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CDM

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 10 months ago

Notes from Meeting 5/19/08
Notes on Assessment 5/16/08
Scenario
Outline for Paper to CDM
1. To Do
2. Exhibit list
Call on 5/8/08
Brainstorming 5/5/08
1. Big Picture Brainstorming Ideas
2. Fence Brainstorm
Personas (5/2/08):
Next Steps (4/25/08):
Questions
Sources

Final Paper

The Open Lot Project as Envisioned by the Stanford Designing Learning Spaces Team

CDM-OpenLotProject.pdf

Final Class Presentation 5/30/08 (ppt)

CDM Class Presentation v1.ppt

Flash Animations of Wall Sections:

Notes from Meeting 5/19/08

Think about not designing the entire exhibition

Notes on Assessment 5/16/08

Focus on Effectiveness and Efficiency.
Maybe focus on Time on Task-- what are people actually doing? Is it conducive to collaboration or learning?
Probably outside of the scope to do an experimental design. It is ok to design a qualitative study.
Think about the language of learning they use there: discovery, learning to be learners
Maybe see what questions people ask as part of the assessment

Scenario

Children’s Discovery Museum at San Jose

A Day at the Museum: A Family Scenario

It’s 9:30 AM on a Saturday morning in April and Tim, 33, and Angela, 31, are taking their children Audrey, 6, and Sam, 3, to the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose. Two weeks prior, Audrey’s playmate, Tiana had been to the museum with her family and her enthusiasm was contagious. Audrey’s pleading convinced her parents that a family outing to the museum was in order. The family had never been before, but had heard good things. Mom and Dad were a bit curious to see how it would be, while both Audrey and Sam were anxious, almost to the point of giddiness, as the family piled into their Subaru Outback Wagon for the 12 minute drive from their apartment in southeast San Jose to the museum.

As the family expedition pulled off the freeway to the museum, Sam noticed the large duck on the roof and squealed (yes squealed!) with delight. His older sister hardly noticed as she was captivated by the large fort tower that was looming over the green belt of trees and the river beyond. She wondered what was inside and if she would get a chance to find out. Tim was busy looking for parking and was finally able to secure one of the last available spots in the back of the parking lot. Angela was thinking through an attack plan for getting from the car to the museum without losing any of the kids, “Wait for me Audrey,” she warned as she got out Sam’s stroller. With five dollars deposited into the parking meter and the receipt placed on the dash, the embarked on the final approach.

Audrey was still fascinated by the fort and tower that grew closer with each step. She could see through the plexi-glass barrier and the windows in the fort that there were already a dozen or so children in there peering out and engaged in a myriad of activities. She began jumping up and down. It was almost here, “Finally, she thought.”

“We aren’t buying any toys today,” Sam’s mother said matter-of-factly, as he and Audrey motioned toward the museum store near the front desk. A short line of about 3 minutes stood between them and the large red fire truck ahead. It was a Saturday in April, a prime time to be visiting the museum and given the full parking lot, Tim knew it might be a bit crowded. He was pleasantly surprised at the speed with which they moved through the line.

The Big Red Fire Truck was worth waiting for. Sam and Audrey loved it, but even Tim and Angela enjoyed climbing on the truck and sitting in the driver’s seat. Angela had left the stroller nearby. She wouldn’t really be using it until later, when Sam had hit his limit, but in the meantime, it would be nice to have a place to park it. She left it in the area near the restrooms and drinking fountains.From the top of the truck, Audrey once again was captivated by the fort she could see out the full panel windows across the room. She raced down and out through the arched doorway, screaming, “Come on Sam!” Mom and Dad were close behind. Tim noticed that the doorway itself was rather well designed and he paused to consider how the “wall of air” worked and how it kept the AC inside and the head outside. “Something for another day,” he thought as he marched double time to catch Audrey, who was already climbing a ladder to the ramparts of the fort.

