Allan Ellis
Faculty of Education, Work and Training
Southern Cross University
ABSTRACT
Many cities in countries around the world have established Science Centres that aim to introduce people of all ages to Science and Technology. These centres aim to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of Science and Technology in relation to today's social, educational and business activities.
Traditional offerings have included various physical displays, exhibits and hands-on experiments with the usual restrictions of space and hours of opening. With the advent of the Web and the rapid evolution of free or low cost multimedia capable browsers, many Centres have moved part of their offerings into Cyberspace. These Centres now offer a growing range of educational and "hands-on" learning materials to a global audience.
Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre is located in Canberra (Australia's national capital) and since its creation in the late 80's, has had a specific mission to encourage a hands-on, interactive approach to Science and Technology Education. In May 1995 it launched its Web site. As well as the usual virtual tours of its physical galleries and the ability to book on-site tours, it is moving to provide a range of online, interactive learning experiences.
The features of some other Centres are also reviewed and a home page linking over 80 Centres around the world is cited. Teachers and instructors will find these various sites a useful source of ideas in terms of both instructional design and/or content. This applies to both now and in the immediate future as many Centres plan to invest considerable energy and resources into their new Web sites.
1 INTRODUCTION
Science Centres come in a range of shapes and sizes and with varying background credentials. Some are known around the world, such the long established Exploratorium (HREF1) which is housed in the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Others are relatively new comers, such as Questacon in Canberra (HREF2). Some have developed as virtual extensions of an existing Museum, for example, the Web site of the Institute and Museum of History of Science Florence, Italy (HREF3). All share the common objective of making the world of science and technology accessible to the general public.
Prior to the early 1990's access was primarily through on-site tours. The public had to travel to the location of the centre, even cue up to get in and once inside move through the various display and exhibition spaces before closing time.
In an attempt to overcome the access limitation of on-site only access, some centres introduced travelling exhibitions and displays. For many centres such programs expanded the potential annual audience from hundreds of thousands to millions. Touring programs are now an integral part of many centres annual activities.
Feher (1990) puts the case that for many learners traditional science teaching is abstract and boring because there is nothing they can do "with it". Text books make statements about various physical properties or phenomena but provide no way that assertions can be tested out by the reader. In contract visitors to science centres have the opportunity to interact with technology and science phenomena and thereby develop an understanding based upon personal experience. They in fact, are given an opportunity to break through a barrier and create their own knowledge rather than being told about someone else's knowledge.
2 QUESTACON
Questacon is an example of a relatively new, purpose built Science
Centre. It is Australia's National Science and Technology Centre and
was established in Canberra in November 1988 with a brief to promote
understanding and appreciation of science and technology.
In particular the Centre was designed to encourage hands-on
interaction rather than present displays that were static or operated
on some pre-determined cycle. Through its outreach activities, which
consist of a range of 180 hands-on, interactive exhibitions and
public and school programs, the Centre has become one of the major
science centres in the world. A statement on the Home page is proud
to claim that:
"In recognition of the Centre's significance and impact, Questacon has been admitted as a Full Member of the worldwide Association for Science and Technology Centres - one of a limited number of major science centres around the world to be awarded this status."
Each year over 330,000 people visit the on-site facilities in Canberra, while more than a 1,000,000 people experience the Centre through its outreach programs. Some exhibitions and programs are now travelling beyond Australia into Asia, the Pacific and other parts of the world.
In May 1995 Questacon moved to improve access and widen its potential audience by launching its Web site (HREF2). This provides a virtual tour of the five on-site galleries and their hands-on exhibits, kidspace (activities for your children),
The Centre currently operates with a full-time staff of around eighty and hundreds of part-time staff and volunteers. This team brings together a diverse range of skills and backgrounds in exhibition design and development, public and school education programs, communication and marketing, and business management most recently Web page design.
In a little over 12 months the Centre's Web site has picked up a number of awards and recommendations including:
With its emphasis on interaciivity and the need to reach schools, communities and individuals spread over a very large geographic area, it is highly likely that Questacon will continue develop and deliver quality Web pages for the science education sector and general public sector.
3 EXAMPLES OF ONLINE EXHIBITS
Not all the centres with Web sites provide exhibits that exploit the cutting edge of Web technologies. Some provide simple "point and click" access to various text and graphic information. Indeed the first use of the Web by some centres in the early 90's was to advertise exhibits and opening times rather than provide online activities. This use still applies today, for example, see the Reviv ing Pithecanthropus exhibition (HREF4), 7th September to 24th November at the National Science Museum, Tokyo. Below are a selection of online exhibits that illustrate the range of Web technologies currently being utilised.
