ED 389 637

AUTHORTITLE

INSTITUTIONSPONS AGENCY

REPORT NOPUB DATENOTEAVAILABLE FROM

PUB TYPE

EDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFIERS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

SO 025 400

Klages, Ellen; And OthersWhen The Right Answer is a Question. Students asExplainers at the Exploratorium.Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA.DeWitt Wallace / Reader's Digest Fund, Pleasantville,N.Y.

ISBN-0943451-40-X95

67p.The Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon Street, San Francisco,CA 94123.Reports Descriptive (141)

MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.Communication Skills; Exhibits; Institutes (TrainingPrograms); *Museums; Resource Centers; Science andSociety; Science Education; Science Programs;Secondary Education; Secondary School Students;Technology*California (San Francisco); Exploratorium CA; MuseumEducators

Students who work at the Exploratorium in SanFrancisco, California learn about science by explaining to thevisitors from all over the world how the museum's exhibits work. Thestudents are teen-agers who also come from all over the world to be"Explainers" for the Exploratorium. They go through a training periodto learn the basics of how the exhibits work and how to share theirknowledge with the general public. The student "Explainers" not onlylearn about science, but they also learn how to be effectivecommunicators. After completing a semester of working in the Museum,students take their experiences with them and build upon them for therest of their lives. Many students use this valuable experience tofurther their science education and to pursue science relatedemployment. The book concludes with information on how students canapply to work at the Exploratorium. (JAG)

************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

from the original document.***********************************************************************

WH

EN

E T

HE

RIG

HT

AN

SWE

RIS

AQ

UE

STIO

N

U S

DE

PA

RT

ME

NT

OF

ED

UC

AT

ION

Eaw

kaba

rae

Res

ea,(

h an

d I^

I'D,O

vIIM

PI,I

ED

UC

AT

ION

AL

RE

SO

UR

CE

S IN

FO

RM

AT

ION

CE

NT

ER

.ER

IC.

A',.

5 Jo

,ha

s ar

ee e

rrod

ul e

a as

,ene

,ed

0,or

, .he

ne,

so,

crge

wta

i.r.,-

,pna

l-ng

M.r

`ur

ha^g

es h

a, Ir

..,vo

..0. l

uag'

I ).h

tS.e

.au

, a

n'en

tne

,,o

weN

er"

olfu

aO

E R

.("

,,,

by E

llen

Kla

ges

PE

RM

ISS

ION

TO

RE

PR

OD

UC

E T

HIS

MA

RIA

L H

AS

BE

EN

GR

AN

TE

D B

Y

th,A

ffri

t,42

",

TO

TH

E E

DU

CA

TIO

NA

L R

ES

OU

RC

ES

INF

OR

MA

TIO

N C

EN

TE

R (

ER

IC)

with

Dar

lene

Lib

rero

and

Jam

ie B

ell,

Exp

lain

er P

rogr

am D

evel

oper

s

BE

ST

CO

PY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

1-

Stud

ents

as

Exp

lain

ers

at th

eE

xplo

rato

rium

WH

EN

TH

E

RIG

HT

AN

SWE

R

IS A

QU

EST

ION

Stud

ents

as

Exp

lain

ers

at th

e

Exp

lora

tori

um

by E

llen

Kla

ges

with

Dar

lene

Lib

rero

and

Jam

ie B

ell,

Exp

lain

er P

rogr

am D

evel

oper

s

4

W h

en

th

e0.

ht

Ans

wer

Is

a

Ack

now

ledg

men

ts11

-ben

the

Rig

ht A

nsw

er Is

a O

wst

iour

.Cta

dent

s- a

sE

xpla

iner

sat

the

L'A

plor

ator

iam

\\as

mad

e po

ssib

le h

y su

ppon

fro

mY

outh

AL

IVE

!, A

Nat

iona

l Ini

tiativ

e of

the

DeW

itt W

alla

ce-

Rea

der's

Dig

est F

und.

The

aut

hor

wou

ld li

ke to

tlr,

tnk

Dar

lene

Lib

rero

and

Jam

ie B

ell

for

thei

r in

c.re

diN

e \ \

ork

in th

is p

rogr

am. a

nd w

ith th

is p

ublic

a-tk

m. T

hank

s al

so g

o to

the

l993

and

199

4 E

xpla

iner

gro

ups,

and

to V

ivia

n A

ltman

n, P

aul D

oher

ty, S

all%

Due

nsin

g, K

en F

inn,

Ron

lipsc

hina

n. "

Hto

mas

Hum

phre

y. N

lark

NIc

Cow

an, a

nd R

obSe

inpe

r fo

r th

eir

time

and

supp

ort i

br th

i,, p

roje

ct.

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie w

ould

like

to c

onve

y th

eir

deep

est t

hank

s to

Elle

n kl

ages

for

her

atte

ntio

n an

d sk

ill in

cap

turi

ng th

e th

ough

tsof

all

the

Exp

lora

tori

tun

staf

f an

d E

xpla

l .ner

s w

ho w

ere

inte

r-vi

ewed

for

this

pub

licat

ion.

.

The

Exp

kwat

oriu

m30

M I

,von

Str

eet

!sai

l Fra

ncis

co, C

alif

orni

a 9

I 23

Cop

yrig

ht ,c

I99=

1 'H

ue E

xplo

rato

rium

ll ri

ghts

res

erve

d.Pr

inte

d in

the

l'nite

d St

ales

of

Am

eric

aIS

BN

0-9

13-r

--)I

-.19

-N

Cre

dits

:Pm

it.ct

Man

ager

: Dar

lene

Lih

rero

I'dito

r: R

uth

Blo

w n

Pn)d

uctio

n E

dito

r: J

udith

Bra

ndA

rt D

irec

tor

Des

igne

r: \l

ark

NIc

Gow

an

Prod

uctio

n A

rtis

t: E

mel

ine

Man

n Sa

nche

/'P

hoto

grap

hers

: .A

tny

Snyd

er, E

sthe

t KU

tnic

k,E

xpla

iner

s C

ater

ina

Cal

sam

iglia

. Kin

ia L

iaut

atid

,N

loir

a M

cGow

an, a

nd o

ther

Exp

lain

ers.

2

PAP

Q u

estio

n

),47

-h e

nt

h e.

Rig

ht .A

ns w

er

aau

e.st

i.on

Intr

oduc

tion

the

last

rw

enty

-fiv

e ye

ars,

the

Exp

lora

tori

um's

exh

ibit

floo

r ha

sbe

en s

taff

ed b

y E

xpla

iner

shig

h sc

hool

stu

dent

s w

ho le

arn

abou

tsc

ienc

e as

they

lear

n to

uSe

the

exhi

bits

. AS

they

ass

ist v

isito

rs in

thei

r ex

plor

atio

ns, t

hese

stu

dent

s ga

in a

n un

ders

tand

ing

of th

eir

own

lear

ning

pro

cess

and

thei

r in

tera

ctio

nsw

ith o

ther

s.

We

belie

ve th

at m

useu

ms

have

an.

impo

rtan

t rol

e in

dev

elop

ing

the

lives

of

the

youn

g pe

ople

in th

eir

'com

mun

ities

..and

we

be-

lieve

that

the

Exp

lain

er p

rogr

am s

erve

s th

at r

ole

in th

e Sa

nFr

tinci

sco

Bay

Are

a. T

his

publ

icat

ion

prov

ides

an

over

view

of

the

,.Exp

lain

er p

rogr

am, i

ts s

truc

ture

, and

its

func

tion

for

both

the

stu-

dent

s an

d th

e m

useu

m. I

t is

not i

nten

ded

to b

e a

man

ual o

r a

hoW

-to

book

, but

rat

her,

an

outli

ne o

f ou

r pr

oixd

ures

and

phi

los-

ophy

. We

hope

oth

er m

useu

ms

will

be

able

to u

se o

ur e

xper

i-en

ces

as a

spr

ingb

oard

for

dev

elop

ing

thei

r ow

n pr

ogra

ms.

Thi

s bo

ok is

par

t of

a la

rger

pro

ject

fun

ded

by Y

outh

AL

IVE

!, A

Nat

iona

l Ini

tiativ

e of

the

DeW

itt W

alla

ceR

eade

r's D

iges

t Fun

d.In

it w

e -h

ope

we

have

bro

ught

to li

fe th

e in

sigh

t, th

e fe

elin

g of

com

mun

ity, a

nd th

e pl

easu

re th

at w

e ha

ve s

hare

d w

ith m

ore

than

IW

O E

xpla

iner

s ov

er th

e ye

ars.

Dar

lene

Lib

rero

. Dir

ecto

r, E

xpla

iner

pro

gram

Jam

ie B

ell,

Man

ager

, Exp

lain

er p

rogr

am

3

Whe

n th

n a

resk

lent

ial n

eigh

b(ir

-ho

od n

ear

the

Gol

den

Gat

e B

ridg

e, th

e R

otun

daof

the

Pala

ce o

f Fi

ne A

rts

reig

ns o

ver

a pe

acef

ulla

goon

. Beh

ind

the

Ro-

tund

a, a

rel

ic o

f th

e 19

1=i

Pim

ama-

Paci

fic

Inte

rnat

i(m

alE

xpos

ition

, is

a ca

vern

ous

spac

efi

lled

with

Bas

hing

ligh

ts, m

a-ch

ines

that

buz

z an

d w

hir,

and

aco

nsta

nt h

um o

f ex

cite

d co

nver

-sa

tion.

It i

s th

e E

xplo

nito

rium

.Sa

n Fr

anci

sco'

s w

orl

d-re

now

ned

mus

eum

of

scie

nce.

art

, and

hum

an p

erce

ptio

n.

The

02,

00u

squa

re f

eet o

f til

em

useu

m's

exh

ibit

lb x

ir I

n ild

s ov

er

650

hand

s-on

inte

ract

ive

exhi

bits

cove

ring

topi

cs f

rom

opt

ical

illu

-si

t ins

to th

e el

ectn

inia

gnet

ic s

pec-

trum

, hum

an g

enet

ics

to s

oap

bubb

les.

The

exh

ibits

are

rou

ghly

1 1!

Rig

htns

wer

Isa

Q ii

est

ion

divi

ded

into

are

asSo

und

and

Hea

ring

, Ele

ctri

city

, Lif

e Sc

ienc

es,

and

so o

nbut

ther

e ar

e no

guid

ed to

urs

or s

et o

rder

to a

vi-

sito

r's e

xper

ienc

e. E

ach

pers

onst

ruct

ures

an

indi

vidu

al jo

urne

y ac

-co

rdin

g io

his

or

her

own

inte

rest

s.

Lik

e th

e ex

hibi

ts. t

he E

xplo

ra-

tori

um's

onl

y gu

ides

are

als

o sc

at-

tere

d th

roug

hout

the

mus

eum

.M

ore

than

two

doze

n te

enag

ers

inhr

ight

ora

nge

vest

s st

roll

the

.x-

hibi

t flo

or, m

ingl

ing

with

vis

itors

and

help

ing

them

to f

ind

thei

rw

ay th

roug

h th

is s

omet

imes

be-

wild

erin

g ar

ray

of h

ells

ari

d w

his-

ti,s,

mir

nws

and

mic

rosc

opes

.T

hey

are

the

Exp

lain

ers.

Whe

n ph

ysic

ist F

rank

Opp

en-

heim

er f

ound

ed th

e E

xplo

ratii

r-iu

m in

1%

9, it

was

one

of

a ve

rysm

all h

andf

ul o

f m

useu

ms

expe

ri-

men

ting

with

a n

ew w

ay o

f' sh

ar-

ing

info

rmat

ion

with

the

publ

ic.

In th

e ol

d m

odel

of

Ow

sci

ence

mus

eum

, vis

itors

look

ed a

t dis

-pl

ays

of a

rtif

acts

and

inst

runi

ents

,

and

read

the

sign

s to

dec

i-ph

er w

hat w

as in

the

glas

sca

ses.

But

at t

he E

xplo

ra-

tori

um a

nd o

ther

new

mu-

seum

s, e

xhib

its w

ere

take

nou

t fro

m b

ehin

d gl

ass

and

set

up s

o th

at v

isito

rs c

ould

inte

r-ac

t and

pla

y w

ith th

em.

Fran

k O

ppen

heim

er h

ad a

visi

on o

f a

plac

e w

here

peo

ple

vcou

ldto

me

and

expl

ore

the

mai

-e0

s of

the

wor

kl th

ey li

ved

in,

theo

wth

exp

osur

e to

its

phen

om-

.....

ena.

The

mis

sion

of

his

new

mus

euk

was

to c

omm

unic

ate

tovi

sito

rs th

at b

oth

natu

re a

nd p

eo-

ple

are

not o

nly

unde

rsta

ndab

le,

but e

xciti

ng. H

e w

ante

d to

build

a p

lace

whe

re s

cien

cew

as f

Un,

not

thre

aten

ing,

and

whe

re th

e co

inpl

exiti

es o

fsc

ienc

e an

d te

chno

lcig

yc(

mld

be

expl

ored

.

'Hie

who

le id

ea w

as to

ci c

afe

a pl

ace

that

is c

um-

killa

ble

ft w

the

nons

cien

-tis

t, to

sho

w s

cien

tili,

;EFT

CO

PY A

VA

ILA

BL

.

tr,

1 1

5

W h

e

s.,

t'

1,`'

1-,4

,0:

,11)

6

th

eR

.i g

ht

A n

S'`.

.4

Cl

prin

cipl

es in

the

cont

ext

of e

verY

day

life.

Be-

caus

e of

this

, he

didn

'tw

ant t

o st

aff

the

floo

rw

ith s

cien

tists

who

wou

ld te

ll vi

sito

rs th

e"r

ight

- an

swer

s. I

lew

ante

d gu

ides

who

wou

ld e

ncou

rage

vis

i-to

rs to

pla

y, a

nd to

disc

over

thei

r ow

nqu

estk

ms

and

answ

ers.

fn th

e m

id-s

ixtie

s. F

iiink

,ha

d vi

site

d m

ost o

f th

em

ajor

sci

ence

- m

useu

ms

tin

Eur

ope

whi

le o

n a

. Gug

genh

eim

Fello

wsh

ip.

'A

t :he

Pal

ais

de la

pi..c

ouve

rte

in P

aris

. he

had

notic

ed th

at th

e ex

-hi

bit a

ea c

ame

to li

fedu

ring

the

tour

s an

dde

mon

stra

tions

led

hvhi

gh s

choo

l and

col

.le

ge s

tude

nts.

He

liked

the

idea

of

usin

g yo

ung

stud

ents

, not

just

toco

nduc

t dem

onst

ratio

ns

swer

1s

a

of s

peci

fic.

exhi

bits

, but

to h

e th

elia

ison

:S; b

etw

een

the

publ

ic a

ndth

e w

hole

, mus

eum

. Whe

n th

eE

xplo

rato

rium

ope

ned

in 1

969,

ther

e w

ere

half

a d

ozen

exh

ibits

and

one

teen

age

girr

who

hel

ped

visi

tors

fig

ure

them

out

. Tw

enty

-fi

ve )

.ear

s la

ter,

!lu

ne th

an I

800

youn

g pe

ople

hav

e se

rved

as

Exp

lora

tori

um E

xpla

iner

S, h

elp-

ing

to c

reat

e an

atm

osph

ere

orpl

ayfu

l int

erac

tkm

.

"Exp

lain

ing-

can

invo

lve

anyt

hing

fro

m a

n in

-dep

th d

is-

cuss

ion

Of

scie

ntif

ic p

heno

men

ato

sho

win

g a

child

whi

ch b

utto

nto

pus

h. 'I

'he

Exp

lain

ers'

pri

mar

yjo

b is

to h

elp

visi

tors

use

an,

dun

ders

tand

the

Exp

kwat

oriu

m's

exhi

bits

oad

the

prin

cipl

es b

e-hi

nd th

em. O

n a

typi

cal d

ay, a

nE

xpla

iner

will

spe

nd f

our

tose

ven

hour

s ou

t on

the

floo

rpl

aing

ith th

e ex

hibi

ts: a

ndap

proa

chin

g vi

sito

rs to

off

ersu

gges

tions

, ass

ista

nce,

or

expl

o-no

ti(m

s. s

one

sta

ff m

embe

rpu

t

BE

ST

CO

PY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

t ion

1,V

eha

ve s

Cie

ntis

ts in

whi

te la

b co

ats.

