and the former costs around $5,000.
Consider the resources of our visitors, not just our museums.
I don't doubt the power of seeing real stuff right in front of you (I
went to Philly just to see King Tut's treasures). But I also don't doubt
that these kinds of artifacts have their limits. I don't know at what
age kids start to appreciate objects for their history/rarity and so
on... but say you got one of the ultimate artifacts imaginable: a moon
rock. I would think this was cool upon cool. Sadly, many kids (and more
than a few adults) would look at it and see... just a rock. And not even
an interesting looking rock.
Or say you did have a speech by someone who helped extinguish the oil
well fires after the first gulf wars. Wouldn't the audience be
infinitely more impressed if they first saw what this person had to deal
with in the IMAX film "Fires of Kuwait".
I would never want to eliminate honest to goodness objects, and honest
to goodness experiments. But I recall the gasps from the ASTC audience
when astronaut Mike Melvill showed us footage of his craft going into an
uncontrolled spin. Why would there be something wrong with showing folks
a ginormous, panoramic film of stuff like that. KnowhudI'msaying?
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
The Children's Museum
"If everyone is thinking alike, no one is thinking."
-Bill Walton
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Matthew White
Since I went a little overboard on my last post on this issue, and have
yet to have a chance to answer all the emails I got offline on it, I
would like to make some small points here:
1. Jonah, why do you think all of these things are so undoable? Some of
them are quite doable and are done. Museums, science centers, and
cultural centers, and art museums bring in musicians, cooks, artists,
and artisans from around the world to their towns. Right now on the
National Mall you can here musicians from the Mekong Valley and Northern
Ireland. It is kind of expensive, sure, but compared to what? The
creation and traveling and maintenance of the latest Grossology
exhibition? The construction and operating budget of an iMax theater?
Please. And no it would not be for one concert. It would be for a
concert, a few workshops, and even an oral history for the archives.
Can we take people under the South Pole or up Mount Everest? Jonah has
cheated a little picking the most inaccessible, but on the other hand,
SI Travel can take you to the South Pole, I am not sure if they go under
it. Other museums and science centers sponsor educational trips around
the world and to nearby locations of scientific interest.
The burning oil well fire would be difficult, but for the price of
airfare and a week's hotel you could bring in someone who has been there
and fought them for programming.
And it need not be to replace a film or exhibition, but enhance.
And enhance it does. I must admit I am moving soon and changing jobs, so
all of my books and journals are packed away, so excuse the lack of
specific citations, but "real" objects have a demonstrably positive
effect on learning. According to the work reported in the book "Presence
of the Past" by Rosenzweig and Thelen, museums are the most trusted
source of information about History. More than text books, more than
teachers, and certainly more than the press and movies. The reason is we
have "the real stuff." It is not too hard to extrapolate these findings
to science and other areas of informal learning and create a hypothesis
about people's views and recall of different science topics in a variety
of formats.
To pick up on one of Jonah's examples, do you think our visitors have
more trust, would learn more, and recall better a film about Giant Squid
at an iMax or actually seeing one in an aquarium, or a program with a
squid expert with appropriate supporting specimen and artifacts? I know
where to put my money.
I have much more to say on this topic, but I am late for lunch where I
will enjoy food created by cooks from Northern Ireland and listen to
musicians from Thailand.
Matthew White
Director, Hands On Science Center
National Museum of American History
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