1.
Multimedia
Catalogue - Room IV Galileo Galilei (HREF5)
(Institute and Museum of the History of Science of Florence,
Italy) Point and click.
This site provides a simple point and click facility. The user can
view the room and call up enlarged images and supporting text
information. While interaction is limited, the user does "get a
feeling" for the real exhibition and is easily able to call up
supporting documents and photos in order to better understand the
main exhibition items.
Such sites provide an opportunity for many people to pay a virtual
visit to Centres that they are unlikely to ever visit in person.
2.
Virtual
Walkthrough (HREF6)
(Singapore Science Centre - Interactive Exhibits) VRML capable player
required.
It is probably that such walkthroughs will be become increasing common as they provide a much stronger sense of identifcation with the physical site and stimulate that feeling of control and exploration that needs to encouraged in core learning exhibits.
The opportunity for increased client /server interactivity was introduced with Java aware browsers and plug-ins such as Shockwave for Director. These newer Web tools are the underpinning technologies for a new class of interactive exhibit
3.
Colour
Contrast (HREF7)
(Questacon) Java aware browser required.
This activity illustrates that colours appear to change when
placed against different backgrounds. The colour graphic presented is
interactive if you are running a Java aware browser. You are invited
to look at the green, yellow and purple rectangles. Are the
rectangles on the left the same colours as the rectangles on the
right? Are they different colours? Click and drag on the rectangles
to swap them around.
The accompanying text then explains what's going on:
"The back of your eye is lined with light-sensitive cells, including colour-sensitive cone cells. Cone cells affect each other in complex ways. While they give you good colour vision, they can fool your eye. When cones in one part of your eye see blue light, they make nearby cones less sensitive to blue. Because of this, you see a coloured spot on a blue background as less blue than it really is. If you put a purple spot on a blue background, for instance, the spot looks a little less blue than it would otherwise. Similarly, a spot on an orange background looks less orange than it would otherwise.
Your eye can't remove any colours from a spot if the colours aren't there in the first place. For example, a yellow spot doesn't appear to change colour against a blue background, because yellow doesn't contain any blue."
You are invited to collect different coloured papers and try out other colour contrasts. Finally there are some comments about practical applications like painting a picture, your room or your home.
This online exhibit is simple but effective in that it gives the learner the ability to manipulate the coloured squares in any combination they wish so that they themselves test the basic question of colour difference.
4.
Ladle
Rat Rotten Hut (HREF8)
(Exploratorium -ExploraNet) Real audio player required.
You are invited to listen to this short story read by Vivian Altman. The words are provided so you can read along if you like. The opening few lines are:
"Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage, honor itch offer lodge, dock, florist. Disk ladle gull orphan worry putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut."
At the end of the text you get the following explanation
"This story, believe it or not, is the very familiar fable of Little Red Riding Hood. This curious version was written in 1940 by a professor of French named H. L. Chace, who wanted to show his students that intonation - that is, the melody of a language - is an integral part of its meaning. The words here are all common English words, but not the ones you'd expect to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood."
An excellent use of a sound file to illustrate an important characteristic of language.
5.
The
ABC's of Lissajous Patterns (HREF9)
(Questacon) Shockwave for Director plug-in required.
This site displays a fast moving bright dot that traces the patterns on the screen. The patterns are called Lissajous patterns, named after a French scientist of the nineteenth century.
You have control the dot's side-to-side speed (horizontal speed) by moving the horizontal slider. You can control the dot's up-and-down speed (vertical speed) by moving the vertical slider. The text suggests you try making these patterns:
"Circle shape - adjust the dot's horizontal speed to equal its vertical speed.
Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) logo - adjust the dot's vertical speed so that it is 3 times faster than its horizontal speed." (Explains the ABC in the title!)
One suggested use for this phenomena is by electronics engineers
to measure radio signal frequencies. They do this by studying the
type of pattern an unknown signal makes when it is combined with a
signal of known frequency.
6.
Trapezoidal
Window (HREF10)
The Exploratorium - ExploraNet, Quicktime VR player required.
For this exhibit you download a QTVR movie and run it with a player.
This allows you to view the rotating window from any angle. From the
front on the window appears to be swinging back and forth but from
above it is clearly rotating in a full circle.The explanation given
for this phenomena is:
"From past experience, your brain assumes that all windows are rectangular and that the shorter edge is always the edge farthest away. But the rotating window in front of you really is a trapezoid. When the shorter edge of this trapezoidal window moves closer to you, your brain refuses to see it as being closer; it assumes that the window is not rotating in the opposite direction. The window therefore appears to swing back and forth."
