Victor J. Danilov

President and director of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Has been i m " e n t a 1 in initiating and expanding multifaceted educational offerings during his thirteen years with the museum, A leader in advocating a greater educa- tional role for museums. Dr Danilov is p a t Presi- dent of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Vice-chairman of the ICOM International Committee of Science and Technology Museums, and President of the Science Museum Exhibit laborative. He is the author of ten books and more

In 1983, the Museum of Science and In- dustry in Chicago opened an innovative Science Education Center that improved and expanded the institution's extensive educational offerings. It was another step in the museum's accelerating efforts to further public understanding of science and technology and to play a more im- portant role in advancing tscience literacy' in an increasingly technological world.

Fifty years ago, the museum opened as the first successful contemporary science and technology museum in the United States. Since that time, it has welcomed more than 12 million visitors. Its current annual attendance is about 4 million, making it the most popular museum of its type in the world.

A leader in participatory and educa- tional exhibition policy in a wide variety of disciplines, the museum has Eone

than 150 professional articles. His latest book, Science mid Tecb?iologji Centers, was published by the MIT Press in 1()82.

24 Science Education Center, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. The Children's Science Library is part of the Science Education Center.

80 Victor J. DaniLov

25 Personalized information on nutrition is provided through the use of a computer system in the Food for Lzye exhibition at the Musedm of Science and Industry.

beyond exhibitions alone to live science demonstrations, teachers’ guides and other publications, in-service teacher in- stitutes, annual student events, radio and television programmes, and other ac- tivities. More than twenty science demonstrations are given in exhibitions and theatres, covering such fields as sim- ple machines, cryogenics, electricity, magnetism, chemistry, optics, lasers, and micro-organisms. One demonstration - the million-volt surge generator - can be heard throughout the museum building. Annual educational events in- clude the Student Science Fair, Non- Public School Science Exposition, In- dustrial Education Exhibition, Home Economics Exhibition, Exceptional Children’s Week Program, Video Fair, and various career conferences.

The Museum of Science and Industry was the first to sponsor a ‘Children’s Science Book Fair,’ which features more than 1,000 children’s science books, authors’ workshops and science demon- strations; it presented science-oriented plays as part of an experimental ‘science playhouse’ series; and it served as an ‘academic interest center’, in which two school classes from different parts of the city spend a week at the museum utilit- ing the exhibit halls as a classroom and laboratory.

The museum also sought to go beyond the walls of the institution with radio and television programming. A weekly radio interview programme called Science Alive!, is distributed to nearly sixty sta- tions as a public service. In addition, a member of the museum staff appears on a local children’s television programme to explain how things work.

Ex-unding the army of offerings

There is an impressive array of educa- tional offerings. However, it became ob- vious that the museum’s educational pxo- gramme needed a new expanded thrust. The surge ofnew scientific, technological and medical advances; the increasing concern about environmental pollution, nuclear energy, and other such public issues; and inquiries about other types of science learning opportunities; all these contributed to the formation of a com- prehensive Education Department and an umbrella - like the Science Educa- tion Center - for new educational in- itiatives.

In exhibitions, steps were taken to give greater prominence to the impact on society of science and technology. The

Universe of Science examined the nature of science and research and how new developments have changed our under- standing of the physical and biological worlds (Fig. 27). Eveqday Chemistly looked at the basic principles of chemistry and their relationship to daily life. Technology: Chance or Choice? focused on the major scientific and technological developments of the last half century, how they have affected our lives and seem to have influenced our future.

The Museum of Science and Industry began to offer other types of learning experiences - public lectures, science classes, field trips and summer camps. The ‘Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series’ presented free Sunday afternoon talks by leading scientists and engineers on such topics as artificial intelligence, particle physics, masers and lasers, science and peace, and forecasts for 1984 and beyond.

A wide range of science classes are now offered for pre-school, elementary and secondary students, children and parents, and adults. They deal with such subjects as the senses, simple machines, musical science, crystals, mathematics, light and optics, states of matter and computers. More than 5,000 people have taken computer courses at the museum in the last two years (Fig. 28). The thirty-six computer classes make use of twenty-five microcomputers of different makes.

Some classes are tied to television pro- grammes-such as the 3-2-1 Contact series on public television. The program- mes seek to spark off children’s curiosity about how the world works and help them come into closer contact with science and technology in their everyday lives. Workshops are also held to familiarize teachers with the concepts - in areas such as sound, force, food, growth, communication, light, time and sight - presented in the television pro- grammes and provide practical ways to extend these concepts in the classroom.