Inst

ead

you

may

',re

el a

hig

h sc

hool

kid

with

a m

ohaw

k. Il

e w

on't.

be

an im

posi

n/4

scie

ntis

t, bu

the

'll p

roba

bly

get y

ott t

o pl

ayar

ound

with

the

exhi

bits

, en-

cour

age

you

to u

nwin

d ym

n-th

ough

ts a

nd e

xplo

re.

The

phi

loso

phy

of th

eE

xpla

iner

pro

gram

ext

ends

the

mis

sion

of

the

mus

eum

as

aw

hole

. Thr

ough

inqu

iry

and

ex-

plor

atki

n, s

tude

nts

can

witn

ess

and

unde

rsta

nd th

eir

own

lear

n-in

g pr

o('e

ss. '

l'hey

are

intr

()dl

Iced

to b

road

con

cept

s in

a r

ange

of

scie

ntif

ic d

isci

plin

es, a

nd th

eyle

arn

to r

elat

e th

ose

conc

epts

toth

e w

orkl

aro

und

them

. As

they

deve

lop

an.in

tete

st in

thei

r ow

ned

ucat

iona

l pro

cess

, the

y ar

eab

le to

use

thei

r ex

peri

ence

s to

teac

h ot

hers

in th

e sa

me

way

.

Sinc

e l%

O, m

useu

ms

and

tech

nolo

gy c

ente

rs a

rOun

dth

e w

(wld

hav

e ad

iipte

d th

e

W.h

.en

the

Exp

lain

er p

r()g

rain

as

a nu

)del

.fo

r th

eir

own

flo(

)r s

taff

. At t

heE

spac

o C

ienc

ia V

i\a, a

sm

all s

ci-

ence

cen

ter

in a

wor

king

-cla

ssdi

stri

ct o

f R

io d

e Ja

neir

o, B

razi

l.st

uden

t gui

des

arc

calle

dMon

-ito

rs. A

nim

ateu

rs a

ssis

t vis

itors

at

the

(;ite

des

Sci

ence

s ct

de

lindu

stri

e. la

lette

, in

Pari

s. I

nC

arac

as. \

enez

uela

's M

useo

de

Nin

os th

ey a

rc A

mig

os. a

ndat

the

Exp

iora

u)ry

in B

rist

ol.

.Eng

land

. vou

thhi

l Pilo

ts 1

,,lp

vis-

itors

nav

igat

e th

e m

useu

m f

loor

.

Stru

ctur

e of

the

Prog

ram

.The

vsp

iwai

.riu

m.s

Ex-

phin

crs

are

not d

ocen

ts o

r vo

l-un

teer

s; b

eing

an

Exp

lain

er is

Apa

id p

oSiti

On

at I

hk. m

useu

m.

Eac

h ye

ar. t

hree

sep

anite

gro

ups

of E

xpla

iner

s ar

e hi

red

ha a

four

-mon

th p

erio

d---

m o

dur

ing

each

sch

ool-

year

sem

este

r, a

ndon

e m

ei. t

he s

umm

er. T

hesp

ring

.and

ral

l gn

,up,

, hav

e 2

3st

uden

ts: t

he s

umm

er g

roup

has

3-; i

Oi,

to h

andl

e la

rger

sea

-so

nal e

n)w

ds.

Rig

ht 'A

n

Exp

lain

ers

rang

e in

age

fro

m1-

t to

2 1:

the

actu

al r

ange

cha

nges

from

.gn)

up to

gro

up. b

ut th

e m

a-jo

rity

of

stud

ents

are

15

to 1

8ye

ars

okl (

high

sch

ool j

unio

rs a

ndse

nior

s). E

xpla

iner

pro

gram

.Di-

reci

f D

arle

ne L

ibre

ro s

ays

the

age

mix

is im

port

ant b

ecau

se it

give

s yc

iung

er a

nd o

lder

stu

dent

s

"The

jol2

see

ms

diffi

cult,

but i

t als

o se

ems

like

it w

ill I2

e ve

ry r

ewar

ding

.

I thi

nk I'

m g

oing

to le

arn

a lo

t."

the

chan

ce to

lear

n w

ith a

nd f

rtm

lea

ch (

41 ie

r--a

n op

port

unity

that

is()

hen

mis

sing

ini s

choo

l situ

atio

n.

Exp

kune

rs a

rran

ge th

en. (

lass

sche

dule

s so

they

can

Wor

k at

sure

rI

sa

the

mus

eum

dur

ing

wee

kday

af-

.te

rnoo

ns, W

edne

sday

nig

hts

(whe

n th

e E

xplo

rato

rium

has

ex-

tend

ed h

ours

), a

nd a

ll da

ySa

turd

ays

and

Sund

ays.

Dur

ing

the

scho

ol y

ear,

the

aver

age

wor

k w

eek

is tw

elve

hou

rs, b

utm

any

sum

mer

' Exp

lain

ers

wor

k30

- to

10-

hour

wee

ks.

1:()

r m

any,

if n

ot m

ost s

tu-

dent

s. b

eing

an

Exp

lain

er.is

a f

irst

job.

Whi

k. th

e pa

y is

min

imum

wag

e. it

is q

uite

1 di

ffer

ent e

xpe-

rien

ce f

rom

mos

t ent

ry-l

evel

.jobs

.nh

ke f

ast-

lom

d.i:e

stau

rant

s an

dco

nven

ienc

e st

ones

. the

Exp

low

a-to

rium

pni

vide

:;.a

wor

k an

nos-

jiher

e' w

ith a

hig

h le

vel o

f re

spon

-si

bilit

y an

d in

depe

nden

ce.

Payi

ng th

e E

xpla

iner

s is

an

impo

rtan

t asp

ect o

f th

e pr

ogra

m.

In A

mer

ican

soc

iety

, hav

ing

ajo

b co

mes

with

cer

tain

exp

ecta

-tio

ns th

at b

eing

'a s

tude

nt d

oes

not.

It is

a s

ymbo

l of

bein

g ab

leto

han

dle

resp

onsi

bilit

y, a

nd it

'bri

ngs

with

it a

deg

ree

of s

ocia

l

Que

stio

n

pres

tige,

in a

dditi

on to

inco

me.

Past

Exp

lain

ers

have

agr

eed

that

thei

r at

titud

es a

bout

bot

h w

ork-

ing

and

lear

ning

wer

e di

ffer

ent

whe

n th

e pe

rson

giv

ing

them

in-

stru

ctio

ns v

as th

eir

boss

, not

acl

assr

ocal

l tea

cher

.

Rec

ruiti

ng E

xpla

iner

sA

few

wee

ks b

efor

e th

een

d .o

f ea

ch f

(mr-

num

th E

x-pl

aine

r se

ssio

n. P

rogr

am D

irec

-to

r D

arle

ne L

ibre

ro a

nd P

ro-

gram

Man

ager

Jam

ie B

ell b

egin

the

proc

ess

of r

ecru

iting

a n

ewgr

oup

of s

tude

nts.

On

May

I,

Sept

embe

r 1.

and

Jan

uary

1.

they

sen

d ou

t ove

r a

hund

red

lette

rs to

teac

hers

in b

oth

publ

ican

d pr

ivat

e sc

hool

s, a

nd to

-ad

-m

inis

trat

ors

of c

omm

unity

org

a-ni

zatio

ns th

at w

ork

with

Bay

Are

a te

enag

ers.

The

lette

rs in

clud

e in

form

a-tio

n ab

out t

he E

xpla

iner

pro

-gr

am a

nd a

bout

the

mus

eum

,an

d a

desc

ript

ion

of w

hat t

hejo

b en

tails

. Tea

cher

s ar

e as

ked'

137

en

th

e

to r

ecom

men

d st

uden

ts w

hom

ight

be

inte

rest

ed in

wor

king

at th

e E

xplo

rato

rium

, or

NA

ho

mig

ht b

enef

it fr

om b

ecom

ing

Exp

lain

ers.

(Se

e A

ppen

dix

for

sam

ple

lette

r.)

One

of

the

uniq

ue a

spec

tsof

the

Exp

lain

er p

rgra

m it

t the

Exp

lora

tonu

m is

that

teac

hers

are

aske

d to

enc

ciur

age

a va

riet

yof

stu

dent

s to

apP

lv. M

any

mu-

seum

s ha

\ e p

riig

ram

s ge

ared

tost

uden

ts w

ho

alre

ady

have

an

inte

rest

in s

cien

ce. o

r w

ho h

a%e

exce

lled

in h

igh

scho

ol s

cien

cecl

asse

s. B

ut th

e pu

rpos

e of

the

EN

plai

ner

prog

ram

, say

s Fx

-pl

orat

oriu

m N

hase

inn

Lia

isi )

11

Salk

)iie

n.In

g.

.»

nol

recr

iiil f

utur

e".

!enl

ists

of t

he w

orld

. hut

mH

rest

ittle

)its

e.vp

H-

stw

e 1H

111

411

itlik

e w

ork-

ing

with

peo

ple.

Tel

ichi

u,L;

aml

Hth

er%

won

t. Ito

Its

/hem

tH th

eir

writ

lear

umg

fella

8

*g'

ht

open

s th

em u

p. w

hen

that

happ

ens.

it's

rea

lly g

reat

.

nsw

erI

sa

Stud

ents

arc

rec

ruite

d fr

omal

l ove

r th

e fi

ve-c

ount

y m

etro

-po

htan

are

a th

at th

e m

useu

msk

'rso

ine

stud

ents

who

app

ly

"As

an E

xpla

iner

, I g

et

to m

eet a

nd w

ork

with

peop

le fr

om a

ll ov

er th

e

glob

e, a

nd le

arn

from

thei

r di

ffere

nt c

ultu

res.

"

;ire

reci

imin

i.nde

d by

teac

hers

or g

roup

lead

ers.

Oth

ers

have

hear

d ab

out t

he E

xpla

iner

, pro

-gr

am I

n in

t fri

ends

and

cla

ss-

mal

es. o

r ha

veis

ited

the

Exp

lora

tori

um a

nd s

een

the

g.tn

gc-\

e-J

.ed

teen

s on

the

floo

r. s

till o

ther

s ha

ve h

ad

I b

brot

hers

and

sis

ters

who

hav

ebe

en E

xpla

iner

s in

pre

viou

sye

ars.

The

pro

gram

is a

s ol

d as

the

mus

eum

. and

eac

h se

mes

ter

man

y ap

plic

atio

ns c

ome

in s

im-

ply

beca

use

of w

ord

of n

unith

.

Rec

ruiti

ng f

or th

e su

mm

erse

ssio

n is

eve

n m

ore

exte

nsiv

e,1)

eCau

se s

tude

ntS

from

all

over

the

Wor

ld. n

ot ju

st th

e B

ay A

rea.

are

enco

urag

ed to

par

ticip

ate

inth

e pR

igra

m. I

t's a

ver

y po

pula

rpr

ogra

m. S

aid

one

Exp

lain

er:

The

Am

eric

an k

ids

lore

it b

e-ca

use

it's

so c

osm

opol

ikol

,

dial

tbe

kids

froi

n ot

her

plac

es lo

re it

bec

ause

they

get t

o co

mpa

re n

otes

als

mt

scho

ols

awl s

ocia

lhe

re

dial

ther

e.

Inte

rvie

win

g Po

tent

ial

Exp

lain

ers

The

Exp

lain

er a

pplic

atio

npn

ices

s is

sim

ple:

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie tr

y to

ket

p th

e pr

wes

spe

i.son

al a

s po

ssih

le. T

here

are 1

7

Q u

si io

n

no a

pplic

atio

n 1(

mrm

s or

ess

ays

toco

mpl

ete

hefo

re a

n in

terv

iew

isor

ante

d. T

he le

tter

mer

ely

in-

, stru

cts

stud

ents

to c

all t

he m

u-se

um o

ffic

e an

d se

t up

a ha

lf-

hour

app

oint

men

t; si

xty

to o

nehu

ndre

d st

uden

ts a

re in

terv

iew

eddu

ring

a o

ne-w

eek

peri

od.

The

fir

st h

all o

f ea

ch in

ter-

view

. say

s D

arle

ne, i

s ju

st a

con

-ve

rsat

ion

with

the

stud

ent:

wha

tsh

e's

inte

rest

ed in

, wha

t. sh

e's

taki

ng in

sch

ool,

why

this

joh

soun

ds in

tere

stin

g. w

hat h

er f

am-

ily li

fe is

like

, whe

ther

she

has

any

spec

ific

car

eer

or li

fe g

oals

.It

's a

n in

figm

atio

n-ga

ther

ing

talk

,bu

t Dar

lene

say

s it'

s al

so

. a w

ayjO

r us

to h

ear

them

talk

ing,

to s

ee b

ow th

ey

inte

ract

with

us

and

to g

et a

feel

jOr

how

they

wou

ld b

en-

efit

from

the

prog

ram

. lV

etis

k ou

rsel

ves:

II 'm

ail t

his

be

a In

g th

ing

in th

eir

lite?

Or

isit

goin

g to

be

just

one

mon

'ac

tivity

in a

bus

t. sc

hedu

le.%

Whe

n

`4.4

0

the

Rig

ht A

n

P;.

vssr

If th

ey d

pit't

get

this

job

will

tbey

.ere

r ba

re a

n O

p-

Ipo

rtio

n°, f

br a

nex

perio

ice

like

agan

z?

The

sec

ond

part

of

the

inte

rvie

w ta

kcs

plac

e on

the

mu-

seum

flo

or, w

here

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ieta

lk a

bout

an

exhi

bit w

ith th

est

uden

t. T

his

not

only

giv

es th

eap

plic

:-an

t an

idea

of w

ilat i

s in

volv

ed

in e

xpla

inin

g an

exhi

bit:

but i

s an

oppo

rtun

ity f

orD

arle

ne a

nd J

amie

to o

bsei

ve h

owth

e st

uden

t rea

cts

to th

e no

isy

and

chao

tic e

mit-

cm-

men

t (if

the

floo

r,to

the

exhi

bit.

and,

to th

e pr

oces

s of

.sW

er

Isa

Que

stio

n

hand

s-on

lear

ning

. Dar

lene

rela

tes:

Tha

t's tt

rea

l cru

cial

par

t qf

the

inte

rvie

w. S

omet

imes

noth

ing

muc

h ha

ppen

s in

the

conv

ersa

tion.

but

yor

tta

ke th

em o

ut to

an

exhi

bit,

and

you

star

t exp

lain

ing

it:"H

ere'

s th

is a

nd th

is a

ndbl

ab, b

lab.

bla

b.-

and

all (

,fa

sudd

en th

e) ju

st o

pen

up.

It's

a 'w

hole

diff

eren

t dY

na-

;WC

.S

olne

stu

dent

s ar

e

quie

t bac

k in

the

(Y./i

ce. b

utge

l rea

lly e

.vci

ted

and

ani-

mat

ed w

hen

you

.get

them

out o

n th

e flo

or

And

som

etim

es it

's ju

st th

eO

ppos

ite.

get a

boy

who

's v

ery

Ope

n an

d ve

rbal

and

soci

al, b

ut w

hen

outa

ke h

im to

an

exhi

bit,

beju

st lo

oks

arou

nd. H

ell p

ayat

tent

ion

fow

a m

inut

e or

nm, b

ut r

ev c

an te

ll he

'sitO

t rea

lly e

ngag

ed w

ith it

(11

all.

Sele

ctin

g th

e N

ewE

xpla

iner

sA

fter

a w

eek

of in

terv

iew

s,D

arle

ne a

nd J

amie

sel

ect t

he s

tu-

dent

s fo

r th

e ne

xt E

xpla

iner

grou

p. T

hey

inte

rvie

w a

t lea

sttw

ice

as m

any

stud

ents

as

ther

ear

e E

xpla

iner

ope

ning

s. a

nd th

eir

sele

ctio

n pr

oces

s is

intu

itive

, sub

-je

ctiv

e, a

nd c

hang

es f

rom

gro

upto

gro

up.

