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I have to agree with Minda.  Especially in the science center field,  
we tend to be very sloppy about using the word "exhibit" to mean a  
stand alone unit as well as a collection of components - what the rest  
of the field would call an "exhibition." Technology in exhibitions and  
technology in exhibits are questions of vastly different scale.

Lots of people have touched on examples of exhibit-level technologies  
that have been transformative of our practice. On the exhibition  
scale, I'd second the inclusion of object theatres as an influential  
technology. The work that Science North and others have done to create  
compelling, dramatic theatrical experiences using only objects and  
multimedia is incredible.  Home Place Minnesota at the MN History  
Center made me cry the first time I experienced it, and years later I  
still remember it more than the vast majority of exhibits and  
exhibitions I've seen since.

The second technology that is in the process of influencing  
exhibitions is the mobile phone, if for no other reason than it is  
going to force museums to abandon their "no photography" policies  
because its getting to be cost-prohibitive to enforce when more and  
more people have phones and most of their phones have cameras.

Ed


On Jan 18, 2011, at 5:58 PM, Minda Borun wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> We have a bit of a problem with terminology--"exhibit means both an  
> exhibition and a component device.  I agree with Chuck about the  
> lack of comparability between a whole exhibition and a single  
> device.  There are some computer kiosks that are called "exhibits"  
> and stand alone.  They tend not to be very powerful in telling a  
> story.  I have seen some strong computer-based experiences as  
> components within exhibitions for example the Snibbe interactives  
> previously mentioned, or a cell phone activated art piece in The  
> Franklin Institute's new electricity exhibit. The Franklin also has  
> a number of multi-player games, developed by Chedd Angier Lewis,  
> that are very engaging and informative and hold visitors attention  
> for unusually long times.
> I think such interactives have tremendous potential for enhancing  
> exhibitions.
> Minda Borun
> Director of Research and Evaluation
> The Franklin Institute Science Museum
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask] 
> ] On Behalf Of Chuck Howarth
> Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2011 8:46 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Influential uses of digital technology in exhibits?
>
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Seems to me that there is an apples and oranges problem here.  The  
> exhibits Marjorie Schwarzer lists - the MSI coal mine, Holocaust  
> Museum, etc. - are complex assemblages of may components.  So for  
> example the Holocaust Museum itself includes advanced technologies  
> as one tool for telling the story.  There is no way to compare that  
> type of exhibit to a single component such as computers or video  
> projectors.  Those are sub-components that allow us all to be better  
> story tellers, but they are not exhibits by themselves.  So maybe  
> that is the answer to your student's question:  the term "technology- 
> based exhibit" has no real meaning.  The great majority of exhibits  
> today incorporate technology as a tool.
>
>> During the discussion afterward, one student asked if there were  
>> any technology-based exhibits that were also considered  
>> influential.  I thought of Science on a Sphere, which is popping up  
>> in several science centers, and the AMNH biodiversity hall which  
>> has a computerized ID system that has received a lot of attention.   
>> But for the most part, no, and I came up with three reasons:
>>
>
> Chuck Howarth, Vice President
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