In-service workshops, science ad- vances, teaching techniques, and many other museum resources are available to teachers, as well as one- and two-week summer workshops with college credit for elementary teachers on the use of infor- mal resources in an inquiry approach to science teaching as part of the Science Education Center’s programme.

Twelve all-day field trips to industrial sites and research laboratories in the Chicago area are offered. This year, the public will have an opportunity to visit steel, oil, electrical, machine-tool, soap,

Informal science educiztion ìp7 Chicdg0 81

television and automobile manufactur- ing facilities; see research on the nature and behaviour of matter, cement resting, energy, conservation, and robotics development; learn about an incinerator landfill and a hazardous-waste treatment plant; watch the production of ice cream, frozen baked goods, and gourmet selec- tions at a leading hotel; and visit a prin- ting plant, post office, livestock ex- change, and stone quarry.

The summer camp programme has enabled youngsters to conduct biological research, live on a farm, explore geo- logical formations and go on wilderness canoe trips. In 1984, a science/computer camp combined learning with pleasure. In addition to recreation, campers were exposed to rocketry, photography, biol- ogy, geology, astronomy, pond ecology, farm studies, physics, mathematics and computers.

The many faci2itie.r ut the Science Center

In addition to serving as the focal point for the foregoing activities, the Science Education Center includes a large science library, a reference library, a science materials loan center, student labo- ratories for independent research, a pre- school science exhibition, a grant pro- gramme to improve science teaching, and various offices and meeting rooms.

The Kresge Library contains more than IO,OOO books, periodicals, films, casset- tes, filmstrips, videotapes, slides, com- puter software, maps, posters, learning games and toys, information and cur- riculum files, puzzles, and other educa- tional materials. The materials are divid- ed into three collections: (a) materials for young people - pre-school to senior high school level; (b) materials for teachers and parents to aid in teaching science to those groups; and (c) a general popular science collection of books and periodicals for adults and museum staff members.

Children seeking resources for science projects, participants in museum classes, parents and teachers who want to work more effectively with their children and students, and any museum visitor in- vestigating exhibit subjects can use the library seven days a week (Fig. 24). The youth section of the library is divided structurally to provide areas for pre- schoolchildren at one end and older children at the other. At the pre-school end, there is a free-standing mini-theatre and shelved play area. A partially enclos-

ed computer learning section can be found at the other end where young peo- ple can use the library’s collection of science software on four Apple IIe microcomputers. There is also space for children to view audiovisual materials on filmstrip viewers, and slide viewers, as well as cassette players with headphones and a record player. Along the outer wall areas of the youth section are special focus units containing books on subjects such as the human body, space, energy and science projects. The focus units are sup- plemented with posters, globes, simple inhouse projects and study print. One of the units deals with careers in science and related occupations with an emphasis on women and minorities.

The second level of the library houses the general adult science collection and teaching resources such as textbooks, reports, trade catalogues, and education periodicals. It also contains the Interlake Science Service, where teachers can review commercial and museum-produc- ed activity classroom kits. Microcom- puters are available for educators to preview science software for classroom use. Film-strip viewers, slide viewers, and video-cassette equipment are accessible for looking at audio-visual materials. Teachers will find laminating equip- ment, a photocopier, and slide- and filmstrip-production machines for mak- ing original materials to take to their schools.

The library will have a NASA Regional Teacher Resource Room with a collection of slides, filmstrips, and videocassettes relating to NASA space programmes that can be reproduced for the cost of materials on the library’s reproduction and duplicating equipment. The NASA resources also include teacher curriculum packets and handout sheets.

The third level of the library has back issues of over 100 periodicals and a rare- book room with the museum’s collection of World Fair items and other historical materials.

The Kresge Library is one of several libraries in the Chicago metropolitan area sharing a main-frame computer to provide touch terminal access to the libraries’ collective holdings. The Museum library’s participation not only provides access to the bibliographic records of the cluster’s forty-two member libraries, but also dial-up retrievability to the seven other state systems, including the Illinois State Library, that utilize the same automation technology. There will be a touch terminal in the browsing area

26 One of the science classes given at the Museum of Science and Industry.

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27 The Universe of Science makes extensive use of participatory devices to communicate information about the basic sciences and the nature of science and research.

82 Victor T. Danilov

and youth section on the library’s first level and also on the second level.

The Kresge Library collections are diverse and varie in format, yet provide one of the most comprehensive gather- ings of information to further science education for all levels and ages in the country.