Audrey and her father spent the next thirty minutes peering at the river from the top of the fort, looking down on the other children digging and learning, and lashing together logs of their own to make ladders and other structures. Tim really enjoyed the interaction as well as the opportunity to watch his daughter learn. Sam was immediately drawn to the “dig”. Angela was close behind and helped him to find a shovel and allowed him to explore the excavation process, as futile as it seemed for him at times. They didn’t have a yard at home, and she wondered whether it was something her children needed in their lives. Audrey then noticed a growing crowd of people around a fire ring and started climbing down in order to see what all the fuss was about. Tim was right behind her, curious to see how an exhibit on fire was made safe for children. Although, he too was curious about learning how fire worked. He remembered that as a kid he had told himself he was going to figure it out one day, maybe that day was today. Audrey was so excited about learning about fire that she wanted to tell her brother all about it. She tried to drag him away from the dirt pit, but he was too engaged in his dinosaur search that he would not be moved. In fact, Angela got a nice break to sit on the surrounding shaded benches watching Sam dig as he spent two whole hours searching for his buried treasure.

Tim and Audrey came back from exploring the indoor exhibits and Tim said, “Well chap, it’s time to go now. Say goodbye to the new friends you have made.”

“Awww Dad. Do we really have to go? I didn’t get to play with everything yet!” Sam complained.

“We are going to have to come back here next weekend,” Tim said to Audrey as they realized the great resource the Museum had been.

Dan - This is a nice scenario. A good visit to the museum with some contexty

Rolf - Glad I got to sit in on your brainstorming session. You have a great scenario here. I know you have a huge space to work with, so try to focus on what your big ideas/ insights are for the space and really flesh out the learning and interactions in a few elements of the space. Again, I'm looking forward to seeing your final designs!

Outline for Paper to CDM

1. History (river, local geography) Dana

2. Theme

0. Critera Sarah

A. Vision Dave-- Mission of CDM Sarah

B. Layouts

C. Exhibits

D. Assessment Dave/Learning Sarah

3. Fence Integration Nesra

To Do

Exhibit and exhibitiion ideas

Indepth look into exhibits in exhibition
Drawings or sketches
How learning is incorporated
How we know they are learning
Incorporating research ideas (principles from papers read in class and books "Last Child in the Woods")

Historical accuracy

Fence

Fence w/exhibit

Exhibit list

Digging for bones, bones identification, mud
Planting/garderning-- identification of plants
Energy sources- solar cars, boats on river, windmill
Fire
Climbing/ropes/fort
GPS-maps
Microscope play-- bucket river water
Nature and science-- shadow, rainbow, sky, sun, moon, magnetism
Weather-- rain, clouds, fog, thunder, lightning

Call on 5/8/08

Ultimately, what we decided upon during the call was that we will:

Flesh out the camp theme in preparation for them to use it with the board of directors on May 31. They would like to get it by May 27 so that they can incorporate it.
Expand upon, capture, and organize our high level ideas for the fence
Show some potential interactions between the fence and our camp theme
Do some historical research on the area/river to understand which "camps" would be appropriate and accurate (e.g. Indians, Chinese, Spaniards, Pioneers/Gold Rush, etc.)

Brainstorming 5/5/08

Big Picture Brainstorming Ideas

Criteria	Themes	Exhibits
eco-friendly	Love of Nature	Digging for X
Eye Catching (tower??)	Cycles of Life/geology	Mud
Interaction/engagement	Exploration/Adventure	Mountain
Sitting Area	Bugs/Animals/Life	Forts/Buildings
Secure boundaries	Water/sprinklers	Planting/Gardening
Equally or more exciting than inside	Adventure Park	Weather (rain, clouds, snow, fog, temp, thunder/lightning)
Science is secondary (but there)	River/history	Climbing
	Cultures	Ropes-Pioneering
	Camping history/role play	GPS orientation stuff--geoCaching
	Pollution (drinking water, water cycle, water purification)	Identification (plants, insects, trees)
	Art on display	Bones-identification
	(sculpt-y art) Pins on both sides	Nature and science: Shadows, rainbows, sky, sun/moon, magnetism, rocks, fire (ways to start)
		Maps
		Optics
		Energy sources: solar energy (solar cars, boats), windmill
		Microscope play: bucket river water, mud

