Amid controversy, a former Paris slaughterhouse is being converted into one of the world's largest science museums. The museum will be organized into four major sectors corresponding to different levels at which science and technology touch human lives: exploring, using/producing, living/inhabitating, and communications. The controversy related to…

A unique program in California involved the community and senior citizens in reconstructing the early history of the school district and setting up a permanent historic exhibit. (MD)

Describes the development of an international co-publishing project for children's illustrated books in Socialist countries. Discusses an international biennial public exhibition of children's books from socialist countries that is presented by the Biennial of Illustrations, Brastislava (BIB). (NH)

Focuses on one person's perspective toward responsibilities of and toward the history of the museum profession. A plea is put forth for developing a feasible documentation system and national network of exhibit reviews. (Author/SA)

Studies how visitors use mechanical interactive exhibits: how they respond to interactive controls, problems encountered, and how museums can best solve those problems through redesign of controls and exhibits. Problems are described under the following headings: (1) Visitors' Understanding of Exhibits; (2) Design of Interface Controls; (3)…

Strategies are given for enhancing learning in the informal environment of the museum. Collaboration between the school and classroom is encouraged. (SA)

Using "historicist" techniques, scholars have offered challenging alternatives to standard views on the Romantic era. Historicists advocate yoking theories such as deconstruction with analyses of political, social, and other factors that played a role in the creation of period literature. An exhibit touring the United States is…

This article focuses on the issue of creating a national museum laboratory to provide opportunities to test what is called, "the field of action." Also included is a discussion of creating an interinstitutional computerized retrieval system to provide information about the location of specific research. (Author/SA)

Computer screen-based interactives can be very effective exhibits and are especially popular with children. Summarizes what museum researchers at London's Science Museum learned while testing computer-interactive exhibits. Topics include typical modes of behavior at computer exhibits, features that improve exhibit attractiveness, effective use of…

The 24,000 square foot Alaska State Museum is experiencing a space crisis which hinders its ability to effectively meet present demands. The museum's collection has more than tripled from 5,600 objects 17 years ago to 23,000 objects today. Available storage and exhibition space is filled and only 10% of the collection is on exhibit. The reason for…

Based on the principle that all genuine education comes about through experience, John Dewey's ideas are particularly relevant to the theory and practice of museum education. Comments on Dewey's book "Experience and Education" in hopes of giving it wider readership. Major ideas from each chapter are summarized along with comments on…

Describes the function of the children's museum in the life of a community and in the experience of a visitor. Included are the emotional experiences of the museum personnel as they moved to change their facility. (SA)

The most successful science-and-technology center exhibits owe as much to the evaluation of visitor reactions as they do to budgets and planning. Explores different types of visitor-evaluation studies and shares examples of successful exhibit designs built upon visitor evaluations, including children's physics exhibits and jellyfish as living art.…

Presents examples of evaluation studies of visitor interactions with science museum exhibits. Example one involves application of existing findings about naive notions of motion to task of engineering a novel encounter with parabolic trajectories. Example two is a student project evaluating a prototype exhibit on light pipes and concludes that…

The Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) has created a new exhibit, "Technology: Chance or Choice?," which emphasizes the human impact on technology. Development of and techniques used in the exhibit are discussed. The latter include microcomputers placed throughout the exhibit to pose questions about critical issues raised by particular…