Laboratory work

Youngsters in Grades 7 to 12 may engage in laboratory studies by becoming members of the museum’s two-year-old Science Club, which meets twice a month to hear talks and to discuss research ac- tivities. The facility is adjacent to the library. The Seabury Laboratory was com- pleted in the autumn of 1981 as the in- itial phase in a broader plan to make the Museum of Science and Industry a true science centre, by providing equipment of a general nature which would be found in any well-equipped laboratory while not duplicating to any degree a typical high-school or college laboratory (Figs. 25, 26).

The Seabury Laboratory actually con- sists of two laboratory rooms, a work- room, and an office, whose geometry was specially designed for flexibility. The tables are all movable and outlets are recessed in the floor around the room so that power is readily available anywhere. Water, gas, and compressed air are pro- vided along side counters in each room and in the workroom.

While some Science Club members do entire experiments during a club meeting, many use the club and the uni- que equipment to perform tests as parr of a bigger project such as a science fair. The laboratory contains excellent test equip- ment in the form of oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, a chart recorder, an X-Y plotter and a microcomputer system.

A special exhibition for children of 3 to 6 years of age opened during the summer of 1984. It contains more than twenty units dealing with force and motion, sound, and light and optics. It is built to the scale, comprehension and strength of pre-school children and restricted to them and their parents.

Focas on scieizce teachers and teaching

The Science Education Center, which houses the museum’s education staff aims to improve science teaching through in-service and summer teacher-training programmes, development of science kits

and other resources, and co-operation with Chicago-area colleges and univer- sities. With the support of the Mellon and Kemper Foundation, the museum has been able to extend its services to teachers and schools within the greater Chicago area.

The focus is on teachers, to increase the quantity and quality of their in-service training and to upgrade the support ser- vices and resources available to them. Thus the museum has a summer teacher- training programme entitled ‘Summer of Science’, in which outstanding science educators from all over the United States present three-day courses on various topics. Now in its second summer, the programme continues to address three identified needs: (a) to help teachers to teach science effectively by increasing their confidence; (b) to increase teachers’ knowledge of basic scientific concepts; and (c) to demonstrate methods to in- volve children in the processes of science.

In addition, the museum has teacher- training workshops throughout the academic year. Day-long Saturday workshops are offered during the autumn and spring seasons. These workshops share similar goals with the Summer of Science programme, but differ in that they deal with more specific topics.

Upon request, special teacher-training workshops are developed to serve a special need. For example, local school systems request day-long workshops to introduce their teachers to inquiry teaching in science. Special workshops also accompany exhibitions. The Black Creativity exhibition was accompanied by a teacher workshop designed for teachers.

The museum also continues to develop teachers’ and students’ guides to exhibi- tions. 3-2-1 Contact guides correlate topics from the popular television pro- gramme with exhibits in the museum. Open Doors focuses on language skills which can be learned while on a field trip to the museum. Teachers are provided with teaching materials and the museum will soon begin a loan kit programme for schools. The kits will emphasize inquiry and hands-on activities and deal with a variety of topics for the elementary grades.

Steps are also being taken to organize a Chicago-area Science Education Con- sortium with sixteen colleges and univer- sities in the metropolitan region which could foster co-operative efforts to im- prove science teacher-training .

The consortium will offer science and

hfornzal science education in Chicago 83

education programmes for teachers (preservice and inservice); develop new programmes to respond to specific needs; involve government agencies, business and industry in supporting science educa- tion; and engage in other joint activities to further the training of science teachers.

Furtt5er development

Three other developments will enhance the Museum of Science and Industry’s position as a centre of informal science education. An Information Technology Resource Center has been established and plans have been announced for the Crown Space Center, scheduled to open in mid-1986. A ‘Newscience Gallery’ is also in the planning stage.

The Information Technology Resource Center seeks to assist non-profit otganiza- tions in the Chicago area-such as cultural, educational, medical and social- welfare groups - in utilizing computers, cable television, and other new electronic techniques in their operations through consulting, training, conferences, pro- duct information and the sharing of facilities, services, and other resources.

The Crown Space Center will be a

metres of space an‘tOmnimaxz computer courses here. Twenty-five space theatre, and an outdoor court with space hardware. It will be the site for new

microcomputers are used in thirty-six classes at various levels.

space science demonstrations and classes and the centre for an expanded space education programme in the central United States.

The Newscience Gallery will be a col- ourful participatory, three-dimensional newspaper of science and technology. It will seek to explain and interpret- promptly and interestingly - the latest advances, issues and trends in science, technology, medicine, industry and related fields. The gallery will cover three or four topics at any one time, with at least one subject being changed every quarter. It is an attempt to respond to fast-breaking developments - a com- mon museum problem.

