Science is an Activity: A New Approach to Exhibits in Science Museums

The Museum of Science is initiating a unique approach to its permanent exhibits which concentrates on the process of learning science rather than on the facts to be learned. The first stage, development of "Seeing the Unseen", one of six activity centers, is the focus of this proposal. Guided by the American Association for the Advancement of Science's call for reforms in science teaching and by recent research on learning styles, the Museum will organize its exhibits around six "activity centers". Each center introduces a basic skill, such as observation or experimentation, and prompts a visitor to use the new method in special surrounding exhibits. The project is a breakthrough approach to science learning in the museum setting because it encourages visitors to discover for themselves characteristic scientific activities and habits of analysis. Although the Museum will use many current exhibits in the layout of the new plan, many others will be created which engage visitors interactively in learning science. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $18 million.