Paul-A-R10

Many of Saul Carliner’s comments fit our two recent museum experiences very well. I think one of the major points is the different learning styles that people have. Some people are visual learners, others are kinetic learners (movement) while others have to read in order to make something comprehensible. A good museum will offer information in all of the learning styles. Milwaukee Public Museum was primarily a visual and reading experience, while Discovery World offered more kinetic, hands-on, ways to learn. You could certainly see the difference in the age groups that were there. The kids were definitely button pushers while the adults were readers and observers. I remember when attending the interactive show at the Milwaukee Art Museum a year or so ago that it was mostly the children who were doing the interacting. The adults were just along for the ride. At least the kids got them there.
There is something to be said for visiting museums with other people so that you can share your experiences with them. Everyone has a different way of learning and their own perspective on things. It is not clear that Carliner thinks those differences are a good thing. At the end of his post he states that informal learning does not provide a common basis of knowledge and therefore is not conducive to carrying on informed conversations. However, the points he has made up until then support the opposite. If people have different experiences they have something to discuss, things to work out, points of view to express. Conversations that share the same points of view and are generally in agreement about most matters do not last long.
Media is also an important consideration for the reasons that Carliner pointed out. Some people just prefer one type of media over another because of familiarity, convenience or efficiency. However, some forms of media are just better at getting ideas across. The example of the cigarette rolling in our last reading assignment is a case in point. Although the images clearly showed all of the steps needed to roll a cigarette, they could not impart the particular physical techniques that are needed to create a satisfying finished product. A film or video might be better, but nothing will beat a live demonstration with verbal and emotional commentary for imparting this type of information.