As can be seen, the Museum of Science and Industry has placed increasing em- phasis on educational activities that go far beyond normal display and collection of- ferings. It is convinced that science and technology museums must assume a greater responsibility for voluntary public science education. It is costly, time- consuming, and perhaps beyond the

84 Victor J. Danilov

29 Technology: Chance or Choice? is a new exhibition dealing with the impact of science and technology. This unit is concerned with nuclear energy.

traditional role of some museums - but it is necessary in a rapidly changing technological world.

The public have few places to turn to for a better understanding of scientific principles, technological applications and the social implications shaping their future. Educational exhibits and ac- tivities help to produce an informed citizenry in scientific and technological matters.

Unlike many other institutions, museums tend to be loved and revered by the public. People by the millions come to museums to learn and to enjoy. Museums bring words and pictures to life. In addition to being storehouses of objects and interpreters of our scientific and technological heritage, they are in- struments of education. It is no longer a question of whether museums should educate, but rather how well they per- form this function, especially in the science and technology field. w

Technology: chance or choice?

One of the most difficult challenges for science and technology museums is to bring out the impact of science and technology. In general, such museums have not yet found a satisfactory way to assess and present the human implica- tions and consequences of scientific discoveries and their technological ap- plications.

In most instances, museums have avoided the impact issue and confined their exhibits to scientific advances and their use by society without making any judgements whatsoever. They assume, by implication, that scientific and techno- logical progress is for the common good, regardless of any inherent or concomitant problems.

Fortunately, the situation is changing. In the last decade or so, science and technology museums have begun dealing with such controversial topics as en- vironmental pollution, medical side ef- fects, automotive and air safety, weather modification, job displacement, and ‘nuclear winter’. Such issues are being in- creasingly incorporated into existing or new exhibitions.

In 1983, however, the principal feature of the Museum of Science and Industry’s

fiftieth anniversary celebrations was a major new permanent exhibition on the impact of science and technology over the last half century (Fig. 29). It was accom- panied by a public seminar dealing with the same subject.

Emphass on socìaZ impact

Entitled Technology: Chance or Choice?, this exhibition was an innovative attempt to present an interdisciplinary overview of the consequences of scientific and technological developments during the lifetime of the United States oldest, largest, and most popular contemporary science and technology museum. More than $500,000 were raised in contribu- tions and grants to make it possible.

The emphasis was on the social or human impact of technology since 1933, rather than the ‘nuts and bolts’ usually found in museum exhibits. More often, technology is presented in isolation - or in a favourable light - without examin- ing the social priorities, trade-offs, and implications accompanying decisions about technology.

The objective was to get the museum- going public - some 4-million a year in

the case of the Chicago museum-to think about the consequences (both good and bad) of scientific and technological advances and to help museum visitors to be better informed on public policy questions.

The project began in 1980 with the hiring of a researcher-called a ‘humanist in residence’ -and the for- mation of a Humanities Advisory Com- mittee, consisting of five scholars drawn primarily from the history and philoso- phy of science fields. The project director was Dr David A. Ucko, science director at the museum.

It became obvious early on that it would not be possible to cover everything within the limitations of the 7,000- square-foot space and the budget avail- able. Hence some early developments such as the automobile were omitted, while other advances such as laser rays were not included because of their limited application or impact.

After considerable discussion, it was decided to organize the exhibition into five sections dealing with some of the most far-reaching developments. They are: Past: an overview of major developments

Technology: chance or choice? 85

30 Growing plants illustrate the role of hydroponics in the ‘Green Revolution’ section of Technology: Chmce or Choice? exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

DDT remain in the food chain, frequently killing animals, and posing health threats to people. Researchers cannot keep up with in- sects that quickly evolve pesticide-restistant strains. Genetically diverse wild plant species are disappearing, while their new hybrids are more easily devastated by epidemics of crop disease. Mechanization sometimes puts peo- ple out of work, and many of the new techni- ques tend to help big agri-businesses more than the small farmer (another endangered species).

in science and technology since 1933 within the context of social history, providing background for other elements displayed.

Physical environment: the impact of nuclear energy, synthetics, and space exploration.

Living .world: antibiotics, the birth- control pill, and the Green Revolu- tion.

Information systems: automation, com- puters, and television.

Fzlhre: the potential effects of genetic engineering and microelectronics.

Varied display techniques

To explain the impact of such scientific and technological developments, a varie- ty of display techniques were employ- ed- artefacts, computers, videotapes, cartoons, newsreels, photo-essays, pos- ters, history wall, recorded messages, growing plants, an operating robot, and others.

Historic objects appear throughout to provide perspective, but the exhibition is characterized by a contemporary ‘hands- on’ flavour in keeping with the mu- seum’s participatory exhibit philosophy,

which seeks to make museum-going both enlightening and entertaining.