The

mis

sion

of

the

prog

ram

to s

elec

t a d

iver

se g

roup

of

stu-

dent

s, to

ref

lect

the

entir

e.co

m-

Mun

ity th

e E

xplo

rato

rium

ser

ves.

Eac

h E

xpla

iner

gro

up is

cho

sen

tobe

as

rich

a m

ix o

f ge

nder

, rac

e,cu

lture

, exp

erie

nce,

and

abi

lity

aspo

ssib

le. B

ut a

lmos

t all

the

stu-

dent

s in

the

mix

sha

re a

few

es-

sent

ial c

hara

cter

istic

s, w

hich

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie lo

c)k

for

inea

ch in

terv

iew

:

The

stu

dent

is a

t a p

oint

in h

is li

fe w

here

he

is r

eady

for

som

ethi

ng n

ew. A

tran

sitio

npo

int.

A p

ktce

in h

is li

fe w

here

9

Whe

nt

he

he n

eeds

a n

ew c

hann

el f

or h

isen

ergy

. The

stu

dent

has

a le

vel o

fcu

rios

ity a

nd in

tere

st. I

t doe

sn't

have

to b

e sc

ienc

e, b

ut th

ere

has

to h

e so

met

hing

that

intr

igue

s he

ran

d m

akes

her

wan

t to

lear

nm

ore.

The

stu

dent

has

a w

illin

g-ne

ss to

wor

k w

ith p

eopl

e. N

otne

cess

arily

exp

erie

nce.

but

eith

era

natu

ral c

omfo

rt w

ith p

eopl

e or

a de

sire

to d

evel

op th

at p

art o

fhi

mse

lf.

Surp

risi

ngly

for

a s

cien

ceim

iseu

m, a

n ap

titud

e fo

r sc

ienc

eis

not

a r

equi

rem

ent b

ut a

n-e

xtra

add

ed b

onus

.- J

amie

expk

iins:

som

eqf

our

besy

Exp

lauw

rsha

d ba

d al

mos

t no

scie

nce.

and

SO

Ine

(.?/

* th

e uv

akes

t

ones

wer

e iv

g sc

ienc

e-lit

erat

e. b

ut d

idn'

t kno

ww

hen

to s

top

and

liste

n.

10

Rig

htA

The

y ba

d lo

ts.o

f kno

wle

dge,

but t

hey

eoul

dn't

com

mun

i-ca

te it

wel

l.

A lo

t of

the

sele

ctio

n pr

oces

sis

bas

ed o

n pa

st e

xper

ienc

esD

arie

ne.a

nd J

amie

hav

e ha

d w

ithot

her

Exp

lain

er g

roup

s, a

nd a

nin

tuiti

on f

or w

ho's

goi

ng b

e a

good

Exp

lain

er, a

nd w

ho's

not

.Sa

ys J

amie

:

You

can

Inw

e a

real

ly q

ui&

youn

g gi

rl w

ho's

ivy

shy

durin

g th

e in

terv

iew

. but

hare

et m

a:ce

nse

that

she'

s re

ady

to o

pen

up. '

the

kvpl

a irw

r pr

ogra

m g

it'es

peop

le li

ke tb

ctt a

cha

lice.

nS.

e

The

oth

er c

omp(

men

t bei

ngev

alua

ted

duri

ng th

e in

terv

iew

s is

how

eac

h of

thes

e va

riou

s in

divi

d-ua

ls w

ill f

it to

geth

er to

mak

e a

good

Exp

lain

er g

roup

: The

eas

iest

cour

se w

oukl

he

to s

elec

t tw

odo

zen

stud

ents

with

sol

id a

cade

-m

ic r

ecoa

ds a

nd g

()od

sck

ial s

kills

,an

d tr

ain

them

to w

ork

with

the

aQ

wes

t ion

publ

ic o

ut o

n th

e fl

oor.

But

the

lead

ers

of th

e E

xpla

iner

pro

gram

delib

erat

ely

seek

not

onl

y a

mix

of

stud

ents

ta I

at w

ill r

efle

ct th

e co

m-

mun

ity a

t lar

ge, b

ut a

lso

a m

ix th

atw

ill p

rovi

de a

max

imuM

gro

wth

expe

rien

ce.f

or e

ach

indi

vidU

alw

ithin

the

grou

p.

In a

dditi

on to

a b

alan

cebe

twee

n bo

ys a

nd g

irls

, the

mix

incl

udes

the

follo

win

g:

Age

ran

ge. I

n.ge

rier

al,

olde

r st

uden

ts a

re m

ore

adep

tat

teac

hing

and

you

nger

stu

-de

nts

have

mor

e en

thus

iasm

.In

a g

ood

grou

p, th

ey le

arn

from

eac

h ot

hers

' str

engt

hs.

Mul

ticul

tura

l and

eth

nic

dive

rsity

. Eac

h gr

oup

is b

al-

ance

d so

that

ther

e is

a g

reat

deal

of

dive

rsity

, but

als

oen

ough

-su

ppO

rt f

or e

ach

sub-

grou

p. I

deal

ly, e

ach

Exp

lain

erge

ts to

wor

k w

ith p

eopl

e fr

omsi

mila

r si

t uat

k m

s an

d al

so h

as th

eop

port

unity

-7-a

nd c

halle

ngeo

f

-

-4/

Whe

n th

e

wor

king

clo

sely

with

peo

ple

who

are

very

dif

fere

nt f

rom

his

fri

ends

and

flin

tily.

It b

road

ens

his

expe

-ri

ence

of

the

wor

ld, a

nd it

usu

ally

allo

ws

him

to u

ncov

er th

e si

mila

r-iti

es b

ehin

d w

hat m

ight

hav

ese

emed

like

insu

rmou

ntab

le d

if-

fere

nces

. Soci

oeco

nom

ic d

iver

sity

.-W

e w

ant t

o re

ach

stud

ents

fro

ntun

ders

erve

d ne

ighl

y w

hood

sth

ey h

ave

few

er o

ppor

tuni

ties

and

few

er o

ptio

ns. T

hey

lust

don'

t hav

e th

e re

sour

ces

avai

labl

eto

them

, and

we

can

offe

r th

em a

com

mun

ity w

here

lear

ning

is a

posi

tive

expe

rien

ce.-

Dar

lene

expl

ains

.

A r

ange

of

skill

s, e

duca

:tio

n. a

nd e

xper

ienc

e. S

ays

Jam

ie.

-we'

re g

oing

to h

ave

som

e st

u-de

nts

com

e in

w h

o kn

o, w

hat

resp

onsi

bilit

y is

all

abou

t. an

d w

etr

y to

bal

ance

that

with

the

on,!

sw

ho m

ay n

ot h

ave

a cl

ue. I

t's a

llah

out b

alan

ce--

and

we

go f

orth

e m

ix.-

Ri

h.t

Ans

wer

Isa

Que

stio

n

The

mix

of

stud

ents

in e

ach

grou

p is

one

of

the

prog

ram

'sst

reng

ths,

alth

ough

fre

quen

tly 'o

neof

the

bigg

est c

halle

nges

for

its

"The

frie

ndsh

ips

we'

ve m

ade

here

will

last

a lif

etim

e."

adm

inis

trat

ors.

But

fro

m it

s in

-ce

ptio

n. o

ne o

f th

e go

als

of th

epr

ogra

m h

as b

een

to s

elec

t the

peop

le w

ho w

ill b

enef

it th

e m

ost

from

thei

r w

ork'

as E

xpla

iner

s.D

arle

ne e

labo

rate

s:

We

look

at w

hat t

he g

roup

need

s. b

ut' w

e al

so lo

ok a

tw

ho n

eeds

the

gmup

..S

'om

etim

es w

ell s

ay. "

Wel

l,

1/3

iS g

id is

em

otio

ntill

y co

n-

fuse

d. s

o m

aybe

this

e.v

peri

-en

ce w

ill b

e go

od f

Or

her

We

know

wha

t's g

oing

to

happ

enal

mos

t eve

-iy.

timeb

y th

e en

d qf

the

se-

mes

ter

She'

ll ha

ve n

ewfr

iend

s. S

he'll

hav

e a

supp

oil

grou

p. S

he'll

hav

e le

arne

dth

at s

he c

an p

anic

ipat

e an

dth

at s

he h

as s

onw

thin

g to

(Or

We

neve

r kn

ow e

xact

lyw

hat's

goi

ng to

spa

rk th

atch

ange

. but

we

know

som

e-th

ing

happ

en.

Whe

n an

Exp

lain

er g

roup

.isou

t 6n

the

floo

r, w

hat t

he p

ublic

sees

is th

at le

arni

ng a

bout

the

wor

ld a

nd b

eing

an

activ

e pa

rtic

-ip

ant i

n it

is n

ot li

mite

d by

age

or r

ace

or g

ende

r or

env

iron

-m

ent.

At t

he E

xplo

rato

rium

, at

leas

t, it

is a

n op

port

unity

that

isO

pen

to e

very

one.

An

Exp

lain

er G

roup

'sFi

rst F

ew W

eeks

:Pr

e-tr

aini

ngA

bout

a w

eek

afte

r th

e se

lec-

tion

proc

ess

is c

ompl

eted

, a n

ewgr

oup

of E

xpla

iner

s m

eets

at t

hem

useu

m f

or th

e fi

rst t

ime.

Eac

h

grou

p in

clud

es th

ree

or f

our

stu-

dent

s fr

om th

e pr

evio

us g

roup

,w

ho a

re r

ehir

ed f

or a

sec

ond

sem

este

r.

The

re is

an

over

lap

o ab

oitt

thre

e w

eeks

at t

he b

egin

ning

of

ane

w g

roup

and

the

end

of a

n ol

dgr

oup.

Dur

ing

that

tim

e, th

e re

-hi

red

stud

ents

mee

t occ

asio

nally

with

thei

r ne

w g

roup

, but

con

-tin

ue to

wor

k th

eir

shif

ts w

ith th

eol

d gr

oup.

Dar

lene

and

Jam

iele

ave

the

expe

rien

ced

old

grou

pw

ith m

inim

al s

uper

visi

on w

hile

they

con

duct

twel

ve h

ours

of

pre-

trai

ning

with

the

new

Exp

lain

ers.

The

pre

trai

ning

per

iod

is a

time

for

the

new

Exp

lain

ers

toge

t to

know

the

exhi

bits

and

each

oth

er, a

nd f

or th

em 'o

ob-

serv

e di

ffer

ent s

tyle

s of

teac

hing

.T

he g

roup

mee

ts f

or tw

o ho

urs

-

on th

ree

cons

ecut

ive

Satu

rday

and

Sund

ay m

orni

ngs.

In

addi

-tio

n to

lear

ning

abo

ut f

our

area

sof

the

exhi

bit f

loor

fro

m f

our

dif-

fere

nt s

taff

inst

ruct

ors.

Dar

lene

11

W h

t he

says

the

mos

t im

port

ant i

nfor

ma-

tion

tlw s

tude

nts

gain

in p

retr

ain-

ing

is th

is:

Do

they

like

the

plac

e? A

reth

ey w

illin

g to

wor

k an

d to

lear

n? T

he c

once

pts

they

exph

we

here

sho

uld

real

lyin

tere

st th

em. b

ut th

e pl

ace

is s

o hu

ge!

So th

e id

ea is

togi

ve th

em th

e op

port

unity

toex

pion

,so

me

,r.u

i 1d-

(inc

e. a

nd f

in-J

amie

and

me

to s

ee w

ho w

e've

got

this

time

arou

nd, a

nd w

hat

kind

of

wor

k w

e ha

t'eah

ead

(d. u

s.

The

fir

st m

cwni

ng o

f pr

e-tr

aini

ng is

like

any

fir

st d

ay o

fcl

asse

very

thin

g is

new

and

un-

fam

iliar

. and

eve

ryon

e's

a lit

tlene

rvou

s. D

arle

ne a

nd J

amie

try

to s

tart

the

grou

p of

f w

ith a

light

-hea

rted

, jok

ing

few

min

-ut

es, t

o pu

t the

stu

dent

s at

eas

e."A

lot o

f th

e tim

e th

ey ju

st d

iink

we'

re n

uts.

- D

arle

ne s

.iys.

it he

lps

brea

k th

e ic

e. A

lter

a

12

Ri

g h

tA

roun

d of

intr

oduc

tions

with

inth

e gr

oup,

the

new

Exp

lain

ers

wat

ch a

vid

eo c

alle

d Pa

lace

(y

Del

ight

s, a

film

intr

oduc

ing

the

Exp

lora

tori

um p

rodu

ced

for

the

TV

sho

w -

Nov

a: W

atch

ing

the

film

, say

s D

arle

ne,

.. g

ives

them

a s

ense

of

bow

the

mus

eum

dev

elop

ed.

It a

lso

give

s th

em a

n oi

por-

trin

ity to

ask

som

e qu

estio

nsab

out t

he E

x:M

orat

oriu

m b

e-fb

re w

e ta

ke th

em o

ut in

toth

e th

ick

(f it

.A

tth

e en

d (y

the

fihn

we

talk

abo

ut th

ejo

b. W

e gi

ve th

em a

n op

por-

tuni

ty to

thin

k ab

out u

bat

they

'd li

ke to

do.

and

how

they

'd li

ke to

do

it. I

Ve

hat'e

them

dec

ide

wha

t the

y th

ink

I/ie

./oh

shou

ld b

e, in

stea

d (i

lus

say

ing

"her

v's

this

pap

erth

at te

lls y

ou e

very

thin

g y0

11

bare Thr

ongh

this

dis

cuss

ion,

the

new

Exp

lain

ers

are

intr

oduc

ed to

the

kind

of

ques

tioni

ng. t

hink

ing,

er

Is

a12

1..0

es

ti o

ii

and

eval

uatin

g th

at w

ill b

e a

larg

epa

rt o

f th

eir

job.

At t

his

stag

e of

the

trai

ning

.E

xpla

iner

s w

ho a

re c

ompl

etin

gth

eir

sem

este

r's w

ork

.com

e to

talk

to th

e ne

w g

roup

, ans

wer

ing

"Thi

s is

the

only

pla

ce in

the

wor

ld w

here

you

can

lear

n ab

out s

cien

ce in

a

com

fort

able

set

ting,

and

you

can

see

how

to

appl

y 'it

to e

very

day

life.

"

ques

tions

, and

sha

ring

thei

r ex

pe-

rien

ces

of th

e pr

cigr

am a

nd th

em

useu

m. T

he f

ilo f

iling

gro

up is

then

div

ided

into

fc)

ur s

mal

ler

grou

ps, e

ach

led

hy D

arle

ne.

.fai

nie,

or

an e

xper

ienc

ed

Exp

lain

er. E

ach

smal

ler

grou

p is

give

n a

brie

f to

ur o

f on

e of

fou

rar

eas

of th

e m

useu

m's

exh

ibit

floo

rEle

ctri

city

. Lig

ht a

nd C

olor

.W

aves

and

Res

onan

ce, a

ndV

isio

nto

get a

fee

l for

how

the

exhi

bits

are

org

aniz

ed.

Thi

s to

ur is

an

oppo

rtun

ityfo

r th

e E

xpla

iner

s to

vie

w th

em

useu

m f

rom

the

pers

pect

ive

of a

vis

itor.

The

re is

a lo

t of

just

look

ing

and

touc

hing

. As

she

expl

ores

, how

ever

, an

Exp

lain

erbe

gins

to s

ee h

ow th

e ex

hibi

tsin

a s

ectio

n ar

e re

late

d, a

nd h

owon

e sc

ient

ific

topi

c is

cov

ered

by

a w

ide

vari

ety

of e

xhib

its. J

amie

says

: Ire

don'

t rea

lly e

vwct

that

they

are

goi

ng to

kno

w a

ny-

thin

g by

the

end

this

par

tof

the

trai

ning

. exc

ept w

hich

exhi

bits

they

like

. Tha

t's th

ew

hole

poi

nt q

f pr

etra

inin

,q. I

tgi

ves

them

son

ic, f

Ocu

sed

time

illea

ch a

rea

.tust

to lo

okan

d ex

plor

e an

d sc

ope

W h

en

the

Ri g

h t

A n

thin

,qs

out.

