How do you define educational success?

/in , , /by

On Tuesday, several Smithsonian educators, and myself, attended a session of the Museum Education Roundtable.  (mer-online.org/)  The discussion focused on defining educational success in museums, and how differing educational approaches not only help to determine results, but differing definitions of success as well.

The speaker was Margaret Lindauer, faculty member of Virginia Commonwealth University, and an experienced evaluator, having assessed the educational impact of exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of American History, among others.  She outlined four approaches, commonly attributed to curriculum, and how the relationships between teacher and learner change, as do the outcomes.

A laissez-faire plan allows a visitor to self-direct and pursue their own interests, with a desired outcome being an enjoyable experience.  On the contrary, the Tylerian method is what we most associate with a traditional classroom – a teacher imparts knowledge to the learner with success measured by how well the learner grasps major themes.  In a constructivist approach, the teacher facilitates through provocative questioning, placing the emphasis on a learner’s self-generated solutions.  Answers are not absolute, but success involves the visitor generating their own answers.  Finally, a narrative path  turns both teacher and learner into storytellers, where facts become stories, and the learner ultimate relates their self-knowledge into the broader, contextual narrative of the program.

It was interesting for us all – educators from the Freer/Sackler to NASM to American History – to think about the approaches used at the Smithsonian, and their effectiveness.  What seems most clear is that no methodology is objective nor comprehensive – the same exhibit might employ all of them to great success.  Rather than neat boxes, these approaches seem to represent a spectrum to consider while evaluating the museum as learning environment. 

Traveling exhibitions available from the National Museum of Dentistry

/in , , /by

The National Museum of Dentistry is pleased to announce the availability of two traveling exhibitions: The Future is Now! African Americans in Dentistry and Branches, Bristles and Batteries: Toothbrushes through Time.

The Future is Now! African Americans in Dentistry pays tribute to the extraordinary men and women who paved the way for African Americans’ success as dental professionals. With dramatic portraits, poignant memoirs and stories of individual and collective achievement, this exhibition inspires and educates visitors of every age.  The exhibition includes a moving photographic timeline of  the complex and inspiring story of individual accomplishment, educational advancement and organizational success from the 1860s through the present day; and provides a valuable new point of engagement with the youth of a host’s communities, with the potential to spark an interest in considering dentistry as a lifetime career.

The exhibition is appropriate for a wide range of museums, including institutions devoted to science, health, and history.  It is presented in partnership with the National Dental Association, and is available for a cost of $5,000 plus incoming shipping costs.  

Did you know that the first modern toothbrush was invented in the late 1700’s?  Filled with fascinating facts and fun activities for the whole family, Branches, Bristles and Batteries: Toothbrushes through Time allows children and adults to “brush up” on truths about toothbrushes while helping to develop habits that ensure good oral health. 

Targeted to elementary-age children, the exhibition includes interactives that encourage healthy eating, the importance of brushing, and an understanding of the toothbrush’s role in history.  It provides an excellent opportunity to partner with local professionals to promote dental health education outreach. 

The exhibition is appropriate for science, health and children’s museums, and is made possible by the support of United Concordia Companies, Inc.  It is available for a cost of $5,000 plus incoming shipping costs.

Educational and marketing materials, installation instructions and condition reports are included in the registration packets of both exhibitions.  To learn more about these exhibitions and for booking information, please contact Scott Swank, DDS, Curator at 410.706.8704 or sswank@dentalmuseum.umaryland.edu. 

 

 

An afternoon of Chinese Kunqu Theater

/in , /by

On Friday, August 4, some Affiliations staff attended an explanatory demonstration of this fascinating art form, a precursor to a real Kunqu performance at the Freer/Sackler Gallery entitled ‘The Palace of Eternal Youth’.  https://www.asia.si.edu/events/performances.asp

Named an ‘Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ by the United Nations, kunqu is classical Chinese musical theater.  We learned that a single performance may be made up of 50-200 scenes, so one performance of kunqu, performed at Lincoln Center in NYC, lasted for 19 hours!  (We were assured that the performance at Freer/Sackler would be much shorter.)  Until well into the 20th century, kunqu was gender segregated – not only the acting troupes, but the audiences as well!

Qian Yi singingIn the picture here, acclaimed young actress Qian Yi demonstrates the precise movements of kunqu.  Each character has a different way of walking which indicates their role – consorts of the emperor glide very slowly, almost imperceptibly, while maids rush around in circles, walking quickly heel to toe.  Scholars have yet another precise walk.  Ladies of the court always keep their hands in a precise configuration, to evoke the beauty of orchids, with fingers spread and articulated. 

