the open lot educ 303x: designing learning spaces may 30, 2008 dave haynie dana nelson sarah parikh...
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The Open Lot
EDUC 303x: Designing Learning SpacesMay 30, 2008
Dave HaynieDana NelsonSarah Parikh
Nesra Yannier
Documents on previous ideas
Connect the community through the history of the area
Connect the community to nature by observing and interacting with it
Inspire wonder and curiosity in children and adults
Create a sunny-day destinationsunny-day destination
Attract and accommodate large number of visitors (400,000 annually)
Offer new interactive exhibits that respond to children's diverse educational needs
Invite self-directed, open-ended exploration
Share the importance of the river as a life source
Tell a story through the exhibit
“Any natural place contains an infinite reservoir of information, and therefore the potential for inexhaustible new discoveries.”
–Richard Louv
Make it equal to or more exciting than the indoor space
Tell a story through the exhibits [Exploratorium]
Learning should be a high priority in the outdoor space
Create a unique gateway to the outside area and a the pathway through the exhibits clearly marked and visible [Exploratorium]
Include places to sit and connect
Create visibility within the area, especially from the sitting areas
Consider the weather and positioning of the sun [Y2E2]
Partitions and groupings of exhibits on the same topic may also help visitors to make connections between exhibits [Exploratorium]
Include both single user and multiple user exhibits [Solitary vs Shared]
Cycles of Life
Exploration
Adventure
Bugs/Animal Life
Water
River History
Cultures
Camps of Inhabitants
Ecology—human impact
Nature and science: shadows, rainbows, sky, sun/moon, magnetism, rocks, fire
Navigation—compass, maps, GPS orientation
Identification of Nature—plants, insects, trees, etc.
Weather—rain, clouds, snow, fog, temperature, thunder/lightning, etc.
Microscope play—bucket river water, mud
Ropes—pioneering
Energy sources—sun, windmill, watermill
Bones—digging and discovery
Optics—light
Transparency
Visibility and interest generation
Fort wall w/ raised walkway
Writing surfaces built in
Interchangeable panels/content
Sand art in the wall
Waterfall/waterway—collecting rainwater
Exhibits in the wall (ant farm, etc. cross sections), animal homes/windows
Interactive on both sides—3D pins
Surfaces where kids can display their artwork
1769-1846: Spanish explorers colonize California
1777: Mission San Jose is founded
1846: California is annexed to the US
1887: San Jose’s Chinese population builds Woolen Mills, Chinatown (burned down in 1902)
1966: Guadalupe Parkway built
Other River Inhabitants (insects)
Chinese Immigrants
Spanish Missionaries
Ohlone Indians
Prehistoric Animals
A variety of other creatures inhabit the river as well, including insects, reptiles, and mammalsExhibit Ideas
Use the wall to demonstrate living spaces of other local inhabitants
Ants, bees, squirrels, coyotes, etc.Fence Implications
Cross sections of fence may display insects in action
Portions of fence may hold interactive homes where children may crawl through
Brief history:
Presence in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley since early 1850s
Majority peasants from villages in southern China Seeking gold and good wages to send back to China
to support their families and villages Late 19th century San Jose’s agricultural and industrial
economy relied on Chinese labor Built houses along river Established and worked in Woolen Mills on river
Exhibit Ideas
Energy sources in nature – industrial economy
How people create energy from nature• Windmill• Watermill• Solar power
Fence Implications
Front of Chinese house as part of fence Ladder going up to balcony – climb up peek
through the windows and see the river Kids paint the walls of the house, add
bricks to some parts Water mill – lighting up bulbs in the house Rainy weather – collect rain water, run
faster, more energy created
How the fence fits in
front of a Chinese house as one of the parts of the fence
ladder going up to the balcony – climb up peek through the windows and see the river
Kids paint the walls of the house, add bricks to some parts
Water mill – lighting up bulbs in the house Rainy weather – collect rain water, run faster, more
energy created
Brief History:
Santa Clara Mission was founded in 1777 along the Guadalupe River.
Founders probably traveled here by boat.
It had to be rebuilt many times due to floods and earthquakes.
Look out to the Guadalupe River
Build small towers with actual building materials
Plant, care for, and harvest crops
Use navigation techniques including compass and GPS
Learning
Can visitors navigate to specified locations? Are the plants growing? Do visitors come back and check on them? Are kids more interested in gardening at home?
Fence implications
The tower should be close to the fence. The tower or mission style walls could be part of
the fence.
Building Tule reed huts
Using a mortar and pestle to make paint
Harvesting (snacking on) indigenous edible plants
Learning
Learn a bit about the people who used to live in this area Enduring understanding: the environment is rich and full of
plants that can be used for building shelter, painting, and eating
Assessment: How much time is spent at this exhibit? Do people try to build? Do they experiment with the mortar and pestle? Later, can kids recognize berries that are safe to eat?
Fence Implications
Fence integrates indigenous plants and building materials Berries can grow on the fence-- an edible fence! Can have windows to look out at river
Grizzly bear
Black bear
Tule elk
Black-tailed deer
Pronghorn
Mountain Lion
Raccoon
Gray Fox
Coyote
Dog/wolf/coyote
Rabbit
Jackrabbit
Bobcat
Skunk
California sea lion
Sea otter
Harbor seal
Goose
Duck
Crane
Hawk
Eagle
Loon
Pelican
Western Grebe
Cormorant
Learning
Time spent digging Number of Holes Dug Number of Bones found Number of Bones
Identified Success in identifying
bones
How the fence fits in
Section of wall with bones in it could be incorporated into the fence
Prototyping
Select visitor use prior to full museum access Includes observations, filming, interviews, etc.
Roll-out Review
Intense scrutiny of learning and responses upon initial opening Observations, questioning, surveys
Direct Assessments Through Use
How long do visitors spend at exhibits How much of a given input is used—maps, paint, bricks, cards, etc. How many people follow up online on exhibit website How many drawings are posted, questions left
Scheduled Assessments
At regularly scheduled intervals (e.g., every other year) perform an inventory of leaning impact on guests
Piaget
Theory of Cognitive Development: emergence and construction of schema Preoperational period (years 2-7)-- need experiences, logic skills
not refined Concrete operational period (years 7-11)-- more developed
classification and logic skills
Jerome Bruner
Discovery Learning Students are more likely to remember concepts if they discover
them on their own Instructional Scaffolding
Sufficient supports (such as a compelling task or resources) promote learning when concepts are first introduced.