It ge

ts M

on to

stew

thin

king

. em

tw

hat

they

're th

inki

ng L

c.-I

har

eno

idea

wha

t thi

s 11

1eal

lS.-

.\ itt

of

time

duri

ng th

e fi

rst

thre

eee

kend

s is

take

n up

with

thes

e br

itI f

oray

s ou

t int

o th

em

useu

m. A

t the

end

of

pret

rain

-to

g. th

e E

xpla

iner

s ar

e m

ore

of a

git l

up. a

nti h

ae I

tle

a.st

a p

assi

ng

acqu

aint

:Int

lilt m

ost u

l Coe

mus

eum

flo

or A

s on

e E

xpla

iner

put a I k

now

som

ethi

ng a

bout

ofle

arm

. Mkt

Ilut

Mitc

h ah

ota

anot

her

exce

pt l

know

rre

been

thew

and

look

ed a

t a

tith

ings

I kn

ow w

here

nn

A'C

llim

erc'

tim

e

etIld

Whe

n.' 1

tali

gel c

4ifi'

e ill

the

mor

n-

lit,L

;a

who

le lo

t

ahot

a an

ytht

m..!

els

e. b

ut

that

okay

a st

art

ftsi

dts

bk..«

Hiti

ng f

\%1I

II th

y m

itst1

101

:mil

with

eac

h

othe

r, d

urin

g pr

etra

inin

g E

xpla

in-

ers

also

beg

in to

do

exer

cise

s th

athe

lp th

em to

bec

ome

mor

eaw

are.

An

enor

mou

s pa

rt o

f th

ejo

b of

bei

ng a

n E

xpla

iner

is le

arn-

ing

how

to "

read

- pe

ople

and

sit-

tiatic

msh

ecom

ing

cons

ciou

s of

wha

t peo

ple

are

doin

g on

the

floo

r, w

hat t

hey

mig

ht n

eed,

and

whe

n it'

s ap

prop

riat

e to

ste

p in

and

offe

r as

sist

ant.

Pret

ntin

ing

offe

rs a

n (

1pp)

rtu-

nitv

for

Exp

lain

ers

to tr

y on

dif

-fe

rent

beh

avio

rs a

nd m

odes

of

inte

ract

ingp

radi

cing

with

eac

hot

her

befo

re th

ey s

tep

Out

on

the

floo

r to

scv

e th

e vi

sito

rs. S

ome

of th

ose

beha

vior

s m

ay m

ake

ast

uden

t unc

omfo

rtab

le, e

spec

ially

thin

gs g

ener

ally

not

don

e in

scho

ol o

r ou

t on

the

stre

et, l

ike

mak

ing

dire

ct e

ye c

onta

ct w

ithst

rang

ers.

or

eave

sdro

ppin

g.

The

se a

war

enes

s ex

erci

ses

incl

ude

som

e ro

le-p

layi

ng,

som

e th

eate

r ga

mes

, and

Men

coun

ter-

grou

p-ty

pe in

tera

ctio

ns.

e .

rI

sa

The

y ar

e cl

one

duri

ng p

re-

trai

ning

to ta

ke a

dvan

tagd

of

the

fact

that

the

Exp

lain

ers

are

not o

nly

fleW

to th

e jo

bbu

t are

als

o st

rang

ers

to e

ach

othe

r. D

arle

ne e

xpla

ins:

Firs

t im

mrs

sion

s ar

e al

l the

ykn

ow a

bout

eac

h ot

hei .

and

so Il

liSC

olIC

eptio

llS,fr

tlYs,

atul

ste

reoO

pes

am h

igh

at

this

tim

e. 1

Ve

coqi

-orlt

them

with

the

idea

ofb

reak

ing

(low

?? b

arrie

rsst

ereo

type

sab

out a

ge o

r ck

tss

or s

ocia

l

and

Cu/

tuna

difi

eren

ces.

The

n w

e ca

n us

e th

e re

sults

of w

hat t

hey

find

out a

bout

each

oth

er to

beg

in ta

lkin

gab

out t

he s

ame

isst

tes

com

-

ing

up W

ith v

isito

rs. W

ho d

o.1

.(nt

. thi

nk th

ese

peop

le a

re?

Who

do

they

thin

k yo

u ar

e?

lthat

's th

e be

st w

ay to

ap-

proa

ch th

em?

Thr

ough

thes

e ex

erci

ses,

the

Exp

lain

ers

begi

n to

be

twar

e of

oth

er p

eopl

e. a

nd

At,

Wh

eii

th

e

i!,11 ro.

4,'"?

'

14

i

Rig

h t

An

them

selv

es, i

n a

new

way

.A

bla

ck s

even

teen

-yea

r-ol

dac

know

ledg

es th

at a

whi

tesu

burb

an f

amily

mig

ht s

eehi

m a

s th

reat

enin

g or

frig

hten

ing,

and

he

begi

ns to

thin

k ab

Out

way

s he

cou

ldap

proa

ch v

isito

rs to

elic

it a

frie

ndly

res

pons

e. A

Jap

anes

egi

rl e

xpla

ins

that

in h

er c

ultu

reit

is n

ot I

N)l

ite to

look

str

ange

rsin

the

eve,

and

that

the

othe

rE

xpla

iner

s ne

ed to

rem

embe

rth

at w

hen

they

atte

mpt

to in

ter-

act w

ith A

sian

vis

itors

.

'fills

trai

ning

in a

war

enes

s is

cond

ucte

d th

roug

hout

the

se-

mes

ter.

But

the

firs

t exp

osur

e to

it co

mes

bef

ore

any

in-d

epth

les-

sons

abo

ut th

e cc

mte

nt o

f th

eex

hibi

ts. a

nd m

any

Exp

lain

ers

,fi

nd th

at d

isom

cert

ing.

But

Oar

-i

lene

and

Jam

ie s

tres

s th

at th

eP,

Mos

t iin

port

ant s

kill

!Or

an E

x-0,

.pl

aine

r to

lear

n is

an

:1\\

aren

e.,s

t; wof

oth

er p

eopl

e. w

hat t

hey'

redo

ing.

and

wha

t the

\ mig

htt,

need

Cl i

ncre

te k

nykd

ge

sw e

rIs

a

the

exhi

bits

is im

port

ant,

too.

they

tell

the

grou

p. b

ut if

you

don'

t tak

e th

e tim

e to

lear

n w

hoyo

u're

talk

ing

to. y

ou c

an't

com

-m

unic

ate

effe

ctiv

ely.

On-

the-

Job

Tra

inin

gO

n th

eir

lOur

th w

eeke

nd. t

hene

w E

xpla

iner

gro

up c

onie

s to

wor

k fo

r th

e fi

rst t

ime.

The

old

grou

p is

gon

e. a

nd th

ese

23 s

tu-

dent

s ar

e no

w th

e on

ly-

Exp

lain

-er

s. T

hey

are

give

n na

me

badg

esan

d or

ange

ves

tsth

e -u

nifb

rm-

of th

e E

xpla

iner

s, a

nd f

requ

ently

the

only

lion

i()w

neou

s el

emen

tw

ithin

the

grou

p'an

d se

nt o

uton

to th

e m

useu

m f

loor

The

res

t of

the

Exp

lain

ers'

trai

ning

will

on th

e jo

bIt

's

an o

ngui

ng p

mcO

ss; a

s D

arle

ne

Que

s ti

on

says

. "th

row

ing

ther

n ou

t the

reto

the

wol

ves

is p

an o

f th

ew

hole

lear

ning

exp

erie

nce.

"

Thi

s is

ano

ther

uni

que

part

of th

e E

xplo

rato

rium

's p

rogr

amth

ere

is li

ttle

sepa

ratio

n be

twee

ntr

aini

ng a

nd w

orki

ng. N

luch

of

itis

lear

ning

by

doin

g. a

nd a

lot

of w

hat e

ach

Exp

lain

er le

arns

colli

es f

rom

the

expe

rien

ce o

fbe

ing

out.o

n th

e fl

4 )o

r. h

elpi

ngot

hers

und

erst

and.

Dur

ing

a sc

hool

sem

este

r.m

ost E

xpla

iner

s w

ork

twel

veho

urs

a w

eek.

whi

ch is

div

ided

into

one

ful

l wee

kend

dav

and

one

wee

kday

. Eac

h w

orkd

aybe

gins

with

the

Exp

lain

ers

chec

king

in a

nd tu

rnin

g on

the

exhi

bits

. The

y al

so d

istr

ibut

e

1A

11,

11I !

mil-

. upr

4ldw

ilii4

.1 1

114t

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thc

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9(.9

144.

44.

1111

4.1.

1I i

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A .1

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11.1

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(-11

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all 1

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tatt.

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41.ii

1

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44.1

111

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II,

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111.

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9 r, 7

W h

e.n

th

e

supp

lies

that

mus

t be

repl

en-

ishe

d da

ilyne

w p

aper

for

the

Dra

win

g B

oard

. a,f

resh

sup

ply

of b

ubbl

e so

lutio

n fo

r th

eB

ubbl

e T

ra.v

.

All

the

Exp

lain

ers

wor

king

that

day

-gat

her

in th

eir

offi

ce f

ora

gene

ral m

eetin

g. D

arle

ne a

nd'

Jam

ie te

ll th

em a

bout

any

spe

cial

even

ts. g

niup

s, o

r ac

tiviti

es th

atvi

ll he

Out

on

the

floo

r, a

nd g

ive

the

stud

ents

a s

ched

ule.

Eac

hE

xpla

iner

is a

ssig

ned

to a

por

tion

of th

e ex

hibi

t flo

or. o

r to

a d

e-m

onst

ratio

n si

te. O

nce

the

day

ism

appe

d ou

t the

re is

an

hour

of

trai

ning

eith

er (

in th

e ex

hibi

tsan

d st

ient

ific

phe

nom

ena.

or

on.

peop

le-o

rien

ted

I3ei

ng a

n E

xpla

iner

invo

l\ es

de d

opin

g a

wid

e ra

nge

c if

ski

lk,

w I

nch

incl

ude

the

follo

win

g:

Gen

eral

kno

wk.

dge

ofsc

ient

ific

pri

ncip

les

and

spec

ific

know

ledg

e of

Exp

lora

tori

um'e

xhih

its.

Rig

h t

Axi

sur

e

Bei

ng a

ble

to a

rtic

ulat

ean

d co

mm

unic

ate

info

rmat

ion.

.

'tiei

ng p

erce

ptiv

e ab

out

visi

tors

' nee

ds.

Bei

ng a

ble

to a

ppro

ach

visi

tors

with

con

fide

nce

and

toin

itiat

e co

nver

satio

ns.

Few

Exp

lain

ers

brin

g al

l of

thes

e sk

ills

to th

e jo

b, b

ut w

ithin

the

grou

p th

ere

are

indi

vidu

als

with

str

engt

hs in

eac

h of

thes

ear

eas.

Dur

ing

the

sem

este

r, D

ar-

lene

.. Ja

mie

. and

oth

er E

xplc

ira-

hifi

um s

taff

mem

bers

con

duct

ongo

ing

trai

ning

s.to

hel

p st

uden

tsde

velo

p th

ese

skill

s, a

nd e

ncou

r-ag

e th

em to

lear

n fr

cim

and

hel

pea

ch o

ther

Con

tent

Tra

inin

gK

now

ledg

e ab

out d

ie e

xhib

itsan

d th

e sc

ienc

e be

hind

them

ispe

rhap

s di

e no

ist v

isib

le p

art o

fth

e E

xpla

iner

's jo

b. D

urin

g th

eir

four

-nu

with

tem

ire,

eac

h E

xpla

iner

guni

p re

ceiv

es a

ppro

xim

atel

y (i

0

hour

s of

exh

ililt

cont

ent t

rain

ing

from

vis

iting

lect

urer

s an

d m

em-

bers

of

the

mus

eum

, sta

ffin

clud

-in

g ph

ysic

ists

, bio

logi

sts,

exh

ibit

build

ers,

teac

hers

, and

art

ists

-in-

resi

denc

eman

y of

who

m a

re o

nth

e fa

culti

es o

f lo

cal u

nive

rsiti

es.

"At f

irst,

I tho

ught

it w

as ju

6t g

oing

to b

e

anot

her

job,

but

afte

r

talk

ing

to th

e ol

d

Exp

lain

ers,

I re

aliz

ed

that

it s

eem

s a

lot m

ore

inte

rest

ing.

I'm

exci

ted!

"

The

inst

ruct

km is

in s

nial

lgr

oups

, som

etim

es e

ven

one-

on-

one,

and

alm

ost a

ll of

it ta

kes

plac

e on

the

exhi

bit f

loor

. Ins

tead

ue

st

io

n

of le

ctur

es in

a c

lass

room

. stu

-de

nts

lear

n ab

out e

lect

ric

curr

ents

whi

le w

orki

ng w

ith a

gen

erat

oran

d a

voltm

eter

, and

abo

ut o

ptic

sby

man

ipul

atin

g di

ffer

ent l

ense

san

d im

ages

.'Jud

y C

hang

, a 1

993

Exp

lain

er, s

aid:

1 le

arne

d .s

cier

ie fr

om a

new

per

spec

tive.

It w

asn'

ttr

aditi

onal

teac

hing

. Ile

arne

d fr

om tr

ial a

nd'e

rror

It w

as fu

n. It

was

okay

to m

ake

a m

ista

ke,

or n

ot k

now

som

ethi

ng,

beca

use

ever

yone

els

e te

asto

o.

The

Exp

lain

ers

bene

fit f

rom

the

inst

ruct

ion,

hut

so

do th

ete

ache

rs. S

enio

r st

aff

scie

ntis

tT

hom

as H

umph

rey

rela

tes

that

..th

e E

vpla

iner

s ta

ught

me

a lo

t abm

a te

achi

ng.

Whe

n I f

irst C

ain(

' her

eaw

s a

new

Ph.

D..

and

itw

as im

med

iate

ly c

lear

that

the

dcad

emic

lang

uage

I

3 1

15

en

wet

s us

ed to

11Y

1511

goin

g to

wor

k he

re a

t all.

I w

as lo

ok-

ing

into

thes

egl

azed

(ye

s,

ana

n()

(me

was

und

er-

stan

ding

a w

ord

I sai

d. I

n.iis

in b

ig tr

oubl

e.

ley

taug

ht m

e to

thin

kre

ally

dee

ply

abou

t jus

t wha

tit

was

I W

aS tr

ying

10

teac

h.

Bec

ause

if/

real

ly u

nder

-st

and

ii. I

shou

ld b

e ab

le to

show

that

with

any

body

. at

any

let'd

.

The

re a

re n

uire

than

(i-

Soex

hibi

ts O

n th

e fl

oor

of th

eE

xplo

rato

rium

, .,in

d no

Exp

lain

eror

gnm

p of

Exp

lain

ers

lear

nsth

em a

ll. 'f

ile s

tude

nts

are

intr

o-du

ced

to a

ll th

e ar

eas

of th

e11

111s

CU

M, a

nd th

e ba

sic

conc

erqs

fur

eadl

eN

hibi

lse

ctio

n ar

e di

s-cu

ssed

, but

:the

r th

e in

itial

ori

-en

tatio

n, m

uch

of th

e co

nten

tti-

aini

ng d

iner

s fr

om (

me

Ex-

plai

ner

grou

p to

the

next

, tai

-lo

bed

to th

en p

artic

ular

nee

dsan

d in

tere

sts.

The

inst

ruct

ion

16

R ig

ht

A

star

ts w

here

thei

r qu

estio

nsbe

gin.

The

re is

no

set c

urri

cu-

lum

, no

text

book

or

man

ual.

Dar

lene

ela

bora

tes:

A te

xtbo

ok w

ould

put

lim

itson

the

dept

h an

d br

eadt

hof

lear

ning

. ItS

not

bow

muc

h th

ese

stud

ents

kno

w.

but t

he w

ay th

ey're

lear

n-in

g it.

