> I could not find the article on the The Philadelphia > Inquirer website, I was wondering if someone who did could > post the link or the article to the list. Two articles of interest: < http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/25977199.html > < http://blog.orselli.net/2008/07/what-happened-to-science-in-science.html > gaw Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org > Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] > SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news > Author of History Web Sites on the Internet -- * Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com > * Adler Planetarium, Chicago: < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com > * Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com > * Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: < http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com > * Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: < http://incline.pghfree.net > * Public Transit: < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit > --- On Tue, 7/29/08, Matthew White <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > From: Matthew White <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Article about The Franklin (Institute) > To: [log in to unmask] > Date: Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 1:04 PM > I could not find the article on the The Philadelphia > Inquirer website, I was wondering if someone who did could > post the link or the article to the list. > > Given that, and the fact that I have not been to The > Franklin (whatever name it has gone under) in kind of a > long time, I cannot speak to this particular example, but > is it really true that science centers are being dumbed > down or is this just one of those narratives with enough > truthiness to make knowing heads nod in agreement and > disappointment? > > I know we could all site examples of this dumbing down. > More commercial exhibits, more pop culture characters, iMax > movies showing more popular fare and less educational films. > There is certainly a trend here. But on the other hand I > have been going to Science Centers and museums pretty > steadily since the Maryland Science Center opened in the > 1970's and I and many other people I know have noticed > an increase in the overall science content in science > centers. Yes there might be a Star Wars exhibit in one > gallery, but in another there is some pretty high end stuff > on Risk or Women's Health. More science centers invest > more in adult education than I can ever remember before not > only in exhibitions but also in trips, workshops, and even > discussions of ethics and evolution. Science centers have > exhibits and work shops in current science and findings. > More and more science centers are hiring or working > directly with scientists of all stripes. Many science > centers and museums are "unpacking" science as a > process through labs, digs, and other participatory > activities. > > Again, I am not saying there aren't "dumb" > things happening in science centers that feed this meme. > But on balance? Considering all of the public offerings of > a given science center? I don't think so. I can > remember when science centers would balance a beach ball on > a blow dryer smack a label that simply identified the > Bernoulli Effect and called it a day. Science Center, by > and large, don't do that anymore. They provide context, > explanation, and personal demonstrations. > > Can anyone prove this one way or another? I know there are > methods of tracking reading levels of print over time, has > anyone done a study of exhibition content over time and can > actually demonstrate a decline or increase in science > content. > > I also apologize if this has been covered in this or > another forum before. I have been out of direct employment > of museum or science center in some time, so maybe this row > has been hoed. If so, point me to a reference and I will > shut up. > > Thanks for your attention. > > Matthew White > Former museum > professional and current PhD student > History of Science > University of Florida > > > > > > On Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 09:51AM, "Paul > Orselli" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published a biting > article and commentary about the rebranding and subsequent > "dumbing down" of "The Franklin" > (formerly The Franklin Institute Science Museum.) > > > >Although the columnist was writing about her hometown > museum, her comments could easily describe the situation > elsewhere in the (science) museum biz. > > > >Link to article and commentary via the ExhibiTricks > blog: <http://blog.orselli.net> > > > >---------------------------------------------------------- > > > >Paul Orselli, President and Chief Instigator > > > >Paul Orselli Workshop (POW!) > >1684 Victoria Street > >Baldwin, NY 11510 > > > >FREE museum exhibit design resources: > ><http://www.orselli.net> > > > >(516) 223-1043 voice > >(516) 238-2797 mobile > > > >========================================================= > >Important Subscriber Information: > > > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain > detailed information about the listserv commands by sending > a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . > The body of the message should read "help" > (without the quotes). > > > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line > e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of > the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" > (without the quotes). > > > > > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain > detailed information about the listserv commands by sending > a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . > The body of the message should read "help" > (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line > e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . 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