The introductory ‘Past’ section makes use of a roulette-like ‘wheel of chance’, five slide shows depicting each decade, a history wall of developments, and car- toons relating to science and technology.

Each of the major sections begins with an ‘impact’ statement, which identifies the key issues related to the technology covered in the section. A typical state- ment is the one used for the ‘Green Revolution’ section which reads as follows:

GREEN REVOLUTION

Techniques developed in the laboratory, the field, and the drafting room over the last half century have greatly transformed agriculture. New methods of hybridization create crop varieties that meet special needs. Fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers increase crop yields. Machines now do much of the hard, tedious work of harvesting. Since this Green Revolution, more food than ever before is be- ing produced for the people of the world.

U N P L A N N E D CONSEQUENCES

The Green Revolution has had some unwelcome effects, too. Pesticides such as

CHOICES AND DECISIONS

The Green Revolution presents the world with difficult questions. Can we expect food surpluses to erase the

Will they be used as weapons of diplomacy? Will agricultural technology concentrate

political power? Can scientists and farmers co-operate interna-

tionally to find ways to adapt new techni- ques to local needs?

How can we make the most of limited land resources without damaging the living world?

Only people, not technology, can answer these critical questions.

threat of famine and starvation?

Copy and photographs accompany each section of the exhibit. Brief photo-essays supplement the impact statement (Fig 30). A history panel provides a short chronology that highlights the human aspects of the development of each technology, and a ‘how it works’ section helps to demystify the technology for the visitor.

Microcomputer interaction

The principal device utilized here is the mirocomputer. Eight computer units ac- tively involve the visitor in the exhibition content and reinforce the importance of making choices about technology.

In each section, the computers pose three multiple-choice questions to the visitor (Fig. 31). These questions have no single ‘correct’ answer. They are designed to make the public think about issues raised by a particular technology.

After selecting one of four possible responses, the visitor is shown a bar graph indicating how the previous 100 visitors

86 Victor J. Danilov

31 Technology: Chance or Choice?, exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Visitors are invited to answer multiple-choice questions posed by microcomputers. The questions have no single ‘coJrect’ answer and are designed to make museum-goers think about the issues raised by particular technologies. After responding, a visitor is shown a bar graph indicating how the previous 100 people replied to the question.

32 Visitors can operate a robot in the Information Systems area of Technology: Chance or Choice? exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

responded to the same question. In the nuclear energy portion, for example, the computer terminal asks: ‘Whose opinion on nuclear weapons do you share?’ The responses (and the percentages on a par- ticular day) were: Peace cannot be kept by force . . . only

achieved by understanding - Einstein (61 per cent)

Physicists have known sin . . . a knowledge they cannot lose -

Oppenheimer (17 per cent) Stability depends on power - Teller (1 1

None of these (1 1 per cent) per cent)

In the ‘Future’ section, an interactive slide/tape programme is presented to a group of up to nine visitors on possible directions for genetic engineering and micro-electronics. Sitting in a semicircle, the visitors are encouraged to discuss their choices before voting.

Various other exhibit techniques are used to communicate specific content. Early newsreels, for instance, show how technologies may be viewed very dif- ferently when new and after the passage of time. A videotape on nuclear weapons highlights personal reactions of different people to the atomic bomb.

A ‘tdhìng ’ comfluter

The ELIZA computer programme allows visitors to ‘talk’ to a computer, and see for themselves the strengths and limita- tions of a classic artificial intelligence pro- gramme. An operating industrial robot draws visitors’ attention to a technology that will have profound social implica- tions (Fig. 32). Three versions of the same news story (birth of the first American baby produced by in vitro fertilization) give visitors some idea of news editing on television.

Several techniques reinforce the social context of technology and relate it to popular culture. Film posters, such as those from The China Syndrome and Dr. Strangelove, reflect some popular views of nuclear energy. A film clip from The Gradaate is used in the synthetics area, and one with Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times is used in the automation section (it is started by ‘punching in’ on a time clock).

The exhibition barely touches on some of the complex issues raised by scientific and technological developments in the last half century, but it performs an in- valuable service in increasing public awareness of scientific and technical mat-

ters which have public policy im- plications.

Exhibits that examine the human im- pact of science and technology are likely to become more common, as museums recognize their growing responsibility to explain the consequences of scientific and technological developments.

As the world becomes increasingly dependent upon technology, the general public will need the assistance of museums to an even greater degree, if it is to make informed decisions and an- ticipate both the favourable and undesirable impacts of science and

w technology in the years ahead.