Whe

n W

e le

t the

mle

ad. t

hey

(Ow

go

Jar

be-

yond

u.h

at w

e to

ntld

bar

.eth

ough

t q'te

achi

ng 1

1,w

m.

The

exh

ibits

them

selv

espr

ovid

e en

ough

str

uctu

rean

den

ough

fre

edom

for

the

stai

r to

be a

ble

to c

over

alm

ost a

ny s

ci-

entif

ic to

pic

or q

uest

ion

that

com

es u

p.

l.ike

alm

ost e

very

thin

g at

the

Exp

lora

tori

um, t

he E

xpla

iner

trai

ning

is in

quir

y-ba

sed.

The

spec

ific

topi

cs a

nd c

once

pts

cov-

ered

, in

wha

t cir

cler

, and

eve

n\ I

to te

ache

s th

em e

mer

ge f

rom

wha

t eac

h gn

aw o

f E

xpla

iner

s

3 r,

a

'has

to o

ffer

, ove

rcom

e, o

r de

-ve

lop.

Say

s D

arle

ne:

At s

ome

poin

t. th

e fr

ethl

ing

take

s gi

ffiv

iii th

e st

uden

t'sow

n in

tere

sts,

and

.f'e

nt d

on't

have

to c

reat

e a

curr

icul

um.

It's

rig

ht th

ere.

Me

beau

ty y

f!h

is a

ppro

ach

is th

at .y

ou're

talk

iliga

bout

topi

cs th

ey're

alre

ady

inte

rest

ed in

. And

they

kno

w th

at )

011.

11' b

een

liste

ning

10

them

and

.you

're

resp

olul

ilig.

not

fir

st f

redi

ligth

em. t

l'hat

pit

thin

k th

eysb

ould

kno

w.

Thr

ough

mon

ths

of c

onte

nttr

aini

ng, t

he E

xpla

iner

s' c

ome

tokn

ow m

any

of th

e in

divi

dual

ex-

hibi

ts. B

ut m

ore

impo

rtan

tly, t

hey

begi

n to

see

the

inte

rcon

nect

ed-

ness

. The

y st

art t

o pu

t ide

asto

geth

er, a

nd r

elat

e di

ffer

ent e

x-hi

bits

to e

adi o

ther

. Whe

n th

atha

ppen

s. m

ost E

xpla

iner

s w

illsp

end

a lo

t of

titne

exp

lori

ng e

x-hi

bits

on

thei

r ow

n, in

divi

dual

lyor

in s

mal

l gro

ups.

The

y di

scus

s ex

hibi

tsor

conc

epts

, or

phen

omen

aar

ound

the

tabl

e in

the

Exp

lain

erof

fice

, tea

chin

g an

d ar

guin

g w

ithea

ch o

ther

. The

y di

ssec

t and

re-

.

fine

thei

r id

eas,

con

sulti

ng s

taff

-

"I lo

ved

it. I

was

rea

lly

shy

befo

re I

wen

t int

o it,

but i

t gav

e m

e th

e co

n-

fiden

ce to

go

up to

just

abou

t any

body

and

say

,

'Hey

, how

's.it

goi

ng?"

mem

bers

whe

n th

ey g

et s

tuck

. Abi

g pa

rt o

f th

e tr

aini

ng is

dis

cov-

erin

g al

l the

res

ciur

ces

the

mu-

seum

has

to o

ffer

, and

they

lear

nto

con

sult

the

exhi

bits

, the

libr

ary,

and

the

staf

f fo

r an

swer

s an

d ex

-pl

anat

ions

. Sta

ff :p

hysi

cist

Pau

l

Whe

nh

eR

igh

tn

Doh

erty

rem

embe

rs th

isin

cide

nt:

One

gro

up c

ame

tom

e an

d sa

id "

We

ured

out

why

bal

lsIn

ntnc

e, b

ut w

e do

n't l

ike

the

answ

er."

I s

aid.

"So

why

do

you

thin

k ba

llsbo

unce

r O

ne g

irl s

aid

"Bec

ause

the

floo

r Im

shes

on th

em.-

.1nd

that

's p

re-

cise

ly th

e ri

ght a

nsw

er,

from

a p

hysi

cist

's p

oint

of

New

. But

they

wat

tled

the

ball

to h

atv

som

ethi

ng to

do

with

it. I

love

d it

that

they

figu

red

it ou

t. bu

t Hw

y st

illke

pt q

uest

ioni

ng.

Tha

t is

the

crux

of

the

Exp

lo-

rato

rium

's p

hih)

soph

y of

lear

n-in

gask

ing

ques

tions

. Lia

naro

uch,

a f

crrm

er E

xpla

iner

and

now

an

assi

stan

t in

the

prog

ram

com

men

ts:

Bei

ng a

n E

xpla

iner

mad

eM

C' a

ppre

ciat

e pe

ople

jOr

3 4

s W

er

Is

a

the

firs

t tim

e. A

wl i

t def

in-

itely

cha

nged

my

attit

ude.

not o

nly

tow

ards

peo

ple,

but

tow

ards

lear

ning

and

sci

-en

a, b

oth.

I r

ealiz

ed f

br th

ejit

Nt t

ime

that

sci

ence

had

som

ethi

ng le

, do

with

lift

It

isn'

t fbr

eign

. .Ic

ante

to s

ee it

as e

t mod

el f

or th

e w

orld

and

how

the

wor

ld w

orks

eveg

sin

gle

day.

Sud

denl

y.it

was

rea

l. It

uas

impo

rtan

t.

Itis

that

pro

cess

of

expl

orin

gan

d qu

estio

ning

Wha

t doe

s th

atdo

? W

hy d

oes

that

hap

pen?

that

Exp

lain

ers

try

to p

ass

on to

vis

i-to

rs. T

heir

job

is to

fac

ilita

te in

ter-

actio

n w

ith th

e ex

hibi

ts, a

nd to

get t

he v

isito

rs to

thin

k ab

out

wha

t the

y're

see

ingn

ot to

pro

-vi

de th

e -r

ight

" an

sw e

r.

Wor

king

with

Peo

ple

Lea

rnin

g ab

out t

he e

xhib

itry

is o

nly

one

com

pone

nt o

f an

Exp

lain

er's

trai

ning

. The

res

t is

lear

ning

how

to s

hare

that

info

r-m

ati,m

with

the

publ

ic. O

n m

om-

Qu

es ti

on

ings

whe

n th

ere

are

no c

onte

ntse

ssio

ns s

ched

uled

, Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie w

ork

with

the

Exp

lain

ers

inex

erci

ses

desi

gned

to d

evel

opw

ays

for

them

to te

ach

and

pre-

sent

idea

s.

The

act

ual q

uest

iOns

and

ex-

hibi

ts a

n E

xpla

iner

may

nee

d to

disc

uss

vat')

." f

rom

daY

to d

aY, v

isi-

tor

to v

isito

r. T

he in

tera

ctio

nsin

volv

ed in

app

roac

hing

a v

isito

ran

d en

gagi

ng in

a c

onve

rsat

ion

also

var

y fr

om p

erso

n to

per

son,

but t

here

are

som

e un

derl

ying

soci

al s

kills

that

Exp

lain

ers

need

in a

lmos

t any

situ

atio

n.

App

roac

hing

a to

tal s

tran

ger

is d

iffi

cidt

fin

mos

t peo

ple.

For

ate

enag

er, a

ppro

achi

ng a

str

ange

adul

t is

even

har

den-

Whe

n th

edi

ffer

ence

s in

gen

der,

cul

ture

.an

d so

cial

bac

kgro

und

are

adde

din

, the

situ

atio

n be

com

es v

ery

com

plex

.

For

the

firs

t few

shi

lls o

n th

efl

oor,

mos

t Exp

lain

ers

spen

d th

eir

17

W h

e11

th

e

time

expl

orin

g th

e ex

hibi

ts, a

lone

or in

gro

ups

of tw

o or

thre

e, ta

lk-

ing

to e

ach

othe

r. T

hey

answ

erqu

estio

ns f

rom

vis

itors

whe

n.as

ked.

"C

an y

ou te

ll m

e w

here

the

rest

room

s ar

e? I

s th

ere

a lo

stan

d fo

und?

" bu

t onl

y th

e m

ost

outg

oing

Exp

lain

ers

initi

ate

con-

vers

atio

ns a

t fir

st. D

arle

ne s

ays:

A lo

tqf

vis

itorc

are

n't q

uite

sure

wha

t the

Evp

lain

eiN

and

the

stud

ents

are

n't w

rite

sure

abo

ut h

ow to

go u

p to

them

awl t

alk

with

out b

eing

reje

cted

. It's

a h

apha

zard

way

of I

nakn

u.; c

onta

ct. a

ndth

ere

are

a lo

t of d

iffer

ent.

way

s to

do

it. Ir

e by

to g

ive

them

a r

ange

of r

oles

, wul

hope

they

'll J

ind

one

that

fiels

coi

nfor

tabl

e.

A ty

pica

l Exp

lain

er g

roup

span

s th

e ra

nge

from

stu

dent

sw

ho a

re to

tally

at e

ase

soci

ally

to th

ose

w h

o ar

e sh

y an

d w

ith-

draw

n, o

r ev

en a

ppre

hens

iv.e

abou

t dea

ling

with

str

ange

rs. 31

;18

Ri r

htA

The

fir

st s

teps

in d

evel

opin

gso

cial

ski

lls a

re ta

ken

duri

hgpr

etra

inin

g as

the

Exp

lain

ers

wor

k to

bec

ome

mor

e aw

are

ofth

eir

perc

eptio

ns o

f th

emse

lves

and

of e

ach

othe

r. T

his

awar

e-ne

ss is

con

tinue

d du

ring

the

sem

este

r-lo

ng tr

aini

ng, t

hrou

ghro

le-p

layi

ng e

xerc

ises

usi

ng e

x-hi

bits

. and

fee

dbac

k fr

om a

ctua

lex

peri

ence

s on

the

floo

r.

One

.of

the

exer

cise

s th

eE

xpla

iner

s do

is d

esig

ned

tom

ake

them

aw

are

of b

ody

Ian-

.gu

aget

heir

ow

n an

d ,o

ther

s'an

dho

w it

aff

ects

thei

r pe

rcep

-tio

ns o

f an

inte

ract

ion.

Tw

o st

u-de

ntso

ne p

layi

ng th

e ro

le o

fan

Exp

lain

er, o

ne th

e ro

le o

f th

evi

sito

r m

ight

sta

ge a

n in

tera

c-tio

n in

whi

ch th

e "E

xpla

iner

"ob

serv

es th

e "v

isito

r" a

nd tr

ies

toen

gage

him

in a

con

vers

atio

n..A

fter

the

exer

cise

, the

par

tici-

pant

s di

scus

s th

eir

perc

eptio

ns o

fth

e si

tuat

ion,

wha

t wor

ked,

and

w h

at d

idn'

t, as

sist

ed lw

fee

dbac

kfr

( im

the

gn)u

p.

sw

eIs

aQ

.

Oth

er e

xerc

ises

.invo

lve

conv

ersa

tions

in w

hich

the

"vis

itor"

act

s ve

ry in

tere

sted

,or

ver

y bo

red,

and

the

"Exp

lain

er-

adap

ts w

hat s

he's

sayi

ng to

try

to m

ake

llette

rco

ntac

t. Pa

rtic

ipan

tS g

et th

eop

port

unity

to d

isct

iss

wha

tcl

ues

give

an

indi

catio

n of

wha

t the

oth

er p

erso

n w

asfe

elin

g. T

he "

Exp

lain

er"

gets

to v

erba

lize

how

it f

elt t

o be

igno

red,

or

how

it f

elt t

oha

ve s

omeo

ne p

ayin

gcl

ose

atte

ntio

n to

wha

tsh

e w

as s

ayin

g.

Que

stio

ns th

at a

rise

from

thes

e ex

erci

ses

in-

clud

e th

e fo

llow

ing:

Ilow

clo

se d

o yo

uha

ve to

com

e up

toso

meo

ne lo

okin

g at

an

exhi

bit b

efor

e th

ey n

otic

evo

u?

Is it

oka

y to

touc

hso

meo

ne to

get

thei

r

1

st

o n

<,

W'h

enth

.e

atte

ntio

n? C

an y

ou to

uch

them

whi

le y

ou're

talk

ing.

to th

em?

How

fas

t do

vou

wal

kth

rou0

the

floo

r? A

re y

ouap

proa

chab

le?

If y

ou're

pla

ying

with

an

exhi

bit a

nd s

omeo

ne c

omes

up

to s

ee w

hat y

ou're

doi

ng. d

o w

uI

let t

hem

pla

y an

d le

ave

imm

e-di

atel

y? 2

) le

t the

m p

lay

and

stan

d lw

to w

atch

, the

n of

fer

help

? 3)

Let

them

pla

and

toy

tote

ll th

em w

hat's

hap

peni

ng?

The

se e

xerc

ises

.are

inte

r-sp

erse

d w

ith s

essi

ons

wat

chin

gvi

sito

rs o

ut o

n th

e fl

oor.

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie m

ay te

ll an

'Exp

lain

erto

wat

ch a

I -

ers(

)n, a

nd th

en a

sk(k

) yo

u th

ink'

s g(

)ing

on?

Are

thei

r ey

es a

nd th

eir

hody

say

-in

g it'

s ok

ay to

col

lie c

k)se

r? f

low

wou

ld y

ou g

o up

and

talk

toth

em?"

Or

the

gr(m

p w

ill o

bsen

,ea

coup

le a

t an

exhi

bit a

nd h

eas

ked

"Whi

ch o

ne o

f th

emou

ld

v(iti

try

to ta

lk to

fir

st?-

36

Rig

htA

nsvv

erIs

a

.T

his

kind

of

trai

ning

is o

n-go

ing.

and

pro

vide

s a

kind

of

cont

inuo

us f

eedb

ack

loop

. An

Exp

lain

er m

igla

par

ticip

ate

in a

nex

erci

se in

the

mor

ning

, the

n

"It w

as a

rea

lly c

ool

expe

rienc

e. It

was

a jo

b,

but i

t mea

nt s

omet

hing

."

put w

hat s

he'd

lear

ned

into

prac

tice

on th

e fl

oor

that

aft

er-

noon

. The

loop

als

o w

orks

inth

e ot

hc-

dire

ctio

n. A

s th

e E

x-pl

aine

rs g

ain

mor

e ex

peri

ence

inte

ract

ing

with

vis

itors

on

the

floo

r, th

e m

orni

ng r

ole-

play

ing

tend

s to

rec

reat

e ac

tual

situ

a-tio

ns. E

xpla

iner

s ge

t the

cha

nce

to s

hare

an

enco

unte

r, r

epri

se it

with

a s

light

ly d

iffe

rent

app

roac

hdi

ffew

nt o

utco

me.

and

exp

er-

imen

t with

soc

ial v

aria

bles

.

Oth

er e

xerc

ises

.invo

lve

the

:con

tent

. of

the

exhi

bits

, with

.the

emph

asis

on

how

the

info

rma-

tion

is b

eing

del

iver

ed. D

arle

nean

d Ja

mie

Will

wal

k up

to a

nex

hibi

t and

say

, "O

kay,

you

rtu

rn. C

hoos

e so

met

hing

abo

utth

is. T

alk

abou

t it.

Get

us

inte

r-es

ted.

- It

's s

omet

imes

an

un-

nerv

ing

expe

rien

ce, e

spec

ially

for

a ne

w E

xpla

iner

. Bui

Jam

iepo

ints

Out

:

Som

etim

es le

arni

ng th

e et

i-

bibi

ts r

equi

res

a re

al le

ap.

.1.-

ou b

are

to p

ut y

onrs

elf i

n a

situ

atio

n w

here

you

don

7kn

ow a

ll th

e an

swei

N. }

-ou

swea

t. bu

t as

you

do it

. yffi

t

figur

e ou

t wha

ryou

clo

know

, and

whe

re th

e ga

ps

are.

Tha

t's a

big

par

t pl.

lear

ning

. You

nee

d to

kn.

ow

whe

re th

e ga

ps a

re b

eliw

e

you

can

begi

n to

fill

them

.

