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I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

sethpurcell.com

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Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#131

Post by serial_dev »

kleiba wrote: post #94

There is an incredible pressure on a lot of public facing endeavors to include digital , no matter whether it makes any sense at all or not. Take education, for instance - if it weren't such an important topic, it would be almost comical to observe how our schools are trying to jump through hoops to cram more IT into the classroom. (I wish the people responsible would take a look at Scandinavia though, where they are…

I don’t know what exactly they teach about AI, but trying out different AI tools could be very important, it’s a great learning tool if you want it to be. It can help students learn math, history, programming…

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#132

Post by natalie3p »

I think a lot of the time, museums really want to be "immersive" and give kids (and adults) something interactive. The problem is that "interactive" defaults to a touchscreen because it's easy to implement and maintain and looks flashy, even if it doesn't actually teach anything or spark curiosity the way a hands-on exhibit does. Honestly though, I think these kids do want to interact with the real world but lack the chance to. Screens are seductive and safe, but nothing beats the thrill of making something move with your own hands and actually seeing the physics happen.

As an example, one exhibition I found pure joy in that doesn’t involve screens is the Museum of Illusions. It's hands-on, mind-bending, and utterly delightful.

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#133

Post by dooglius »

Apocryphon wrote: post #118
graemep wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you want science for grownups, you have conferences. Adults outside a field do not go to conferences. > As for art museums, the problem is that they are usually just exhibitions, and to be honest, that's boring, especially if you are a kid. Some kids are interested in art. It can be well presented. You can have guided tours aimed at kids.

If there are tech conventions, why not science conventions?

Do people not in tech go to tech conventions?

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#134

Post by ffsm8 »

kleiba wrote: post #94

There is an incredible pressure on a lot of public facing endeavors to include digital , no matter whether it makes any sense at all or not. Take education, for instance - if it weren't such an important topic, it would be almost comical to observe how our schools are trying to jump through hoops to cram more IT into the classroom. (I wish the people responsible would take a look at Scandinavia though, where they are…

> Scandinavia though, where they are years ahead in that respect and have already begun taking digital devices out of the classrooms again

While I personally suspect that social media and by extension phones are detrimental: what you're writing here is opinion, not fact.

Just like adding tech was an experiment which seems to have been accepted all over, removing the tech again is - at least to my knowledge - in experiment phase, too.

And because a real experiment would take roughly 12-20 years (students performance from start to finish, until they're gainfully employed)... Neither of these approached have really been validated. It's all speculation, because there are so many other reasons that could explain the issues we currently have in our schools

And frankly - even though I honestly believe that social media is bad for them - I sincerely think its nowhere close to being the main reason for dropping performance, inability to take responsibilities or whatever else people are saying about the current children.

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#135

Post by IAmBroom »

parpfish wrote: post #4

One of my longstanding peeves is that art museums are treated as serious places for grown-ups but science museums and zoos are treated as places for kids.

Pittsburgh's Science Center has over-21 events all the time. They're very popular.

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#136

Post by Apocryphon »

dooglius wrote: post #133
Apocryphon wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there are tech conventions, why not science conventions?

Do people not in tech go to tech conventions?

I think tech aficionados and media types do. Tech conventions are more consumer-friendly than the scientific equivalent.

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#137

Post by hungmung »

ffsm8 wrote: post #134
kleiba wrote: post #94

There is an incredible pressure on a lot of public facing endeavors to include digital , no matter whether it makes any sense at all or not. Take education, for instance - if it weren't such an important topic, it would be almost comical to observe how our schools are trying to jump through hoops to cram more IT into the classroom. (I wish the people responsible would take a look at Scandinavia though, where they are…

> Scandinavia though, where they are years ahead in that respect and have already begun taking digital devices out of the classrooms again While I personally suspect that social media and by extension phones are detrimental: what you're writing here is opinion, not fact. Just like adding tech was an experiment which seems to have been accepted all over, removing the tech again is - at least to my knowledge - in exper…

Relevant:

https://news.utexas.edu/2017/06/26/the-mere-presence-of-your...

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#138

Post by AndrewLiptak »

smj-edison wrote: post #99
AndrewLiptak wrote: post #35

I work in a museum, so I'll add in a couple of cents. Seth isn't entirely wrong here: museums are good opportunities for hands-on activities and to see things in a real sensory way that you can't in other places. "I believe museums exist to present the real thing for the visitor to experience with their own senses" rings really true to me. That said: iPads and screens do have their place and it really depends on how…

A bit of a tangent, but has modern maker culture made it easier to make and maintain exhibits? Things like 3D printing, version control, Arduinos, etc. Thank you for all the work you do :)

It's situational. It's helpful to us that our executive director is a carpenter: he makes and fabricates a lot of things that end up in displays.

As far as 3D printing, we haven't dabbled with it, but we have had folks come in to scan our objects, which is pretty cool. But we're also a small staff that doesn't have the time to really dig into the tech as much as we could.

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#139

Post by zdw »

timr wrote: post #107
zdw wrote: post #18

If you have a change to visit the Tokyo Science Museum, it's quite good in this respect - it has a lot of interactive displays, many of which are very hands on, and some are application based - focused on how the science concepts are used in industry (with some occasional corporate tie-ins, which weren't too over the top). It's fairly kid focused, as others have mentioned - most of your competition for seeing the exh…

Are you talking about the one in Kitanomaru park, or the Miraikan, on Daiba? The Miraikan, in particular, is a fantastic science museum. I think it suffers a bit from what the OP is describing -- and also, a lack of English -- but for the most part it's interactive and uses technology in a really innovative way that goes beyond iPad fluff (an interactive seismograph room comes to mind, where you could move around and…

Ah, the first one is where I went - 科学技術館 (Kagakukijutsukan) in Kitanomaru park between the imperial palace and budoukan. It has some english (but, as always in Japan, knowing a little Japanese greatly helps), and the exhibits are fairly self-explanatory.

Good to know that there's another nice place to go.

Re: I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

#140

Post by conductr »

ffsm8 wrote: post #134
kleiba wrote: post #94

There is an incredible pressure on a lot of public facing endeavors to include digital , no matter whether it makes any sense at all or not. Take education, for instance - if it weren't such an important topic, it would be almost comical to observe how our schools are trying to jump through hoops to cram more IT into the classroom. (I wish the people responsible would take a look at Scandinavia though, where they are…

> Scandinavia though, where they are years ahead in that respect and have already begun taking digital devices out of the classrooms again While I personally suspect that social media and by extension phones are detrimental: what you're writing here is opinion, not fact. Just like adding tech was an experiment which seems to have been accepted all over, removing the tech again is - at least to my knowledge - in exper…

> removing the tech again is - at least to my knowledge - in experiment phase, too.

Do you not consider the period prior to the tech? It was a significant amount of time.

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