Hey Indy,

--- Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Deb, I was thinking about your comments, too.  I was
> thinking about the fact that you didn't get much out
> of the interactive part of exhibits but could stare
> for hours.  I'm wondering if this isn't the byproduct
> of your age.  If you're closer to my generation,
> lights, bells, and whistles won't mean as much to you
> as they do to the generations below me.

Well I've had a computer in the house since about kindergarden but my dad was
always a technogeek. On the flip side, even with being exposed to computers
that early, they were nothing compared to the gadgets of today. My 3 year-old
cell phone can do more things than my first Apple ][.

> When my daughter was in Scouts, and I the Scout
> leader, my team and I took the girls to Marineland to
> see the sea animals, shows, and exhibits.  While they
> appreciated what they saw, what they really liked most
> of all were the new video game machines.  They would
> rather see the lights, bells, and whistles of Donkey
> Kong and Ms. Pac Man than the things we actually
> brought them to see.

Yeah, that's really sad, but I think it's also in a product of how children
were raised. If parents set a limit on video games and take their kids out to
museums or the zoo more often than their once-a-year school field-trip, I think
that kids would be more into animals than video games. Plus at that time, video
games were a relatively new thing and the home systems couldn't hold a candle
to the arcade games. Now home computers are just as good, if not better, than
the arcade games so I don't think they are as much of a draw as they used to
be.

> That fascination with video games and the stimulation
> attached thereto seems to be fairly pervasive with the
> generations below me.  My 26-year old son and 27-year
> old nephew, grown, with jobs, (and my son has a
> ready-made family), spend hours on end playing video
> games as a form of recreation.  My grandson gets
> caught up in the videogame fascination and has to
> wrest it from his 36-year old father in order to play.

Are you sure this isn't just a "guy" thing? ;) I too have a 37 year-old friend
that's giving himself carpal tunnel from computer games. While I know some
women who play computer games, I don't know any that do it to the extent of my
guy friends that play computer games. I could care less. I'd rather knit. :)

> So I think, in order to draw that generation (I
> acquiesce to doing a little bit of stereotyping based
> on my personal experiences) into the exhibits, you
> have do more than just show them things.  They need
> the stimulation that participation brings.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with "participation". I believe that
"participation" doesn't need to necessarily be a "bells and whistles" type of
thing but could be a good exhibit study guide or even a few well thought out
questions on the exhibit pannel. The Hirshhorn did a great "Family Guide" which
were these little cards that had some background information about a specific
piece of art and some discussion questions. The idea was that to get the kids
thinking about the art, instead of just staring at it. And some "bells and
whistles" type interactives are good too. But the danger with those is I've
seen too many kids turn them into games instead of learning opportunities.
Again, not the fault of the interactive but their parents or teachers who don't
encourage them to apply their experiences.

Deb



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