ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Martin,
Questacon has about 500 exhibits on the floor and in circulation around the country. These range in age up to 27 years old with very few exhibits being retired before 10 years. As a base rule of thumb the more the exhibit is content rich the earlier it will be retired, the more its phenomena rich the more likely it will live past 10 years and or be refurbished.
Age, in and of itself wouldn't be the prime factor in keeping or removing the exhibit but rather Maintenance load, Popularity effectiveness Relevance Sponsorship
Hope this helps.
Stuart Kohlhagen
Manager Research and Development
Questacon
The National Science and technology Centre Canberra Australia
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Martin Fisher
Sent: Thursday, 29 November 2007 9:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: age when an exhibit is too old
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
What is the current industry standard for deciding when an exhibit is too old? In other words, with current 2007 thinking, how old is an exhibit when you would remove or refurbish it?
6? 8? 10?
Please note, I am not looking for philosophical discussion on the value of keeping a popular exhibit for 20 years, or argument on the need to re-design a 5-year old exhibit because visitors don't understand how to use it properly, or the financial concern of keeping an exhibit forever to save money. Merely, in general, "at ___ age my museum removes it."
Thanks.
Martin
Martin S. Fisher
President
Science Central
1950 North Clinton Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
Phone: 260-424-2400 ext. 441
Fax: 260-422-2899
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
www.sciencecentral.org
41°5'52" N 85°7'8" W 756 ft.
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to [log in to unmask]
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|
