October 20th, 2008
On October 11,2008 I accompanied my Earth Life and Time (ELT) scholars class to the Maryland Science Center. The goal of this trip was to evaluate different exhibits; this involves identifying the scientific information being conveyed, and determines how effective the exhibit is at conveying the information present to young people. I looked at six different exhibits from 4 different galleries; these exhibits cover topics like water movement, sound travel, weight distribution, the human body, and animals.
The first exhibit I looked at was the "Water-Sound Tube," this exhibit was located in Newton's Alley. "The Water-Sound Tube" consisted of a horizontal plastic tube half full with water. On one end of the tube a speaker was attached. Below the tube there were two dials to control the volume (intensity) of the sound and the frequency of the sound coming out of the speaker. The objective of this exhibit was to observe the movement sound through the tube and water mediums. The frequency knob changed the rate (amount) at which the waves formed and the distance between each wave. Setting the knob at a high frequency produced a lot fast moving waves. Making the frequency low ceased fewer, slower moving waves. The volume knob controlled the intensity (strength/size) of the wave. High volumes made a larger wave while lower volumes made a smaller wave. This exhibit did a good job explaining the topic of wave characteristics in regards to frequency and intensity. It was so easy to understand because it was visual and I was able to manipulate the system, this enabled you to understand what was happening.
The next exhibit I looked at was the "Bed of Nails," this exhibit was located in the "Your Body" gallery. The bed of nails consisted of a plastic bed full of hundreds of holes and a plank of nails underneath the bed. We were able to lay and experience the feeling of hundreds of nails holing us up, as the plank was remotely lifted. The objective of this exhibit was to show how an increase of surface area causes a distribution of weight. The needles don't hurt because there are so many of them, with so many nails the weight of our bodies was distributed evenly over the bed of nails. This distribution of weight stopped the nails from sticking into our body. This exhibit was interesting, but some kids might find it hard to understand what is going, they never specifically explained that the large surface area of the bed of nails cause our weight to be distributed over the bed evenly.
I also looked at an exhibit called "Water Vortex," this exhibit was located in Newton's Alley. The exhibit consisted of a vertical tube with water in it (not completely full) inside the bottom of a tube was a slanted board. This board was connected to a lever on the front of the exhibit. As we spun the lever the board rotated. The rotating board caused a tornado shaped vortex to form in the tube of water. The spinning ruder forces the water to be pushed up out of the way, causing the water to make a funnel shaped vortex in the center of the tube. This information was conveys well because once again we were able to manipulate the system as the ruder spun faster and faster we could see the water being pushed up ward. The only thing missing was an explanation of the forces involved in the exhibit.
My favorite exhibit I visited was the "Whisper Dish," this exhibit consisted of two large dishes on opposite sides of the room. Each dish had markers showing where the focal point of the dish was located. One person went to each dish and could talk to one another in whisper voices from across a room. The sound heard was centered in a specific location. This exhibit shows how dishes how dishes can be used to transfer sound from place to place. Also, it shows how dishes are able to center all the waves being received to a single focal point at each dish. Information about sound wave transfer from dish to dish was conveyed well, we were able to manipulate the system to see how it worked. For example we could move around or talk at different volumes, this would change the sound produced. Manipulating the sound would help find the focal point if it were not presented for you.
Another exhibit I looked at was called "Protection in the Body from Birth," this exhibit was located in the science arcade. It was a poster of a baby and it pointed out a lot of the natural defense systems our bodies are born with. Some of the defense systems shown were tears; which are used to wash away particles, germs, mucus, which lines all of our inner body tubes to trap particles, and saliva, which kills germs and washes them off teeth and out of the mouth. This exhibit was conveyed well, it had visual pictures so we could see what parts of the body the exhibit was referring to. Also, the exhibit gave good explanations of how the different systems are used in the body. I think this exhibit could teach kids a lot about their own body.
The last exhibit I saw was called "The Blue Crab,' it was located in "Follow the Blue Crab." This exhibit talked about blue crabs and their life cycle. Male blue crabs have blue-tipped claws, and females have red-tipped claws; females are usually smaller than males. Blue crabs only give birth once because they have such a short life, however they give birth to a lot of babies. The exhibit also talked about their migration habits, male blue crabs move to deeper waters of the bay during the winter and in the spring they move to shallower parts of the bay; hence crab season is in late spring/ summer. This exhibit conveyed information about blue crabs well, anyone that looks at this exhibit would learn a lot about blue crabs. Also, the exhibit has crabs in it so we could easily see the differences between the male and female blue crabs.
In conclusion this trip to the Maryland Science Center was very useful in that we were able to see the strengths and the weaknesses of many different displays. After this experience I am able to evaluate the efficiency of different exhibits. In general I would say that there are a few disadvantages that interactive exhibits have that traditional displays don't have. Interactive exhibits do not have enough explanation of the subject, they are focused on getting you interested, not on teaching you scientific background of the exhibits. Also, interactive displays might be hard to comprehend because the reader has to analyze what is happening. Traditional exhibits usually don't leave anything to the imagination, they present all the information they want you to know. There are a number of things I think could think of that could improve private museums while still being cost effective. They can incorporate more exhibits that include digital displays and videos. This will take away some of the maintenance costs because there would be less moving parts to break and replace. Also, they could make the exhibits on a larger scale for large groups to see at the same time like theatrical shows with scientific themes. More people would be able to be entertained at the same time and it would cost less to teach the visitors.