|
Fostering Active Prolonged Engagement:
The Art of Creating APE Exhibits
By Thomas Humphrey, Joshua P. Gutwill,
& the Exploratorium APE Team
The Exploratorium, 2005
#205
A must for exhibit developers, researchers, educators, and other museum professionals looking
for ways to engage visitors more deeply with interactive science exhibits, this book documents the exploration and
findings of the Exploratorium's NSF-funded APE project. Both a significant contribution to visitor research and a
nuts-and-bolts guide to exhibit development, Fostering Active Prolonged Engagement includes 15 "APE Tales"
(exhibit recipes with photos, drawings, and detailed construction specifications); discussions about setting
explicit goals for visitors' exhibit experiences; research and evaluation methods and results; and lessons learned
for building constructivist-style exhibits. 144 pp.
$19 for ASTC members; $23 for nonmembers. Shipping and handling extra.
|
This project does more than acknowledge personal and social meaning-making; it celebrates
it, and makes it the intended outcome of visitors' experiences. Few research studies in the museum literature
attempt to assess this constructivist process goal so clearly... The authors also address another currently
important topic: challenging the traditional authoritarian voice of museums. They recognize that APE exhibits at
which visitors can ask their own questions, engage in inquiries over and above those suggested in the graphics,
and take pleasure in "observing, playing, investigating, exploring, collaborating, searching, speculating," are
empowering for visitors.
—George Hein |
Table of Contents
Foreword: The Importance of APE
Preface
Visitor Conversation: Circuit Workbench
Introduction: The Evolution of APE
Observing APE
|
George Hein
Kathleen McLean
Thomas Humphrey
Joshua Gutwill
|
APE Tales
An Introduction to the APE Tales
Exploration
Visitor Conversation: What's Hot, What's Not?
Spinning Patterns
What's Hot, What's Not?
Floating Objects
Visible Vibrations
|
Jessica Brainard
Charles Sowers
Diane Whitmore
Erik Thogersen
Erik Thogersen
|
Investigation
Visitor Conversation: Downhill Race
Gravity-Powered Calculator
Downhill Race
Ball Launcher
|
Erik Thogersen
Tom Tompkins
Tom Tompkins
|
Observation
Visitor Conversation: Watch Water Freeze
Watch Water Freeze
Flow Formations
Magnetic Labyrinth
|
Charles Sowers
Charles Sowers
Charles Sowers
|
Construction
Visitor Conversation: Pulley Table
Circuit Workbench
Pulley Table
3-D Shapes
Making a Mobile
Shaking Shapes
|
Erik Thogersen
Jessica Strick
Diane Whitmore
Eric Dimond
Diane Whitmore
|
Reflecting on APE
Acknowledgements
Suppliers
Bibliography
|
Joshua Gutwill
& Erik Thogersen
|
|
