Going APE: Achieving Active, Prolonged Engagement with Science Center Exhibits

探索馆将开发展品设计，鼓励参观者更多地认知展品--将展品用作自我指导的探索工具，而不是权威的展示。为了做到这一点，工作人员正在借鉴其他博物馆在教育、游客研究、人机工程学、计算机界面设计和互动展品开发等领域的新工作。探索博物馆建议进行评价性研究和展览开发，以最大限度地增加参观者提出问题、活动和发现或主动、延长参与(APE)的可能性。项目组计划创建15个新展品，并翻新另外15个物理科学展品。该团队将战略性地定位展品，以支持整个收藏过程中积极、持久的参与。尽管该项目侧重于物理科学--探索博物馆展品收藏中最基本的部分--但其结果将适用于几乎所有科学学科的展品。

The Exploratorium will develop exhibit designs that encourage visitors to become more cognitively engaged with exhibits -- to use exhibits as tools for self-directed exploration, rather than as authoritative demonstrations. To do this, the staff is drawing on new work in the fields of education, visitor research, human factors engineering, computer interface design and interactive exhibit development at other museums. The Exploratorium proposes to conduct evaluative research and exhibit development that maximizes possibilities for visitor-authored questions, activity and discovery, or active, prolonged engagement (APE). The project team plans to create 15 new exhibits and renovate an additional 15 exhibits in the physical sciences. The team will strategically position the exhibits to support active, prolonged engagement throughout the collection. Although the project focuses on physical science -- the most fundamental part of the Exploratorium exhibit collection -- the results will apply to exhibits in nearly all science disciplines.