ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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…and if I may chip in from the Science Festival Alliance: Many science centers are realizing that great opportunities lie in wait in their communities, but to crack these open you have to venture past the walls of your building/facility altogether. 

I was in Philly two weeks ago for the Philadelphia Science Festival, and had a jam-packed schedule of eye-popping events, but as it happens I didn't set foot in the Franklin Institute once…even though the Franklin Institute is the lead on the festival. There were hands-on activities and artifacts a plenty, but the most memorable aspects of these events was the overall experience of being surrounded by folks from the neighborhood (whatever that may mean for the given event: the festival reaches significantly into Philadelphia's diverse neighborhoods, with events for kids, families, and adults) and having them all reacting spontaneously in their own way while comfortable and together on their own turf.

Ben 
..........
Ben Wiehe
Manager, Science Festival Alliance
MIT Museum
(617) 806-6369
[log in to unmask]  
Join the festival community: www.sciencefestivals.org
..........


On May 8, 2013, at 3:42 PM, Rachel Hellenga wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Per Tom's comment on the power of artifacts, Reach Advisors did a report on
> museum memories last year, and objects topped the charts, well ahead of
> hands-on activities.
> 
> 
> On Wed, May 8, 2013 at 1:51 PM, Tom Lesser <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> ****************************************************************
>> *****************
>> 
>> One might consider the timeframe when natural history museums began
>> presenting dioramas.  If memory serves, most of the oldest dioramas in
>> natural history museums date to just after World War II. Consider the
>> experience of people, especially young people, at that time. No computers,
>> web, or downloadable video; while television existed, almost no one had
>> one.  Before the Boeing 707 revolutionized air travel in the 1960s, only
>> the very wealthy could even consider traveling to Africa. Especially people
>> living in cities only saw wildlife in the movies (think of the MGM lion or
>> Tarzan), or at a zoo where animals were kept in incredibly small cages.
>> 
>> The dioramas of the time allowed the museum goer to see wildlife in a
>> fairly natural setting. For instance, in the case of the American Museum of
>> Natural History, artists were sent “on location” to sketch and photograph
>> the settings which became the backgrounds for the dioramas.
>> 
>> Now fast forward to the early 21st century.  A person can be in just about
>> any community in America and cable/satellite television has a gazillion
>> channels presenting (over and over again it seems) the lives of animals
>> from around the world. Want to see what an Opaki is? Google it and you can
>> instantly see photographs, learn more about it than you could ever want to
>> know, and watch videos on YouTube.
>> 
>> Today’s youngsters can see animals in a variety of ways, but they are
>> virtual animals, which almost brings us back full circle. How many have
>> seen (display or living) a real lion, much less a blue whale, or even a
>> relatively common coyote?
>> 
>> I would suggest that the younger generations having easy access to the
>> virtual world want to see the “real thing”, be that live Rays in an
>> aquarium, a stuffed black bear, or Native American pottery.  That is not to
>> suggest that these should be presented instead of interactive technology,
>> activities, etc., but rather that the actual artifact (animal or otherwise)
>> is a strong attraction.
>> Tom Lesser
>> 
>>> 


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