ASTC - Traveling Exhibitions - Solve-It Central

Do you struggle with puzzles when others seem to figure them out at first sight? Could you use some new strategies to solve real-life problems? Solve-It Central, a new traveling exhibition, inspired by everyday challenges experienced at school, at work and at play, encourages visitors to explore their own problem-solving strategies as well as strategies employed by others. Its colorful and engaging exhibits can be enjoyed by individuals and groups. Each station is linked to national math standards, which are identified in an accompanying teacher guide.

At one puzzle station, visitors build a maze of tubes to blow a stream of air into organ pipes. At another, visitors must work together to direct color projectors to reveal a "secret" image. Visitors may also navigate an EMS vehicle through a maze of city streets. Other activities include wiring a model radio station for sound, collaborating with a computer to compose a song, and playing with colored puzzle shapes to create patterns.

Visitors have opportunities to try memory games and see what parts of the brain are stimulated by different kinds of problems. The exhibition also includes a short, musical "news broadcast" in which characters try several strategies to solve a mystery.