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Sure, I'm happy to offer examples.

In an exhibition about Politics (in Louisiana) we were trying to get people
to understand what a political platform was. So, we made 4 x 6" magnets that
had an issue written on them (like "searching school lockers is legal" "A
15% standard income tax for everyone."). Visitors then put them in one of
three columns on a magnetic board: for, against, or undecided. They then
were asked to debate and discuss their decision with their companions.

A big part of it is simply making the exhibits big enough for more than one
person to fit around (even going beyond looking over someone's shoulder). In
an interactive exhibition called "The Artist in the Studio" instead of
making individual easels for people to paint on (with a really cool paper
that you paint with water and a black line shows up - like ink drawing -
until it evaporates and is blank again) - we designed them so that two
adults or three kids could stand side by side at one easel and paint in the
same area - they HAD to communicate with each other and talk about what they
wanted to do - together!

The bottom line comes down to who holds the content - the museum (as the
authority) or the visitor (as an inquirer/scienctist/artist). It's not about
getting the right answer, but about opening up the content to inquiry.


- Jennie Zehmer

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