Section 1: Informal Learning and Inquiry-Based Science Blog Assignment

This week’s readings and prompt got me thinking a lot about learning goals, and how those might differ between museums. Depending on the setting, the learning goal might be specific pieces of content, or it might be a set of experiences. I really liked the way this was broken down in “The Constructivist Museum.” It made me consider the variety of different approaches museums may take while still falling under the umbrella of “informal learning.” 

My previous experience with the Boston Museum of Science was quite different from my experience here at MOXI. In the theory presented in “The Constructivist Museum,” I would say that the Boston MOS is far closer to a “Systematic Museum” (Hein, 2). As a volunteer, I was still taught not to lecture or overly explain to our guests, but there were several probing questions I was encouraged to ask to guide them to certain key concepts for each activity. These questions were also underlaid by a framework of learning goals related to the scientific method (e.g. getting guests to make observations, generate hypotheses, etc.). There were far fewer instances of open-ended facilitation at the MOS. Staff and volunteers were stationed at specific activities, and the museum also ran several scripted programs and presentations throughout the day.

Reflecting back, my impression is that compared to MOXI, the MOS’s learning goals had a greater basis in specific content, or knowledge, that they wished to share with guests. For example, in an activity exploring taste and smell, I can remember guiding every group to the conclusion that there is a difference between a “taste” and a “flavor.” The activity was still structured as an informal learning experience by providing an exciting interactive element, and by encouraging guests to lean into their observational skills to come to the intended conclusion, instead of stating it for them plainly like a lecture might do. 

The key point here that led me to place the MOS closer to the “Systematic” category, is that there was an intended conclusion for these activities. When thinking about MOXI, I was more unsure of how to answer this week’s prompt, because: Do we have “very specific learning goals and outcomes” for MOXI’s exhibits (key words being very specific)? Compared to the MOS, MOXI seems to take a much more Constructivist approach, where the learning is the goal, and the conclusions drawn are largely dependent on the learners themselves.

I suppose it is technically possible to walk through MOXI without learning anything—but if a guest even slightly interacts with an exhibit, they are likely to learn something, even if they don’t recognize it consciously. That being said, there are definitely things we can do as Sparks to make the space more inviting for guests to explore and learn within. For example, when I’m opening the second floor, I always make sure to put a small amount of track up on Roll-It Wall. This comes from a shared observation from my first day of orientation that Kaia Joye encouraged us all to lean into: Roll-It Wall can be intimidating when it’s completely blank, even for us as adults! I think this example nicely encapsulates the idea of building on intrinsic motivation. In our case, we were motivated to approach this blank Roll-It Wall, and consider how we might engage with it, but not motivated enough to interact with it. A single loop on the wall might have encouraged us to follow our motivation further to actually engage with the exhibit. 

There was a quote from “The Having of Wonderful Ideas” that I thought nicely summarized MOXI’s stated mission to spark learning through interactive exhibits: “The having of wonderful ideas, which I consider the essence of intellectual development, would depend…to an overwhelming extent on the occasions for having them” (Duckworth, 13). Presenting our exhibits in a way that is accessible and inviting is one way to help achieve this outcome. Talking to guests about their ideas, and expressing your own curiosity are other methods I’ve found that foster a more welcome learning environment.

I am always interested to learn more about actions we can take as Sparks to this end, whether it’s related to exhibit setup or guest interactions. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts!