The Role of Destinations in Learning
Key Contributors: AD Gladu, Amanda Yates, April Neal, Diane Porthouse Lochner, Tom Owen, Josh Rodriguez, Tiffany Rawson
From the End to the Start
It is fairly uncontested that a visit to a science center, aquarium, or even a well-programmed trampoline park can be an educational experience. Exhibits that help teachers “check a box” on their state standards elevate the day from fun to functional. Activities that encourage parents and kids to problem-solve through play have a high degree of success in teaching a topic.
These outcomes have been the gold standard for the last 20 - 30 years, but education, like all concepts, is subject to trends and progress. Many destinations are feeling that they can, and should, do more than foster understanding of a foundational concept. They are choosing to foster curiosity and encourage continuing engagement with a topic long after the visit is over.
From Concept to Curiosity
Shifting gears from concept to curiosity often starts by reframing success.
The goal of the Goose Island Tap Room and brewery tour is laid out in their philosophy: “We don't need to be the only beer you drink. We just want to be the best beer you drink.” They celebrate beer culture by sharing their passion for brewing and tasting in a casual, comfortable atmosphere.
The goal of a visit to Plymouth Colony is not to memorize the Mayflower’s manifest but to provide a thought-provoking platform where guests may ask instinctive, self-directed questions of expert historical interpreters.
The goal of The Power of Children exhibit at The Children’s Museum Indianapolis is not to teach names and dates, but to connect emotionally with children who suffered grave injustice. Hopefully these connections lead guests to speak up against injustice in their own communities.
Where do you get the frame?
Execution of your reframed success often starts with introspection:
What are the potential impacts of our idea on guests’ communities?
Is our institution full of experts who can explain these impacts or is our institution full of storytellers excited to discover them?
Is it more important for guests to know lots of facts about these impacts or feel an emotional connection to them?
Should we provide guests with all the answers by the time they leave, or inspire them to keep asking more?
Bringing It Home
Your community also has a vested interest in your destination—harness their interests and energy by engaging them in your questioning process. What are they curious about? What is important to their daily lives? To their dreams? To their futures?
Invite your school districts into the conversation. What are the topics that teachers find specifically challenging to communicate within a school setting? For example, even if you can build the best interactive that teaches kids about inertia, why do it if teachers tell you that inertia is a classroom-friendly topic? Seek topics that you are uniquely positioned to explore.
Measure your success in decades of thought and lifetimes of curiosity.
Innovation is for everyone. Got a topic you want to see on Destinology?
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