The Virtual Fish Tank

September 15th, 1996 - August 31st, 1999 | PROJECT

The Computer Museum will develop two 2500 sq. ft. computer-based exhibits the "Virtual Fishtank: Splashing Into Complex Systems". One exhibit will be installed permanently in the Computer Museum and the other will travel nationally for three to five years. These exhibits will use computer modeling of fish to introduce the public to new ideas about complex systems science and demonstrate the central concept that complex behaviors and patterns can emerge from simple interactions among simple rules. Visitors will spend eight to ten minutes designing their own fish at one of the ten FishBuilder computer stations. As they make decisions, they will be able to observe the effects of their rule selections on a computer display. When satisfied with their design, visitors can then "tag" their fish by placing their initials on fish tails and launch them in the central "fishtank". Large projection screens will encircle visitors in a dramatic simulation of an underwater aquarium environment. Visitors will observe and analyze how the few simple rules imbedded in the design of individual fish give rise to complex behaviors and patterns in the entire ecosystem. This exhibit draws on research conducted at MIT's Media Lab, The Computer Museum, and the New England Aquarium and will be able to reach people with a variety of learning styles. It anticipated completion date is March, 1998 for the TCM's version and the traveling version will begin it's national tour in September, 1998.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Team Members

David Greschler, Principal Investigator, Computer Museum
Mitchel Resnick, Co-Principal Investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 9627672
Funding Amount: 598472

Tags

Audience: General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Computing and information science | Life science | Technology
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Aquarium and Zoo Exhibits | Exhibitions | Games | Simulations | Interactives | Media and Technology | Museum and Science Center Exhibits