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Mike;

A few years ago there were a series of books called Where's Waldo 
that were very popular with kids. You might try  encouraging specific 
observations using this technique.  As I recall children often did 
not need help to find Wlado but parents could be urged to help.

Yes, as Bob Russell points out we did develop audio tours for several 
exhibitions which encourage engagement.  There certainly are 
techniques to add audio descriptions and suggestions of how to 
observe the dioramas that are lower cost than audio tours. We just 
installed a visitor operated audio player for our cloud chamber 
(Cosmic Ray Detector) at very low cost. Let me know if you want any 
details.

Cheers,

Martin


>
>Hi All,
>
>I am working on a wildlife diorama where visitors will be able to see
>taxidermied specimens of mammals, birds and reptiles that they might see
>while exploring Calaveras Big Trees State park. I was wondering if anyone
>has done anything where the goal was to get visitors to be careful
>observers? 
>
>I did a workshop once in the AMNH rainforest section of their biodiversity
>hall where we given flashlights to focus our attention.  It worked great
>because the exhibit was very dense and dimly lit to simulate the real light
>levels in the rain forests of Africa.  The diorama I am working on will be
>much less densely populated and will be in a room with a significant amount
>of natural light. 
>
>Any ideas you have seen that help visitors become careful observers would be
>welcome.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mike
>
>
>Mike Levad
>Lead Exhibit Developer
>Split Rock Studios
>2071 Gateway Blvd.
>Arden Hills, MN. 55112
>651-631-2211xt.35
>651-631-0707fax   
>Toll free: 800-433-9599
>[log in to unmask]
>www.splitrockstudios.com <http://www.splitrockstudios.com>
>


-- 
Martin Weiss, PhD
VP, Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, NY 11368
ph 718 699 0005 x 356
fax 718 699 5227

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