Eac

h E

xpla

iner

will

get

atu

rn in

the

spot

light

or th

e ho

tse

at. T

he g

roup

list

ens

to th

e

Que

stio

n

Exp

lain

er's

talk

, the

n of

fers

fee

d-ba

ck..W

as th

e to

ne c

onve

rsa-

tiona

l, or

did

it s

ound

like

a le

c-tu

re?.

Was

the

pres

enta

tion

clea

r,or

did

it r

ambl

e fr

om to

pic

toto

pic?

Did

the

Exp

lain

er m

ake

eye

cont

act,.

or lo

ok d

own

at th

eex

hibi

t the

who

le ti

me?

Dar

lene

says

she

can

see

the

diff

eren

cein

an

Exp

lain

er's

who

le a

pPro

ac:h

afte

r a

few

exe

rcis

es, a

nd th

at

..ith

eips

to b

ate

tbem

pre

-se

nt th

ings

fits

,' .4

) us

. sb

they

can

say

to th

emse

lves

.

I did

it o

kay

in fr

ont

them

, so

I mus

t !m

ow w

hat

I'm d

oing

." E

ach

time

they

paw

:lice

, the

y fe

el a

littl

em

ore

conf

iden

t abo

ut ta

lk-

ing

to v

isito

rs.

In th

e 0

irse

of

a da

y. a

nE

xpla

iner

-may

inte

rac

Iw

ithdo

zens

of

peop

lefr

om o

ther

Ex-

plai

ners

to s

taff

mem

bers

to v

isi-

t()r

s. F

or m

ost E

xpla

iner

s, s

ocia

lin

tera

ctio

ns h

ec(i

ine.

mor

e fl

uid

and

rela

xed,

and

com

mun

icat

ion

19

20

Wii

0ra

th

olle

n im

prm

e dr

amat

ical

ly.

The

com

bina

tion

of e

xerc

ises

and

soci

aliz

ing

with

in th

e gr

oup

and

expe

rienc

e on

the

floor

hel

psxp

lain

ers

deve

lop

a se

nse

of

ci in

fiden

t e in

wha

t the

y're

doi

ng,

and

a se

nse

C ir

sup

port

they

'reno

n do

ing

it ;d

ime.

s 1

9-1

FA

_

plai

ner

Alic

hael

Joh

nson

. now

a

radi

o pi

oduc

er. r

emem

bers

:

the

Lyp/

orel

foril

linat

the

rogt

t 411

ail.

It /W

C,

rlded

the

illttl

itire

Und

er.t(

litat

tl!..;

ff.(

)iii

aiit,

thin

gs.

int/

II di

d it

ill (

11)1

0A/il

lIC

tir th

tll M

itch'

the

/com

fits!

11,1

1111

tCIIC

lho

tt,t?

laqt

11,Q

. (1.

Ii.1

1,t;

hist

nI,L

;yl

the

h7el

li/%

/Ilp

sth

at c

untin

ue to

,

this

(Ja

ikV

bed

«ill

I sa

r'

Ibut

i. m

any

tone

s n

a im

olg

ble

(10

l'Hlt

gc/ l

o) in

terp

ret

tho'

liqu

iter

Itu

, Iht

1 1"

111,

1 flu

0.\

biai

rs'

aid.

Exp

lain

ers

on th

e Fl

oor

\Ilt.i

iiilio

our

to)

an !l

oom

-

.111

.111

.111

out n

amin

g an

d m

eet

4 G

Ri

g h

tA

.

ing

toge

ther

as

a gr

oup.

the

Exp

lain

ers

go o

ut o

nto

the

floor

to w

ork

thei

r in

divi

dual

shi

fts.

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie d

raw

up

asc

hedu

le fo

r ea

ch s

hill

so th

atex

.ery

are

a of

the

mtis

eum

.floo

ris

c(w

ered

by

at le

ast o

ne E

x-pl

aine

r. a

nd s

o th

e E

xpla

iner

sge

t a c

hanc

e to

wor

k in

all

the

diffe

rent

are

as. D

urin

g th

eir

shift

s, E

xpla

iner

s ar

e re

spon

sibl

efo

r di

rect

ing

visi

tors

aro

und

the

mus

eum

or

to th

e re

st r

oom

s.an

d so

on,

and

kee

ping

an

eye

on th

e ex

hibi

t flo

or a

nd r

epor

t-in

g an

y m

aint

enan

ce o

r re

pair

need

s. In

add

ition

to fl

oor

as-

sign

men

ts. s

imile

Exp

lain

ers

are

sche

dule

d to

wor

k th

e de

mon

-st

ratio

n si

tes,

incl

udin

g a

lase

r,an

d S

ound

. Ele

ctric

ity. a

ndV

isio

n pr

esen

tatio

ns.

Dem

oAtr

atio

ms

are

smal

l-gr

oup

inte

ract

ions

and

',Ir

e. Il

lnrc

tt;In

d st

ruct

uivd

than

floo

ra,

sign

men

ts. A

t the

Dra

win

glio

ard,

for

inst

ance

, vis

itors

can

sign

up

to; c

reat

e th

eir

own

s w

er

Is

wor

ks o

f art

. The

Exp

lain

er p

uts

a sh

eet o

f pap

er o

n a

hang

ing

plat

form

whi

ch s

win

gs li

ke a

pend

ulum

, and

ask

s th

e vi

sito

rto

set

the

plat

form

in m

otio

n.O

nce

the

plat

form

is m

ovin

g,th

e E

xpla

iner

low

ers

a co

lore

dm

arke

r w

hich

trac

es th

e in

tric

ate

patte

rn o

f the

pla

tform

's m

otio

nsT

he v

isito

r ex

perie

nces

the

ac-

tion

of a

pen

dulu

m a

nd ta

kes

hom

e a

visi

ble

rem

inde

r.

Ano

ther

ver

y po

pula

rde

mon

stra

tion

is th

e C

ow's

Eye

Dis

sect

ion.

Eig

ht to

ten

peop

leca

n si

t art

nind

a ta

ble

on th

efk

)or

and

wat

ch a

s.an

Exp

lain

er d

isse

cts

a co

w's

eye

.T

he E

xpla

iner

des

crib

es e

ach

part

of t

he e

ye a

s sh

e ta

kes

itap

art.

lets

the

visi

u)rs

t C

RI c

li di

e

lens

, and

eng

ages

in a

dis

cus-

sion

abo

ut li

t)w

eye

sbot

h co

wan

d hu

man

wor

k. T

his

hand

s-on

ana

tom

y le

ss(

n) fr

eque

ntly

draw

s a

larg

e cr

owd

as v

isito

rsro

amin

g th

roug

h th

e m

useu

mst

op to

w

4 I

Ct u

e s

tion

Dem

onst

ratio

ns o

ffer

anop

port

unity

to d

o a

diffe

rent

kind

of e

xpla

inin

g. A

lthou

ghth

ere

is n

o se

t spe

ech

or m

emo-

rized

pat

ter

and

each

gro

up o

fvi

sito

rs a

sks

diffe

rent

que

stio

ns,

the

flow

of t

he d

emon

stra

tion

issi

mila

r fr

om o

ne d

ay to

the

next

.E

xpla

iner

s w

ith a

flai

r fo

r pr

e-se

ntat

ion

ofte

n en

joy

the

mor

est

ruct

ured

aud

ienc

e-pa

rtic

ipat

itmna

ture

of t

he d

emon

stra

tiom

s.S

taff

phys

icis

t Pau

l Doh

erty

has

obse

rved

:

,Von

ie o

f the

I.,:x

pkiin

ers

are

like

c«rn

iral b

arke

rs. a

nd

lber

Ind

tin a

gre

atsb

ow..7

be v

isito

rc lo

ce it

.71

.7es

e E

vpla

iner

s ha

lv a

101

Qf s

tage

pre

senc

e an

d (f

lier

bc,e

/Pdo

i/T,t;

Him

. a

few

wee

ks, 1

1.7e

y'iv

goI

a ,i

.;(a)

(l

amou

nt q

f the

sci

ence

dw

ell,

10a.

The

sho

w g

els

heife

r an

(1

The

Exp

lain

ers

who

are

not

assi

gned

to)

dem

onst

ratio

ms

go to

W h

ea

the

sect

ion

of th

e m

useu

mth

ey're

sch

edul

ed to

cov

er th

atda

y. I

inlik

e m

any

jobs

lOr

teen

ager

s. E

xpla

iner

s ar

e no

ttig

htly

sup

ervi

sed

duri

ng th

eir

shill

, and

the

sche

dule

is m

ore

of a

n ou

tline

than

a r

igid

lyad

here

dto

stru

ctur

e.

j lis

t',I

S d

icrC

is n

Ose

t pat

hfo

r a

visi

tor

to f

ollo

w th

roug

h th

em

useu

m. t

here

are

no

set "

sta-

tions

- fo

r E

xpla

iner

s du

ring

thei

rsh

ills.

The

stu

dent

s ar

e as

sign

edto

a g

ener

al a

rea

of th

e fl

oor,

and

enco

urag

ed to

ii y

am a

roun

d :in

dex

plor

e th

e ex

hibi

ts w

ithin

it.

Whi

le th

ey e

xplo

re. t

hey

keep

an

eye

out f

or v

isito

rs. h

elpi

ng th

emw

ith th

eir

own

expl

orat

ions

.

Dar

lene

atu

l Jam

ie b

elie

veth

at a

!m

ire

stru

ctur

ed a

ssig

nmen

tw

ould

lim

it w

hat t

he E

xpla

iner

lear

ned

duri

ng a

shi

ft. B

y rc

latn

ing

arou

nd. E

xpla

iner

s di

scov

er in

ter-

conn

ectio

ns b

etw

een

exhi

bits

and

the

unde

rlyi

ng p

heno

men

a. w

hic

hde

epen

s th

eir

unde

rsta

ndin

g an

d

R ig

h t

A

fost

ers

crea

tive

thin

king

and

fur

-th

er in

quir

y. A

ll of

this

'can

be

pass

ed o

n to

enr

ich

the

visi

tor's

expe

-ien

ce a

nd e

nsur

e th

at e

ach

trip

to th

e E

xpkw

ator

ium

is a

uniq

ue a

dven

ture

.

V'h

ile th

e E

xpla

iner

s ar

e on

the

floo

r, D

arle

ne a

nd J

amie

do

peri

odic

wal

k-th

r(H

ighs

SU

R:

dem

imst

ratii

nts

are

goin

gsm

oOth

ly. t

hat a

ll th

e ex

hibi

tar

eas.

tire

cove

red,

and

to e

ncou

r-ag

e th

eir

stud

ents

to in

tera

ct w

ithvi

sito

rs a

s m

uch

as p

ossi

ble.

Jaill

ic s

ays:

4

Itir

pia

som

eone

lit a

sec

-(m

d th

en a

fter

a w

hile

they

mor

e to

alu

dher

are

a,be

caus

e th

ey're

bor

ed, o

r

beca

use

they

don

't fe

el li

keth

ey k

now

the

exhi

bits

wel

len

ough

, or

beca

nse

they

just

need

to a

mul

et. a

roun

d.ct

llotti

r a

cert

ain

amou

nt41

1.1a

t The

onl

y th

ing

we

ask

is; /

fin, (

mu>

ma

',um

wan

/ to

see

a

s w

er

Is

aQ

uest

ion

dist

ribut

ion

q'E

vpla

iner

c in

ora

nge

vest

s. II

doe

snr't

mat

ter

if th

e on

e w

ho's

sup

-po

sed

to b

e in

Sou

nd is

over

Ligh

t. as

long

as th

ey're

dis

trib

uted

/wet

ly e

venl

y.

Eve

n w

hen

Exp

lain

ers

aren

't in

tera

ctin

g di

rect

ly w

ithvi

sito

rs. t

hey

are

expl

aini

ng b

yex

ampl

e. I

f an

ExP

lain

er is

w-

ally

eng

aged

in a

n ex

hibi

ttvi

sito

r w

ill f

re.(

juen

tly c

ome

over

to w

atch

. bec

ause

itlo

oks

like

fun.

At t

hat p

oint

,th

e E

xpla

iner

can

turn

ove

rth

e ex

hibi

t to

the.

visi

tor

and

mov

e on

or,

if h

e se

nses

that

the

visi

tor

mig

htlik

e so

me

assi

stan

ce.

he m

ight

sta

y an

dw

atch

. Som

etim

es th

evi

sitii

r \y

in ti

sktit

msr

, (A

lter

times

the

Exp

lain

er v

()Iu

ntee

rsw

mat

ion.

Par

t ()I

the

job

is ju

st b

eing

a r

ole

t4"

,a'4

!I-

1,-V

'le

crr

rt,g

1

,

21

W h

et

7,1

eR

ight

A n

mod

el f

or v

isito

rs. A

s Pa

ulD

oher

ty p

uts

it:

22

sir

Exp

lain

ers

mar

not

be

the

righ

t nan

ze. l

.thin

kof

then

! as

shi

lls. T

heir

job

isto

pla

y w

ith th

e ex

hibi

t so

that

it s

ends

out

the

sig-

nal "

Her

, try

this

! tr

ciw

!L

ook

at th

isr

to a

nyoi

war

ounc

l the

m.

It's

an

odd,

uns

truc

ture

dw

ork

situ

atio

n. li

ut th

e pr

o-gr

am, a

s fa

r as

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie a

re c

once

rned

, is

mea

ntto

teac

h th

e st

i ide

nts

abou

t.re

spon

sibi

hty

and

inte

grity

as

nluc

h as

.it is

ty te

ach

them

abou

t sci

ence

and

com

mun

,ea

ting.

Dad

ene.

says

:

Ire

wan

t the

m to

be

!hei

row

n er

ahla

tors

. If

they

i,go

of -

off

erel

y on

ce in

a.

wej

ust l

et it

o. I

fh

it ha

ppen

s ov

er d

na o

ver.

,1

then

som

ethi

ng's

lip

with

that

Ey/

dinn

er s

omet

hing

's

4 4

s w

er

IS

a

not r

ight

in h

is li

fe. a

nd it

'sou

rjoh

to tr

y an

d 1,

4 hi

mge

t thr

ough

it.

Dea

ling

with

Pro

blem

sE

xpla

inin

g is

a v

ery

flex

ible

job.

The

rul

es a

re f

ew, a

nd th

edr

ess

code

is v

ery

loos

e (w

ear

anor

ange

ves

t; no

T-s

hirt

s w

ith o

f-fe

nsiv

e la

ngua

ge),

whi

ch c

reat

esa

very

rel

axed

wor

k at

nlos

pher

e.It

is p

ossi

ble

for

an E

xpla

iner

tost

roll

thro

ugh

the

mus

eum

, sto

pan

d ch

at w

ith a

fri

end,

pla

y w

ithan

exh

ibit,

and

be

entir

ely

with

inhi

s jo

b de

scri

ptio

n. T

hat f

lexi

bil-

ity c

an a

lso

mak

es it

dif

ficu

lt to

dete

rmin

e.w

hat i

s, o

r is

n't,

ap-

prop

riat

e be

havi

or.

The

mos

t com

mon

pro

blem

that

com

es u

p in

eac

h E

xpla

iner

grou

p is

that

the

floo

r is

not

even

ly s

taff

ed. S

omet

imes

Exp

lain

ers

will

clu

mp

toge

ther

.cr

owdi

ng a

roun

d on

e ex

hibi

t ()I

.ta

lkin

g w

ith e

ach

othe

r, a

ndse

ndin

g th

e m

essa

ge -

Yes

, we

ork

here

, but

we'

re n

ot r

eally

u es

t i

wor

king

rig

ht n

ow."

Thi

s an

dm

ost o

ther

pot

entia

l pro

blem

s.ar

e ha

ndle

d by

dis

cuss

ion

and

feed

back

with

in th

e gr

oup.

