🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <83ueoe$7k4$1@athena.netset.com>, "Betsey" <betseyk@netset.com>
wrote:

> I can't quite get the hang of keeping messages around.. so I lost the
> original one about COSI. 

Here's what I wrote a few days ago, to both oh.general and cmh.general,
in message <83ueoe$7k4$1@athena.netset.com> :

>> I visited my family in Columbus over Thanksgiving weekend, 
>> and spent most of the Friday at the new Columbus COSI
>> (Center of Science and Industry).

>> I found the new museum to be long on Disney-style gimmickry and
>> short on real science.  I was disappointed that the Foucault
>> Pendulum, formerly the museum's centerpiece, had been moved to an obscure 
>> far corner called "City View", where few people will find it.

Now, back to your message:

> My husband and I took our daughters to COSI
> yesterday and would give it at best mixed reviews.  We DID stay busy for the
> full time we were there... 7 hours without going to any of the pay extra
> shows.  We were disappointed however that it is no longer a science museum,
> nor does it even pretend to be one. If you notice they don't call it the
> center of science and industry anymore, but instead call it the fascInation
> deStination... pulling the SI from those words.

That last part I didn't realize ... but I did notice that "Ohio's Center of
Science and Industry", its official name, is totally de-emphasized now.
 
> Not only did we feel the exhibits were Disneyesque, with more entertainment
> than education, but where there was a "hint" of science.. there was no
> explanation!  It was more like a big play space.

Oh good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed.  I had hoped that
the omission was temporary, but apparently it still hasn't been corrected
four weeks later.  I saw a lot of interactive exhibits where you'd probably
learn something interesting about physics or optics or biology ... IF
there was a sign explaining what the purpose of the exhibit was!
But usually, there was nothing at all.

>  Big dollars were invested
> in exhibits which have one visit interest. ( ie. once you know the clues in
> the Adventure area, why would you want to go back?) I have yet to even
> understand teh Poseidan play area. The Ocean area seemed to have a few fish,
> but little else. If it was there, we missed it as we followed the crowds
> through the area.

Both of those areas struck me as pointless wastes of money and space.

And given that the head of COSI is a former astronaut, why isn't there any 
exhibit about NASA or space exploration or astronomy?

> Although I think there can be learning in play, I think that there also has
> to be guidance; if there was some there I missed it.
> 
> I was disappointed in the I/O area, where you can spend even more money on
> video games.  I suppose that COSI sees Magic Mountain and Video Arcades as
> competition.  I asked a COSI volunteer what the point of the arcade was.  He
> said it was to show how video amusement has progressed since the 70's.
> Please!

Another large area of the museum that seemed to me a waste of space,
though I'm sure it will make lots of $$$ for the museum, at the expense
of many schoolkids' allowances and savings.  What values is this teaching
to the kids?

> I did like the gadget cafe, where you can disassemble and create with
> disassembled parts. 

I didn't get a chance to play there, but I would have liked to.  It did
appear to be genuinely educational.

Another area that I liked was the temporary exhibit with the 
automobile shock absorbers and "square-wheel" cars and the like.
It reminded me of the San Francisco Exploratorium.
But again more explanation would have been useful, so that you would
remember later what you were supposed to be learning.

-- 
Ron Newman        rnewman@thecia.net
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/