7.
Cyberchat
(HREF11)
(Singapore Virtual Science Centre, an extension of the Singapore
Science Centre) Forms-based chat facility.
This site provide a simple text chat facility that requires no
additional plug-in modules. Only as interesting and active as the
people you encounter online at the time you post your question. Has
the potential for dialogue and could be greatly improved if staff of
the Centre had the opportunity to respond to questions.
8.
Cow's
Eye Primer (HREF12)
(Exploratorium -ExploraNet) Downloadable Quicktime/Apple Media
application.
This item is part of the Cow's Eye Dissection which is claimed to be
one of the most popular online activities provided by the
Exploratorium. The introduction reads: "
"For many years it has helped people satisfy their curiosity about what is inside an eye. The material presented here is meant not to replace the act of dissecting a cow's eye, but rather to enhance the experience. Select a banner below to begin..."
The banner titled Cow's Eye Primer is one of five options and provides a downloadable application which when run provides a cross-sectional diagram of the eye which tests the users ability to correctly point and click on the main features.
4 THE FUTURE
For those Science Centres that rate user interactivity as a high priority and seek to reach out from a main physical site the Web represents a "dream come true" technology. Its client /server architecture, relatively low cost accessibility by fast modem, and ability to "simultaneously" service many people in schools, homes and workplaces round the world make it an idea instructional/learning environment (May,1995). If you are teacher or instructor considering using the Web as an educational tool then it will pay to watch some key Science Centres as they should be at the forefront of innovation and development in interactivity Web-based learning environment over the next few years.
To get your monitoring started point your browser to a Home Page running out of Carnegie Mellon University. Hands-on Science Centers Worldwide (HERF13) It lists over 80 Centres around the world. Most have a Web site but not many have interactive exhibits running - well not yet anyway! Mark W. Maimone (mwm@ri.cmu.edu) who maintains the page is after more links.
To promote interactive online science education Questacon will soon announce a prestigious Competition for Java Developers. The competition will be to develop java-powered on-line exhibits so that visitors to the Questacon site can explore scientific phenomena on-line ... almost as good as visiting Questacon! Details of this competition will be published on the Questacon Web Site. Enquiries to the Education and Program Manager Brenton.Honeyman@Questacon.edu.au
5 REFERENCES
1. Feher,E.(1990) Interactive museum exhibits as tools for learning:
Explorations with light, International Journal of Science Education,
12,1, pp 35-39
2. May,M. (1995) Scientific surfing for children, Scientific
American, Nov-Dec, pp 568-571.
6 HYPERTEXT REFERENCES
HREF1
http://www.exploratorium.edu/index.html - The Exploratorium
(ExploraNet),
San Francisco, USA,
HREF2
http://sunsite.anu.edu.au/Questacon/ - Questacon, Canberra,
Australia.
HREF3
http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/ - Web site of the
Institute and Museum of History of Science,
Florence, Italy.
HREF4
http://www.kahaku.go.jp/KAHAKU/ENGLISH.under.const/eventus.html -
Reviving
Pithecantropus Exhibition, The National Science Museum, Tokyo (7 Sept
24 -Nov 1996)
HREF5
http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/museo/4/index.html - Multimedia
Catalogue - Room IV Galileo
Galilei, Institute and Museum of History of Science.
HREF6
http://www.sci-ctr.edu.sg/vsc/interexh/interexh.html -Singapore
Science Centre -
Interactive Exhibits.
HREF7
http://sunsite.anu.edu.au/Questacon/colourcontrast.html - Questacon,
Colour Contrast
exhibit.
HREF8
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/ladle/ladle.html -
Exploratorium -ExploraNet,
The Ladle Rat Rotten Hut Story.
HREF9
http://sunsite.anu.edu.au/Questacon/lissajous.html - Questacon, The
ABC's of Lissajous
Patterns.
HREF10
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/trapezoidal_window/trap_window.html
The Exploratium - ExploraNet, Trapezoidal Window.
HREF11
http://www.sci-ctr.edu.sg/chat/welcome.html - Singapore Virtual
Science Centre, an
extension of the Singapore Science Centre, Cyberchat.
HREF12
http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/primer.html
Exploratorium -ExploraNet,
Cow's Eye Primer
HREF13
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mwm/sci.html - Hands-on Science Centers
Worldwide
Allan Ellis © 1996. The author assigns to the University of New Brunswick and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The author also grants a non-exclusive licence to the University of New Brunswick to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form with the conference papers, and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the author.
N.A.WEB 96 - The Second International North America World Wide Web Conference http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/ University of New Brunswick.