Fence Brainstorm

Criteria	Ways to Incorporate Exhibits	Features	Materials
Things to keep in/out (cats, kids, non-paying public)	Interchangeable panel/content	fort wall w/walkway	Plexiglass
Transparency	Made of similar material	TV screens/interactive parts	Logs/trees/bamboo
Learning/value within CDM and public outside	Has writing surfaces built in (whiteboard/chalkboard)	Cubbyholes	Chain link/iron rails
Attractive	Sand art in the wall	Storage	Concrete
Modular walls	Cave built in	Seats	Plastic
Plants growing in wall	Waterfall/waterway	Shade	Virtual, magnetic, electronic
	Collects rainwater (see channels through the wall	Hallway	Stone
	Exhibits in the wall (ant farm, etc. cross sections), animal homes/windows

Personas (5/2/08):

There are a wide variety of visitors to the CDM--no two are coming from exactly the same context. However, there are a few basic "packages" that would be useful for us to consider as we think about the open lot and the type of people that come to the museum. In this case, we only created one of these personas, but acknowledge that there may be several others:

Our persona is actually an entire family. It is the most typical visitor to the museum. We would create other personas to represent other less typical, but key groups that also visit the museum.

Tim, 33, and Angela, 31, live in a small apartment (950 sf) in San Jose. Tim has just finished his graduate school and/or is just starting his career and is putting in long hours at work on a project team at a local tech company. Angela also has a college degree and is now working part time at a nearby Ronald McDonald House and spends the remainder of her time watching their two children--Aubrey, 6, and Sam, 3.

The family visits the museum together etiher on weekends, or Angela sometimes takes the kids alone on weekdays. However, now that Aubrey is in school, Angela takes only Sam on those weekdays, and usually brings a stroller to push him around after he gets worn out. The family is more inclined to visit the museum on rainy days or during the winter than during the summer.

Each of the family members has a different motivation as they visit the museum:

Angela takes her kids to the museum to ensure that they learn something and are exposed to such ideas and exhibits at an early age. She has heard that it is good for children's development. She usually plays more of a supervisory role, ensuring that they are not breaking things or hurting themselves while there, and lets the kids explore things at thier own pace. She is likely to sit on a bench and chat with other mothers while the kids play and explore nearby.

Tim sees his time at the museum as a chance for him to spend time with his family. His career takes up most of his best hours and he looks forward to his Saturdays and rare holidays where he can spend an outing with his kids. At the museum he tends to look for ways that he can interact with his children while he is there, in particular Aubrey as she is getting old enough to have meaningful conversations with and to enjoy the presence of her father. Tim is more likely to spend time at activities and exhibits at the museum that allow him to then interact with his children--the water area, the tennis ball machine, bubbles.

Aubrey is at an exploratory stage in life. She is discovering and looking to expand upon her learning base. She focuses on these types of activities.

Sam is still relatively young. He has a short attention span and enjoys the tactile exhibits. He is more focused on wonder and awareness of new things than on exploration.

Dan: Nice job considering these personas as a group, especially since that is reflective of what the experience is like at CDM. I also like that you have explicitly drawn out their motivations, I think the conflicts here are interesting and resonate with the Packer and Ballantyne piece that we read for class. To develop these further, you might try to role play here and see what each of you would say if one of the parents said "Today we're going to the purple museum" how would each of these people react? Why?

Next Steps (4/25/08):

Add notes from 4/23 phone conference with Jenni)
Add pictures (to be taken during upcoming CDM visits)
Send Jenni email with full names of all of us (Nesra Yannier, Dana Nelson, Sarah Parikh, Dave Haynie) Done
Have a brainstorming session
At the museum (who are the users, how they interact with the spaces, relationship between river and museum interms of space)
Finalize topic by Tuesday, May 6

Questions

Are we supposed to have a focus on science?
For Dan: What time are we meeting? Is it ok if we go over early as a group to do observations? Yes, ok to go early. Jenni is trying to arrange for us to meet Peggy before class on Friday.

Picture of the Open Lot and River