As one might expect in a Chinese art form, yin and yang are implicit, even in movements.  Before pointing right, an actress will weave her hand around to the left, and vice versa.  If a character has to bend down to pick a flower, he will first rise up on his toes.

Many different Chinese dialects can be used in a kunqu performance, but it is the clown that most frequently mixes dialects.  Qian Yi also demonstrated how kunqu sounds, and the extensive use of melisma – a word I didn’t know until today!  Melisma is the technique of changing the pitch of a syllable of text while it is being sung.  It is said that melisma achieves a hypnotic trance in the listener…. certainly true in this case, as we could hardly stand to leave once she started singing!

Packaging sunlight from cucumbers

/1 Comment/in , /by

On Friday, some of the Affiliations staff attended the first in a new lecture series by SI’s Under Secretary of Science, David L. Evans.  Deriving his title from a scientist in Gulliver’s Travels, his thesis in the lecture was to illuminate the values of pure scientific research, unfettered by a concern for its practical application.  (check it out https://www.si.edu/research/spotlight/lectures_2006.html.)

To illustrate, he told the stories of three former Smithsonian Secretaries, all notable experts in their time, whose devotion to pure research found application only decades later.  Early in the 20th century, a Smithsonian Secretary, an avid ornithologist, preserved entire birds in alcohol, rather than just the skins or bones.  In the last 20 years, researchers were able to access and study the DNA of the birds from that collection for clues on bird flu mutations and transmission rates.

He referenced a seminal work in the history of scientific research, Vannevar Bush’s Science the Endless Frontier. (https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/vbush1945.htm)  As science advisor to FDR, Bush submitted this report to the president in 1945, arguing that pure research would benefit the country in three ways – economically, for public health, and in national defense.  This document ultimately led to the formation of the National Science Foundation.  Again, at the end of the 20th century, legislators revisited the document, and added the benefit of helping to establish public policy.

Dr. Evans finished his talk by sharing three current research projects underway at the Smithsonian, that as yet, have no practical application in mind.  The one I found most striking concerns our universe.  Scientists have long known that dark matter constitutes part of our universe, and that the universe is expanding.  Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have also recently discovered that the universe’s expansion is accelerating – it goes faster as it disperses, and they are able to measure this acceleration.  They have determined that approximately 70% of the universe is this dark energy, pushing it apart.  Which means that a very small fraction, less than 10%, of the universe is made up of the stuff we’re on – planets, stars, etc. (cfa-www.harvard.edu/)

How this information will ultimately benefit us is anyone’s guess, but as Dr. Evans pointed out, it does make one “scale our regard in cosmic terms.”   That perspective is always useful.

 

Puerto Rico Museum Studies Group 2009

My first two months at Affiliations

/in , /by

What a time it’s been! All my friends at Cooper-Hewitt keep asking, how is it?! what is it like to work at the Smithsonian in Washington?!

I anticipated the rewards of this job, and certainly have not been disappointed!  Things are quite different being on the Smithsonian “campus”.  I have really enjoyed gaining a macro view of the Institution, and the sense of community that comes from meeting colleagues across all the units. And even after 10 years with the Smithsonian, I’m realizing anew how much of the collection I still need to see, so it’s been fun to work on that!  but what I like most is meeting and getting to know all of my affiliates, and learning how rich and different they all are in mission, needs, perspective. It means that when I come to work every day, I never know what challenges may come up – all of which will require creative solutions, and all of which were well worth moving to DC for!

I thought I’d attach a few highlights from my first two months, the “wow, I can’t believe I actually work for the Smithsonian!” moments. I’ll be eager to hear about your ah-ha moments too! 

                      

 PR group 095.jpg  in my third week on the job, I got to accompany this group of museum professionals from the Universidad del Turabo, PR on a behind-the-scenes study tour.  Here we are in the ImaginAsia classroom at the Freer Sackler.            

PR group 029.jpg  it’s a little like the Wizard of Oz when Natural History Museum Staff pull back the curtain on their collection objects in storage! 

       PR group 019.jpg Jars and jars of specimens in storage – snakes, eggs, sharks, and more – I’ve never seen anything like it!

 Duck decoys     amazing sash   Amazing objects from the NMAI collection.  Duck decoys that are thousands of years old!  and found in Nevada – imagine what the climate there must have been that long ago, to necessitate this hunting accoutrement!  and a beautiful sash made from woodpeckers… you can probably pick out their red feathers, but do you see their beaks?! 

 

Left the National Mall for L’Enfant Plaza

/in , /by

We are settling in our new offices at L’Enfant Plaza, just up the hill from the National Mall and the Smithsonian Castle. For close to nine years the Arts & Industries Building, a Victorian gem, was home to Smithsonian Affiliations. Our new telephone number is 202.633.5300.