session 17: the internet

Comic-strip from xkcd.com - a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language, mainly because I like the idea of a internet-shaped cake.

Today's lecture started with a link to last week's discussion on realism and persuasion in popular science books. I introduced the class to "bob the balloon" who demonstrated, in a very hands on way, Newton's Third of Motion.

We then, more seriously, we looked through some science website before discussing topics of authority, access and the history of hypertext. I asked the class to think about what elements of a website make it appear trustworthy. Examples included: how high it was on google-searches, whether it had commenting, linked to other rebutable sites, had advertising on it, had been updated recently, seemed big and well designed. Of course, we can be fooled by many of these, the pregnant man website I promised to link to is here.

The second half was a group activity where I asked people to design a site for a (hypothetical) telecommunications gallery at the Science Museum. We had some great ideas; interfaces based on history of mobile phones, various styles of virtual tour, many different ideas about involving texting visitors and ways of using 3G or VOIP technology to get people in the gallery and outside to interact.

Science is a game

Game On is a temporary exhibition at the Science Museum looking at the technologies that have changed gaming over the decades. It looks at the earliest games, different game types (action, simulation and puzzle games), game soundtracks, games associated with films and many other aspects of gaming. Visitors to the exhibition get the chance to play a wide variety of games, from pong to the Nintendo Wii.

Obviously getting to play a lot of games is immense fun. It's not just the game's ability to distract but there is a nostalgic attraction to some of the older games, which heightens the experience. However, does such an exhibition really belong in a science museum?

A science museum's remit surely should be to educate, inform and interest the public in scientific issues and also more generally in science and technology. Game On is really a history of games. It looks at how new technologies impact on how games are played - the Internet's influence on multiplayer games for example - but does not examine how these technologies work. And who would pay attention to any explanation while trying to collect all the coins or win the race? Here the Science Museum fundamentally fails its remit.

The exhibition does raise some questions. How well do play and science education mix? For example, how well can a game convey a scientific principle? Is it justifiable to have an educational 'loss leader', an exhibition which has a rather a tenuous link to the remit of the museum but attracts a lot of people who may explore other parts of the museum which deal more directly with science? I have my doubts.

Ryan Dee

Hamster power

Amidst a frantic band of jumping and shouting little kids, a science teacher attempts to explain the concept of conservation of energy to an 8-year old. Meanwhile, another bunch of children is jumping up down, waving their hands in the air, to make a lightning bolt strike a tree. Designed to be yet another ‘interactive’ science exposition, the energy gallery in the science museum subjects a hapless visitor to a torrent of acoustic abuse and even electric shock therapy.

Indeed, for adults, the energy gallery may not be quite what they had in mind for an enjoyable, quiet afternoon out. However, by keeping in mind that it is aimed at children of about seven to fourteen years old, I think the gallery succeeds quite well in conveying some of the key issues concerning energy and its associated problems.

With a minimum of text and an overload of audio-visual-sensual effects, it is made clear that it will be very hard to change our current pattern of energy consumption. Visitors can have a try at energy management by pretending to be minister in a computer simulation. The kids are asked if they would process there hamster into electrical energy to power the television, illustrating rather well that tough choices must be made.

Although all-in-all a good initiative, it is deplorable that virtually no mention is made of the relationship between fossil fuels and climate change, which might raise questions considering that BP and BASF were the main sponsors of the gallery. Definitely worthwhile visiting with your hyperactive little cousin!

Submitted by Cornelis Plet

Class 15: Science in museums

Continuing our series of classes on the media of science communication, today we discussed - and experienced - science as it is presented in museums. While your handout (on WebCT) and the reading for this week (chapter 8 of Gregory and Miller 1998) give you some idea of the history of museums, helping us to understand the background to the format and the development of science centres, in our visit to the Science Museum we tried to concentrate on questions of exhibitions as constructed spaces.

We looked round two galleries: Making of the Modern World (ground floor), and Energy - fuelling the future (2nd floor). (Note that both have extensive websites attached to them, which can be used independently of the galleries - an interesting development in itself.) The galleries use very different styles, at least at first glance: MMW is object-heavy; while Energy contains very few objects but lots of computer-based interactives. We tried not to simply experience the galleries as a given - as we often do when wandering around museums - but to think critically about the effects they had and how these were created. In particular we considered what audience the gallery was designed for, how it was structured and laid out (and why), and how science was presented. In other words, we thought about the galleries as made for a particular purpose.

Opinion differed on both galleries: to some, Energy was 'gimmicky' while MMW was overwhelming in the mass of objects it presented. In our discussion afterwards, we touched on funding (how often are galleries updated, and where does the money come from?), purpose (are science museums there to present history, highlight contemporary science, or help people learn for themselves?), and the differences between visiting a science museum and an art gallery.

One final thought that we didn't get chance to discuss: should controversial science be presented in museums, and how could this be done?

Punk Science

Last term Sarah organised a trip to a "dialogue" event at the Dana Centre. I thought we could do something similar this term. Except this time, to see people aiming more to entertain than engage.

The "Punk Science" boys will be performing on the 27th Feb. They've been doing shows at Dana since it opened, and have even taken them to the Edinburgh Festival. The Metro said “Laugh as you learn” and the British Council sent them on a tour of Malta. There's more information about them here and a review of one of their older shows (by a Imperial College student) here.

They tend to sell out fast, so if you are interested email me, and I'll see about getting tickets.

Class 15 info

Next week - Monday 5th February - we will be thinking about museums as a medium for science communication. To help us do this our (double) class will be based in the Science Museum.

Please don't forget that we are meeting at 12 just inside the main entrance to the Science Museum, rather than our normal classroom.

Space Station Experience

The human need to explore the universe and gain an understanding about the larger world has prevailed for centuries. The development of the International Space Station (ISS) which started its construction in 1998 has been one of the greatest engineering achievements, since a man first stepped on the Moon in 1969.

Spacestation is a 3-D movie running on IMAX cinemas all over the world giving the opportunity for millions of people to experience what it is like to work at a facility in space 220 miles above the Earth.

I had my 3-D experience of the Space Station at the IMAX theatre located at the Science Museum and it took me spacewalking under zero gravity alongside all the other astronauts. The movie is a story about how much effort is put in by engineers and astronauts in achieving the dream of a complete research laboratory in space.

The film also contains a scene where a dialogue activity had been organised between the astronauts of the space station and a group of school children through satellite communications. This type of activity helps encourage a younger audience to ask questions from human pioneers who have ventured into the space and learn from their experiences.

The large size of the screen combined with the sounds and the 3-D imagery takes anyone watching it right to the Space Station and also the movie is free for Imperial College students at the Science Museum-IMAX!

Submitted by Malith Wijesinghe