Update: I think I just figured out how to label this post correctly, sorry about that.
Favorite:
Favorite:
I enjoyed many of the mirror exhibits at the
Exploratorium, but one of my favorites was the Through the Looking Glass exhibit. It is made up of four different
activities that encompass many of the properties of mirrors. I like the idea of
an exhibit having multiple stations because it allows multiple users to
interact with the exhibit at the same time.
The exhibit is very hands-on and the chalkboard
activity lets the user leave a semi-permanent "mark" on the exhibit,
which makes it feel more personal. This exhibit illustrates some of the basic
properties of mirrors in very simple, straight-forward way. I found Through the Looking Glass to be a very
effective and fun exhibit.
Least Favorite:
I did not particularly like the Look into Infinity exhibit. The exhibit is small and flat and
unfortunately it was easy to miss since it was pushed up against a wall behind
the Giant Mirror. Infinity mirrors
can be very interesting and look really cool, but this one did not impress me.
The instructions were unclear and the exhibit lacked a good explanation of what
was going on. Some of the other exhibits had brief explanations describing how
the "trick" worked or the scientific phenomenon that the exhibit was
portraying, which I think is very useful and educational. These explanations
are short and clear enough so that the user can easily learn something new without
losing interest or becoming too confused; the Look into Infinity exhibit could have used something like that.
Another issue I had with this exhibit is that it did not hold my attention for
very long. I just looked through the holes and then I was ready to move on. I
saw another museum visitor approach the exhibit. She didn't even bother to look
into it, just read the little blurb and continued to the next exhibit. It might
be relevant to add that this exhibit (which is black and rather boring-looking)
is located next to the Anti-Gravity
Mirror exhibit, which is a large, eye-catching mirror that looks a lot more
inviting. If I were to redesign the Look
into Infinity exhibit, I would add some colored lights or something more
interesting to hold the user's attention as they looked at it. I would also
embellish the outside of the exhibit to make it more appealing and eye-catching.
I would add an explanation of how the mirror works and improve the instructions
to make them clearer. The concept of an infinity mirror is very cool, but I think
this exhibit missed the mark in its portrayal.
I like your idea to make the outside of the mirror in the Infinity exhibit more appealing. Something as simple as that would definitely draw people's attention and bring them to the exhibit. Adding coloured lights to the exhibit would hold users' attention, and I am thinking of incorporating a similar idea in my own exhibit.
ReplyDeleteI didn't find Through The Looking Glass that interesting personally, but I absolutely agree with your point about how easy it would be to replicate at home. Museums can be good at creating exhibits and experiences you might not otherwise see (e.g. the Giant Mirror) and, simultaneously, providing ideas for activities you might be able to take home (e.g. this exhibit). While I found the first kind of exhibit more interesting, I think that striking a balance between the two is really important-- the novel exhibits get you excited about physical phenomena, and the simpler exhibits make it easier to extend your learning experience past the immediate context of the Exploratorium.
ReplyDeleteI really found what you said about visitor's leaving a temporary mark on the through the looking glass exhibit. It's something I certainly hadn't noticed but that I think is used in a lot of Exploratorium exhibits. By allowing visitors to leave a temporary mark on the exhibit, I believe it accomplishes a few things. First, it allows visitors to build on the ideas of previous visitors and potentially come up with newer cooler ideas. Second, the mere idea that users are allowed to leave a mark is incredible. So often in museums, the protocol is for visitors to simply look, watch, and observe and when they do interact with an exhibit it is often very straight forward and allows for little variation in what one can do.
ReplyDeleteYour favorite was my least favorite! It was interesting to read your perspective on it. I hadn't thought about the prospect of recreating the exhibits at home. One thing that I didn't like about the chalkboard though was the fact that previous users had left semi permanent marks, as you mentioned. It made me feel like, when I sat down at the station, it had already been sullied.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed through the looking glass and think your thoughts about a visitor leaving their mark are very interesting. I wasn't sure how I felt about the weird black eye pieces that this exhibit had. I thought that these eye things forced an experience that could have been more interactive to become singular. I understand there purpose was to divide your normal vision from your mirror vision but I think there must be a more effective was to do this.
ReplyDeleteLights in the infinity mirror exhibit would add a lot of interesting interactions.
I COMPLETELY agree regarding Look Into Infinity. I thought the concept was so cool yet the exhibit so unattractive. I actually based my project for the week on the idea of making a better one.
ReplyDelete