Aft

er e

ach

shif

t, th

e E

xpla

in-

ers

gath

er in

thei

r of

fice

for

afi

ftee

n m

inut

e to

hal

f-ho

ur d

e-br

iefi

ng a

bout

-how

the

daY

wen

t.D

arle

ne a

nd J

amie

giv

e fe

edba

ckab

out h

ow w

ell t

he e

xhib

it fl

oor

was

cov

ered

, and

abo

ut th

e in

ter-

actio

ns th

ey o

bser

ved

duri

ng th

eda

y. I

f th

ere

wer

e an

y pr

oble

ms,

the

grou

p ta

lks

abou

t wha

t wen

ton

, and

giv

es s

ugge

stio

ns o

n ho

wth

ings

nlig

ht h

ave

happ

ened

in a

diff

eren

t way

. Say

s D

arle

ne:

Ilso

met

hing

hap

pens

on

the

floo

,. w

ebr

ing

it to

the

grou

p. U

nles

s a

stud

ent

brin

gs it

up

hini

sey:

Zee

don

'tm

eitti

on c

ut),

nam

es. W

e ju

stsc

o. "

Ibis

hap

pene

d, a

ndhe

re's

wha

t he

did

with

it:

Her

e's

Whe

re it

bro

ke c

low

n.H

ere'

s w

here

the

Exp

lanw

rdi

dn't

take

res

pons

ibili

tyor

Whe

n th

e

drop

ped

the

ball.

Her

e's

whe

re th

e vi

sito

r aw

s at

II:h

at e

lse

coul

d ba

reha

ppet

led?

-

Hav

ing

a gr

oup

of te

enag

ers

as th

e on

ly f

loor

sta

ff a

nd li

aiso

nw

ith th

e pu

lflio

mig

ht S

eem

tohe

a g

ambl

e fr

om th

e po

int o

fvi

ew o

f pu

blic

rek

itkm

s. S

ome

staf

f m

embe

rs f

eel t

hat t

he s

tu-

dent

swith

thei

r ec

lect

ic d

ress

and

hair

styl

es--

don'

t rea

lly p

n)7

ject

an

'app

ropr

iate

imag

e fo

r a

scie

nce

mus

eum

. But

mos

t of

the

staf

f. a

nd th

e pu

blic

, agr

eeth

at th

e pr

esen

ce o

f th

e E

x-pl

aine

rs f

oste

rs th

e at

titud

e th

atsc

ienc

e is

fun

, and

that

ther

ear

e ve

ry f

ew -

rule

s- f

oi le

arni

ngan

d ex

plm

ing.

( A

c(m

rse:

ther

e :I

re (

1cC

a -

sic

ma

I pr

oble

ms,

usu

ally

the

resu

ltof

a m

utua

lly b

ad in

tera

ctio

n be

-tw

een

a -i

sito

r an

d an

Exp

lain

er.

ln (

me

inst

ance

, it v

isito

r sa

ids(

mie

thin

g to

.111

Exp

lain

er th

at

seem

ed li

ke a

rac

ist r

emar

k. T

he

Rig

ht

Exp

lain

er r

espo

nded

with

a r

ude

reto

rt, a

nd th

e vi

sito

r co

mpl

aine

dto

the

offi

ce.

Rat

her

than

dis

cipl

inin

g th

eE

xpla

iner

. Dar

lene

and

Jam

iem

ade

the

prob

lem

par

t of

the

trai

ning

. The

y br

ough

t it t

o th

e

"It's

so

liber

atin

g to

thin

k th

at m

y vi

ew

abou

t the

way

the

wor

ld

wor

ks is

impo

rtan

t.

Tha

t's h

ow it

is h

ere.

"

giou

p at

the

end

of th

e da

y, a

ndas

ked

them

wha

t the

y tlu

atgh

t. A

king

dis

cuss

sion

ens

ued,

in w

hich

man

v E

xpla

iner

s de

fend

ed th

eac

ticm

s ju

stif

ied.

and

man

yot

hers

con

dem

ned

it as

map

pro-

pria

te. T

he c

oncl

uskm

,.by

gnm

p

swer

I.s

agre

emen

t, w

as th

at th

e vi

sito

rha

d be

en w

rong

, and

the

Ex-

plai

ner

had

ever

y ri

ght t

o be

an-

gry,

but

at t

he s

ame

time,

she

was

bei

ng p

aid

to d

o a

job,

and

part

of

that

mea

nt h

avin

g to

hol

dhe

r te

mpe

r.

One

you

ng m

an, e

xpla

inin

gto

Jam

ie a

bout

his

pri

de in

the

job.

sai

d:

The

way

it m

akes

sen

se to

me

is th

at o

n to

p ql

eve

g-th

ing

else

this

mus

eum

is,

it's

a bu

sine

ss. P

eopl

e pa

ygo

od m

oney

to c

ome

in a

ndbe

her

e. a

nd o

ne g

ithe

thin

gs th

r ge

t is

that

we'

reou

t her

e on

the

floo

r. S

o if

they

're p

ayin

g fb

r m

e to

talk

to th

em, L

ied

like

I be

t-te

r gi

v(' t

hem

thei

r 11

1011

Cr.

S

11Y

)111

).

By

disc

ussi

ng p

robl

ems

inth

e gr

oup.

the

Exp

lain

ers

can

lear

n fr

om e

ach

othe

r's m

ista

kes

and

have

the

oppo

rtun

ity to

Q.u

estio

n

defi

ne f

or th

emse

lves

wha

t is.

inap

prop

riat

e be

havi

or. D

arle

nest

ress

es th

at th

is a

llevi

ates

muc

hof

the

prob

lem

of

rebe

llion

agai

nst a

utho

rity

com

mon

with

this

age

gro

up: R

athe

r th

an c

haf-

ing

agai

nst r

ules

and

sta

ndar

dsth

at a

rc im

pose

d on

them

, the

grou

p de

fine

s its

ow

n ru

les;

fol

-lo

win

g th

em b

ecom

es a

mat

ter

of g

roup

(an

d.in

divi

dual

) pr

ide.

She

says

:

Whe

n so

meo

ne is

inap

pro-

.

pria

te o

n tb

e.fl

oor,

nv

deal

with

it b

y te

lling

'the

m,

"You

're r

epre

sent

ing

your

-se

lf, a

nd tb

e ot

her

Exp

lain

-et

.s. a

nd th

e m

useu

m.

Wha

teve

r im

age

you

wan

tpe

ople

to ta

ke a

way

with

them

is b

ow y

ou s

houl

d be

on th

e fl

oor.

- It

wou

ldn'

tw

ork

to g

itv th

em'a

list

qf

db's

and

don

'ts. W

e cl

on't

wan

t the

nt to

lear

n to

jitl-

low

ord

ers.

in' w

ant t

hem

to le

arn

to m

ake

thei

r ow

nde

c is

ions

.

23

W h

11th

e

For

the

mos

t par

t, gr

oup

pRw

ess

and

feed

back

wor

ksve

ry w

ell f

or h

andl

ing

prob

lem

sth

at c

ome

up in

the

cour

se o

fan

Exp

lain

er's

wor

k da

y. R

ut

Dar

lenl

, and

Jam

ie a

lso

mee

tw

ith E

xpla

iner

s on

e-on

-one

whe

n pr

oble

ms

are

tnor

e

"I'm

rea

lly lo

okin

g

forw

ard

to s

tudy

ing

Spa

nish

aga

in. W

orki

ng

with

peo

ple

who

spe

ak

diffe

rent

lang

uage

s ha

s

give

n m

e a

new

appr

ecia

tion

for

it."

pers

onal

, Or

Whe

nIl

IC1

lt)

disc

uss

an in

divi

dual

's jo

b pe

r-fo

rman

ce a

nd in

tera

ct k

ins

24

Ritr

htA

n

The

y ar

e al

so w

ell a

war

eth

at s

omet

imes

ado

lesc

ents

will

act o

ut ju

st to

see

whe

re th

e lim

-its

arc

. Whe

n th

ey th

ink

that

's.th

esi

tuat

ion,

the

scen

ario

can

he

quite

diff

eren

t. Ja

mie

exp

lain

s th

atth

eir

polic

y is

to

..

sit d

own

and

talk

abo

utth

ings

, and

mos

t of t

he ti

me

it's

rely

Bat

ther

e

alx,

tim

es th

at ju

st d

oesn

'tum

*. S

omet

imes

they

onl

y

unde

rsta

nd (

mei

: bec

ause

that

's w

hat t

hey

know

. It's

unlii

rtim

ate,

and

it's

cer

-w

ilily

not

ple

asan

t fO

r us

.

Hut

occ

asio

nally

you

just

have

to g

o of

fat t

hem

..pts

tso

they

'll k

now

y(n

i.u'il

l.O

ther

wis

e, s

ome

stud

ents

will

kee

p m

ishi

ng,.j

ust t

o se

e

how

Jar

yrm

'll le

l the

m g

o.

Pro

gram

Lea

ders

Dar

lene

and

Jam

ie h

ave

one

of th

e tm

ist d

iffic

ult j

obs

at th

eE

xplo

rato

rium

. The

y se

rve

asbo

sses

, cou

nsel

ors.

frie

nds.

and

sw

er

Isa

subs

titut

e pa

rent

s to

nea

rly o

nehu

ndre

d ad

oles

cent

s ea

ch y

ear.

The

ir re

spon

sibi

litie

s ra

nge

from

mak

ing

sure

som

eone

is c

over

ing

the

Cow

's E

ye D

isse

ctkm

to r

e-po

rtin

g to

fund

ing

agen

cies

00

how

gra

nt m

oney

N.a

s sp

ent d

ur-

ing

the

fisca

l yea

r. T

he jo

b is

a

mix

of a

dmin

istr

atio

n, s

ocia

lw

ork.

teac

hing

. and

som

e ot

her

alm

ost i

ndef

inab

le c

ompo

nent

s.

Som

etim

es s

epar

atel

y, s

ome-

times

toge

ther

, the

y ru

n m

eetin

gs.

do in

terv

iew

s, c

ondu

ct tr

aini

ngs,

supe

rvis

e th

e st

affin

g of

the

floor

,pr

epar

e sc

hedu

les,

sig

n tim

e-sh

eets

, pro

cess

grie

vanc

es, a

nd

still

find

tim

e to

sit

and

talk

with

any

Exp

lain

er w

ho n

eeds

afr

iend

ly e

ar, a

sho

ulde

r to

cry

on,

or s

ome

good

tt.lv

ice.

Eor

som

eof

thes

e st

uden

ts, D

arle

ne a

nd

Jam

ie a

re tw

o of

the

few

pos

itive

role

mod

els

in th

eir

lives

.

Like

the

Exp

lain

er g

nmps

they

put

t(ig

ethe

r. D

arle

ne a

ndJa

mie

are

als

o a

uniq

ue m

x, S

he

4 r;

Q,u

estio

n

is a

wom

an o

f col

or w

ho w

orke

das

an

Exp

lain

er in

197

4, s

taye

d on

at th

e m

useu

m to

hel

p w

ith th

epr

ogra

m, a

nd e

vent

ually

bec

ame

the

prog

ram

's d

irect

or. J

amie

Bel

lis

a w

hite

man

with

a d

egre

e in

mus

ic a

nd e

xper

ienc

e te

achi

nghi

gh s

choo

l. N

eith

er h

e no

rD

arle

ne h

ad a

sci

ence

bac

k-gr

ound

bef

ore

com

ing

to th

eE

xplo

rato

rium

, but

they

hav

eta

ken

clas

ses

and

wor

ksho

psbo

th in

side

and

out

side

the

mus

eum

as p

art o

f the

ir ow

ntr

aini

ng. J

amie

say

s:

/ 0,//

), g

ot r

eally

turn

ed o

n to

scie

nce.

bem

, bec

ause

of t

he

Way

it's

taug

ht, a

nd a

ll tb

eex

hibi

ts. S

ince

1 s

tart

ed a

l

lbe

mus

eum

. Tye

gon

e ba

ck

and

&nu

! sci

ence

teac

her

trai

ning

s an

d cl

asse

s I n

ever

:mild

hat

z, ta

ken

whe

n 1

'las

in c

olle

ge. 1

1's

open

ed u

p

a w

hole

new

ww

d.

Any

sci

ence

nm

seum

that

is

cons

ider

ing

an E

xpla

iner

-like

TV

he

nt

he

RI

iir14

t-

gh

tA

n. s

w

prog

riim

sho

uld

keep

the

follo

win

g po

ints

in m

ind

^7.

whe

n se

lect

ing

staf

f to

adm

inis

ter

it:

.N.4

1111

If yo

u've

got

mor

eth

an h

alf a

doz

en E

x-pl

aine

rs. y

ou n

eed

two)

full-

time

peop

le to

mak

e th

e pr

o)gr

am r

un

smoo

thly

. And

thos

e tw

ope

ople

hav

e to

be

able

to w

ork

with

eac

h ot

her

with

out f

rictio

n. It

.hel

psif

they

're s

ort o

f int

ui-

tivel

y on

the

sam

e le

vel

abou

t mos

t thi

ngs.

Cho

ose

peop

le w

ith th

ebr

oade

st p

ossi

ble

inte

rest

s.

Unl

ess

you'

re o

nly

inte

r-es

ted

in f(

)ste

ring

futu

resc

ient

ists

, You

nee

d to

have

peo

ple

who

can

abso

)rb,

or

unde

rsta

nd.

or e

mpa

thiz

e w

ith

any

num

ber

of d

iffer

ent

thin

gs th

e st

uden

ts w

ill

brin

g to

the

prog

ram

.

ra

0.0

esti(

) ri

It' y

oit w

ant a

mix

of

Exp

lain

ers,

'you

r ad

min

istr

ator

ssh

ould

be

diffe

rent

eno

ugh

from

each

oth

erin

term

s of

gen

der,

ethn

icity

, and

so

onso

that

mos

t of t

he s

tude

nts

can

iden

-tif

y. a

t lea

st a

littl

e. w

ith o

ne o

rth

e ot

her.

An

adm

inis

trat

or s

houl

dha

ve g

ood

-peo

ple

skill

s."

As

the

Exp

lain

ers

men

tor.

he

orsh

e ne

eds

to b

e.ab

le to

wor

kw

ith s

tude

nts

as a

teac

her

and

som

etim

es a

s a

coun

selo

r. A

tth

e sa

me

time,

as

the

adm

inis

-tr

ator

of t

he p

rogr

am. t

here

isa

need

to w

ork

with

thc

exec

u-tiv

e st

aff a

nd o

ther

dep

artm

ent

head

s w

ithin

the

mus

eum

, and

to b

e a

buffe

r be

twee

n E

xpla

in-

ers

and

othe

r st

aff,

whe

n ne

ces-

sary

. Jam

ie a

dds:

Me

mos

t im

port

ant

thin

g is

tbat

you

ban

. to

real

lr,tr

uly

Ion,

you

ngpe

ople

. }in

tba

re tu

wan

t to

see

the

stu-

dent

sgr

ow a

nd c

hang

e am

l

go th

roug

h th

at p

erio

dw

here

eve

g da

y is

a d

is-

cove

ty o

f so

met

hing

new

If.r

ml

real

lylo

ve th

at. .

you

eujo

y th

e pr

oces

s, a

nd y

ou'll

be d

oing

this

wor

k fo

r th

eri

ght r

easw

is.

The

Exp

lain

er P

rogr

aman

d th

e M

useu

m a

s a

Who

leT

he E

xplo

rato

rium

is m

ore

than

a s

cien

ce m

useu

m. :

1 is

als

oan

inte

rnat

iona

lly k

now

n ce

nter

for

inno

vativ

e sc

ienc

e ed

ucat

ion.

The

mus

eum

is d

ivid

ed in

to th

ree

cent

ers:

The

Cen

ter

for

Pub

licE

xhib

itkm

is r

espo

nsib

le fo

r th

eex

hibi

ts o

n th

e m

useu

m fl

oor,

spec

ial e

vent

s. p

erfo

rman

ces,

and

exhi

bitio

ns..T

he C

ente

r fo

rM

edia

and

Com

mun

icat

ion

pro-

duce

s br

ochu

res,

mag

azin

es,

book

s, a

nd m

ultim

edia

pro

ject

sth

at ta

ke th

e m

essa

ge o

f the

Exp

lora

toriu

m fa

r be

yond

the

mus

eum

wal

ls. T

he C

ente

r fo

rT

each

ing

and

Lear

ning

con

duct

sw

oirk

shop

s lO

r sc

ienc

e te

ache

rs

5125

.M

h,

eit

th

fron

t ele

men

tary

sch

ool t

hrou

ghct

illeg

e le

vel h

elpi

ng th

em c

reat

eha

nds-

on s

cien

ce c

urri

cula

for

.th

eir

own

clas

sRio

rns,

and

pR

i-vk

les

outr

each

pni

gran

isun

der-

serv

ed n

eigh

borh

oods

.

