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Hi John,
You have pin-pointed a critical point that I'm emphasizing whenever I work with science educators all around the world.
Personally I'm amazed that science centers that took the lead with large format visualization 25 years ago are left behind with 3D visualization.
Not many years ago, if you had a story to tell - you had to spend 10-20M$ in order to turn your "story" into immersive visual experience (Mainly 70mm films) - today, a great 3D production can cost less then 150,000$ (about 10,000 per minute).
Not many years ago, if you wanted an immersive theater - you had to pay 5-6M$ for the theater...today you can convert your auditorium to 3D for less then 100,000$ and you can even find companies that will pay it for you (if you charge entrance fee)
Digital visualization is much better and much cheaper, but surprisingly I do not see many SC that are "telling new stories". Unfortunately, most of the SC prefer to walk the easy path and pay millions to enterprises instead of leading the way with fresh new immersive 3D stories.
Ami
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Bowditch
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 4:58 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Keeping it Real?
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hi Jonah,
I agree, as far as it goes. The question is how much glitz do you need
to get there? Does the movie screen have to be 70 feet tall and wide to
get the point across? I'm a great believer in "I-Min" where the
resources required are much smaller, etc. I also think that maybe there
are subjects that simply fall outside the scope of what we do. There are
so many things we can show that are accessible in our environment why go
for things that can't adequately be shown?
I'm just a bit conservative, I guess. I think a lot of money is being
spent to try to do things that don't work all that well anyway. And then
there's the matter of commercial factors rearing their heads. Very few
museums can afford to make their own appropriate films and so they rent
stuff instead. This leads to inappropriate films being shown just to
fill the seats.
John Bowditch
Exhibits Director
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonah Cohen
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 9:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Keeping it Real?
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****
A session at the conference a few years back (titled, I think, "Faking
It" - Eddie Goldstein was Master of Ceremonies) was really great, and it
was all about the merits of simulation/metaphor vs. reality.
But to answer John's question, below.... is your museum going to take
visitors to a REAL tropical rain forest? Or get up close and personal
with real humpback whales, or attacking 6 foot long squid? Really take
folks scuba diving under the ice at the south pole, or to a massive oil
well fire? Going to bring in musicians from Brazil, Africa, Japan and a
whole lot of other countries for a single, real concert? Really take
people into space? Or on a real climb up Mount Everest?
Cause those are all things I immediately recall seeing in IMAX movies at
science centers. Maybe really doing them would be better than seeing the
documentary movie (or maybe not - I also recall the description of
climbers on Everest coughing so hard they suffered cracked ribs), but
that approach has issues. And the IMAX version was a rather cool
substitute.
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 John Bowditch
Hi All,
I agree with this too! What ever happened to artifacts and REAL things
and exhibits?
John Bowditch
Exhibits Director
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
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