Whe

n th

e th

ree

cent

ers

wer

efo

rmed

, the

re w

as ..

;(itr

ie d

ebat

ein

to w

hich

are

a th

e E

xpla

iner

prog

ram

fit

best

. The

Cen

ter

for

Publ

ic E

xhib

ition

sce

med

a n

at-

ural

cho

ice.

sin

ce th

e E

xpla

iner

sar

e re

spon

sihl

e fo

r na

mito

ring

the

mus

eum

flo

ck a

nd th

e ex

-.hi

hits

. (la

ving

the

prhg

ram

he

sepa

ratc

frh

in th

e th

ree

cent

ers

and

part

ht.

the

I In

man

Re-

sour

ces

depa

rtm

ent W

as A

lm)

sugg

este

d. B

Lit

s hr

ralk

: de-

cide

d th

at th

e em

phas

is o

f th

eE

xpla

iner

pro

gram

sho

uld

he o

nth

e pr

oces

s of

exp

lain

ing,

not

the

pnal

uct.

and

so th

e pr

ogra

mis

und

er th

e ae

gis

of th

e (

ente

rlo

t Tca

chin

g nd

Lea

rnin

g.

d I

e A

re.)

\\

tile

F\pl

attle

rs m

eet e

ach

mow

-

26

nigh

tus

urer

ing

and

afte

rnoo

n is

in th

e ce

n-te

r 'o

f th

e m

useu

m's

adm

inis

tra-

tive

offi

cesr

ight

in th

e m

iddl

eof

thin

gs. T

he E

xpla

iner

s m

eet

amun

d a

king

tabl

e in

an

open

area

that

is f

lank

ed o

n ei

ther

side

hv

ofilc

es. D

arle

ne a

ndJa

mie

sha

re a

n of

fice

at o

ne e

ndof

the

spac

e. T

he E

xpla

iner

are

ais

oft

en f

illed

with

two

doze

nte

enag

ers.

and

it's

fre

quen

tlym

iisv.

whi

ch c

an h

e di

stra

ctin

gki

r ot

her

stal

l met

nher

s.

A f

ew y

ears

ago

, pla

ns w

ere

mad

e to

hou

se th

e E

xpla

iner

s in

atr

aile

r of

fice

in a

mith

er p

art o

f th

em

useu

m. t

o C

ut d

own'

on th

eno

ise

leve

l, an

d to

pr(

wid

e a

mor

e pr

ivat

e sp

ace

for

trai

ning

s.B

ut th

e pl

an w

as v

etoe

d, n

ot o

nly

lw D

arle

ne a

nd J

amie

. but

als

o lw

staf

f m

embe

rs w

ho

didn

't w

ant t

ois

olat

e tlw

Exp

lain

ers.

It m

a be

nois

y at

tinw

s, th

ey s

aid,

but

it's

impo

rtan

t kir

the

Ekp

lain

ers

tofe

el th

at th

ey're

an

inte

gral

par

t of

lutis

t:UM

. As

sem

mu

a s.

ient

N

Tho

mas

111

1111

1)11

11:y

pic

it:

IVe

need

to h

are

them

arou

nd. O

ilwrw

ise

ther

ew

ould

be

a te

bok'

age

grou

p no

t rep

rese

nted

on

au, s

taff

whi

ch is

true

(f

mos

t pla

ces,

I su

ppos

e. B

ut

as a

n ad

ult.

I get

so

muc

hou

l 01*

bei

ng a

nntu

d th

em.

Par

t of i

r,s

the

ener

gy fe

ed.

I fee

l rec

harg

ed ta

lkin

,q to

them

: ,11

1r1

I fin

d ou

t tel

vit

happ

enin

g ou

t in

an,

wor

ld. o

n th

e st

reet

. eve

)).

time

I han

g ou

t at t

hat

tabl

e)O

r fir

e m

inut

es.

So th

e E

xpki

iner

sst

ayed

in th

e ce

nter

of

thin

gs. T

heir

phy

sica

l po-

sitio

n in

the

mus

eum

re-

flec

ts th

eir

rela

tions

hip

with

oth

er m

embe

rs o

fth

e E

xpki

rato

rium

sta

ff.

Exp

lain

ers

Itae

the

oppo

rtu-

nity

to in

tera

ct, (

)n a

dai

ly h

a-ith

ahm

tst e

verv

(ine

els

eho

wor

ks in

the

in il

seill

))T

hey

wor

k t l

osel

vith

sta

llsc

ient

ists

, and

som

e ()

I th

em

aes

ti on

11;

fit it

wilr

ldng

reL

rtio

nshi

p,w

ith "

Litt

in th

e m

ai.h

ine

shop

.th

, iom

pute

r la

h. o

r th

e gr

aph-

!, S

lepa

rtm

ent

lt1it

even

'tal

lM

t-11

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l-, \\

tw

c,rk

di-

le, i

I\\

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tiii

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aine

r pr

o-la

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at la

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ents

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rogr

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plai

ner

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ram

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IRi

A n

neig

hlx)

rhoo

ds w

o'rk

ing

as

Exp

lain

ers:

the

Exp

lora

toriu

m is

a pa

rt o

f the

com

mun

it). V

isito

rsfr

om o

ther

are

as h

ave

the

oppo

r-tu

nity

to e

xpan

d th

eir

horiz

ons

hy in

tera

.ling

with

peo

ple

they

mig

ht n

ot o

them

ise

1111

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. Fa-

1111

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t/ liy

e 11

1Hde

urh

an

cent

ers

coni

c fa

ce to

face

with

disa

dvan

tage

d yo

uth

in a

non

-th

reat

enin

g si

tuat

ion.

Vis

itois

mig

ht fo

rget

wha

t'die

sign

on

;in e

xhih

it sa

id a

hout

re-

Irac

tuin

or

cell

mito

sis

in a

fey:

day,

: the

\re

mem

ber

mor

eIr

on)

a ki

ng. p

leas

ant c

onve

rsa-

tion

with

a y

oung

girl

in a

n.or

-:In

ge v

est w

In)

had

gree

n ha

iran

d a

pier

ced

now

.

iu-.

1 th

e ta

ct 1

h:a

a te

enag

er is

in "

azah

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the

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peop

le's

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umpt

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en-

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r IR

goe

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the

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lora

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toi U

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oof t

hat

si te

m e

is n

ot a

thill

it ni

t. cs

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hing

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sui

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hing

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11

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1 ti/

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(me.

sixe

r:1

4

The

Exp

lain

er p

rogr

am p

ro-

vide

s th

e pu

seum

with

a la

rge

and

rela

tivel

y co

st-e

ffici

ent f

loor

staf

f, hu

t the

hen

efits

for

the

inst

i-tu

tion

go fa

r be

yond

em

ploy

men

t.T

he E

xpla

iner

s pr

ovid

e a

link

to'th

e w

orkl

out

side

the

mus

:..ta

ni

wal

k, a

nd a

con

nect

lon

betw

een

the

Exp

lora

tmiu

m a

nd a

ll th

edi

ftren

t com

mun

ities

it s

erve

s.E

xpla

iner

s sh

are

thei

r ex

perie

nce

with

thei

r fa

mili

es, f

riend

s, a

ndcl

assm

ates

. man

y of

who

m th

enco

me

to th

e m

uset

.m a

s vi

siun

nor

tnem

hers

, and

in tu

rn s

hare

thei

r ow

n ex

perie

nces

.

a ce

ntc;

for

sc',.

.ice

edu-

cati,

)n. t

he E

xplo

iato

riten

is a

lso

able

to e

xten

d its

influ

ence

into

scho

ols

and

com

mun

ity p

rogr

ams

thro

ugh

the

Exp

lain

ers

A g

oal o

ftil

e m

usea

m is

to m

ake

scie

nce

acce

ssib

le to

eve

ryon

e, a

nd to

help

teac

hers

cre

ate

inno

vativ

e.ha

nds-

cm s

cien

ce a

ctiv

ities

inhe

ir iiv

s n

clas

sic

tom

s. T

his

s..t(

nil

is N

erve

d no

t onl

y 1.

)\ c

onta

ct

with

teac

hers

in B

ay A

rea

sclu

xil

syst

ems

durin

g E

xpla

iner

rec

ruit-

ing,

but

als

o by

Exp

lain

ers

retu

rnin

g to

thei

r sc

hool

s an

dsh

arin

g w

hat t

hey'

ve le

arne

d.

'Me

bigg

est b

enef

it of

the

prog

ram

, how

ever

, is

wha

t it

pr(iv

ides

for

the

youn

g pe

ople

who

par

ticip

ate.

In a

dditi

on to

expo

sure

u)

scie

nce

and

inqu

iry-

base

d le

arni

ng, t

he p

rogr

ampr

ovid

es m

any

of th

em w

ith a

first

job

expe

rienc

e. U

nlik

e m

ost

k2nt

ry-le

vel j

obs.

Exp

lain

ing

brin

gs w

ith it

not

onl

y in

com

e.hu

t als

o a

sens

e of

' res

pons

ihil-

itv, a

nd a

boo

st in

sel

f-es

teem

.T

hese

stu

dent

s ar

e be

ing

take

n.

serio

'usl

y an

d tr

eate

d w

ith r

e-sp

ect.

For

som

e of

them

, tha

t is

a no

vel e

xper

ienc

e in

itse

lf.Je

anni

ne A

lurr

ary-

Rom

an, a

199

4E

xpla

iner

, pto

ciai

ms:

I lu

tv th

is jo

b. I

lutT

.' 11

715,

i0b.

I /0

11C

' thi

Spb.

I /0

11('

INS

!fib

/()I

1C/ /

HIV

I. /W

I' th

is f

ob. T

he're

. / s

aid

wre

n lim

es. s

u

27

true

. I v

alue

the

peop

le li

ere

(IS

Mild

)as

the

op-

pad

al 1

itcl

ad 1

1.4

pa

and

ever

ythi

ng.

A s

tudy

of

mor

e th

an -

00 f

or-

mer

Exp

lain

ers

conc

lude

d th

at th

eex

peri

ence

, alth

ough

bri

ef. w

as ,t

maj

or in

flue

nce

in s

timul

atin

g fu

r-th

er c

duca

ticm

and

infl

uenc

ing

care

er d

mic

es. D

urin

g th

eir

four

-m

cwIt

h te

nure

. Exp

lain

ers

lear

nfr

om g

ifte

d te

ache

rs. f

rom

eac

hot

i ier

. and

fr(

Int t

heir

ow

n ex

peri

-en

ces

and

ohse

rvat

kins

. with

each

new

ski

ll ot

situ

atio

n th

e\m

aste

r. W

eil s

ell-

c.st

eem

and

con

tickT

K e

gro

wle

arn

how

. to

lear

n by

doi

ng th

e jo

b. T

he\

lear

n I)

\lis

teni

ng. t

hey

team

lw

doin

g..1

11(1

the\

lear

n by

leac

hing

othe

rs. T

hese

are

ski

lls th

at w

illI/

clie

nt th

em f

or th

e re

st o

f th

eir

!mut

er \\

hat t

he\ d

ekIC

(1(

r Thu

E\p

lam

er p

logr

amm

u\ h

abo

ut h

uman

imer

ac h

olt,

anti

gc:tt

ing

alon

g \\

ith p

ecyl

eis

28

gn

s\o

f

itis

aln

nit s

cien

ce. D

urin

g th

eir

sem

este

r as

Exp

lain

ers.

stu

dent

sle

arn

firs

than

d ab

out t

heir

ow

npe

rcep

tkm

s. s

tere

otyp

es. r

acia

l:I

nd c

ultu

ral d

iffe

renc

es. a

nd le

arn

to g

et b

eyon

d th

eir

fiN

t im

pres

-si

ons.

The

y le

arn

to g

et a

long

with

oth

er p

eopl

e, a

nd th

ey le

arn

that

they

are

, the

mse

lves

, val

ued

mei

nber

s of

the

mus

eum

. Tha

t,sa

ys .I

amie

. may

he

the

bigg

est

hene

llt o

f al

l.

The

thin

g th

at r

eally

, rea

llym

aner

c is

the.

lact

that

they

Jed

like

they

're w

eloa

lle h

ere.

alla

(ha

l the

Vre

par

t (O

bis

plac

V. T

be M

aSC

1111

1 is

ded

i-

cate

dlu

be1/

41.1

1,14

ihei

i .12

,11m

.

(HO

tokn

oll.

thei

r ai

rli.1

nd m

the

end.

that

Nild

attit

ude

Lcga

m/ J

ar o

viT

-In

cilit

he E

xpla

inoN

, the

mus

eum

sac

len.

(is

el f

linch

,

lk'in

giii

l'\1

11ai

ncl

is a

er\

(*xP

crI(

'nec

`111

(1"1

;111

,,, in

t()

die

mus

eum

ahm

e.an

d lk

:com

es p

art o

lgr

ou)

sa

Whe

n th

e ne

w E

xpla

iner

sm

eet f

or th

e fi

rst t

ime.

they

are

stra

nger

sL--

from

dif

fere

ntsc

hool

s, d

iffe

rent

nei

ghbo

r-ho

ods.

dif

fere

nt li

fest

yles

. But

by th

e en

d ()

I' th

e se

mes

ter,

thro

ugh

trai

ning

. wor

king

, and

hang

ing

out t

c ge

ther

. the

y ha

vehe

c(m

te a

kin

d of

' fam

ily. L

ouis

eB

ell,

aI

99-i

Exp

lain

er. s

ays:

Ithen

I fir

st c

ame

ben'

and

saw

all

cy'll

ie o

ther

Evp

lain

-

cix.

I th

ough

tIb

is w

as m

oing

to b

ea

long

.bo

ring

sto

nmer

But

now

I fin

d m

ysel

f cry

ing

beca

use

itS o

ver

I'msa

ying

good

hye

frie

nds

l !na

yne

ver

see

a,ga

in, a

nd w

ishi

ng

I cou

ld s

tart

ot.e

r III

new

er

fin:1

4(1

the

peop

le l'

re m

et. o

r

all t

he th

nigs

Fr.

(' le

arne

d.

Lif

e A

fter

Exp

lain

ing

Aft

crrw

)hth

s as

1,s

plai

n

ers,

the

stud

ents

mov

e (')

n. A

few

,ildy

for

ano

ther

.sem

este

r, a

s pa

rt61

the

new

gro

up c

omin

g in

, hut

mos

t go

hack

to a

reg

ular

sch

ool

1.1

CS

ti

rt,

sche

dule

, or

on to

c()

Ileg

e, o

r in

toan

othe

r jo

b.

For

som

e, li

fe a

lter

the

Exp

kira

tori

um is

a r

esum

ptki

n of

wha

t the

y w

ere

doin

g be

llrre

,w

ith a

lot o

f ne

w s

kills

. For

oth

-er

s. b

eing

an

Exp

lain

er tr

igge

rsm

akm

- ch

ange

s in

thei

r liv

es.

Bec

ause

they

hav

e be

en tr

eate

dw

ith r

espe

ct a

nd g

iven

res

pons

i-bi

lity,

they

nr,

ty n

o lo

nger

lx to

l-er

ant o

f si

tuat

ions

in w

hich

they

're tr

eate

d an

y di

ffer

ently

.So

me

have

a c

lear

er id

ea o

f w

hat

they

wan

t to

do n

ext,

and

take

adio

ns to

get

ther

echa

ngin

gsc

hool

s. ta

king

a d

iffe

rent

cla

sssc

hedu

le.

For

man

y. th

e E

xpla

iner

pr(

)-gr

ant o

pens

up

new

vie

ws

abou

ted

ucat

ion.

and

spa

rks

an. e

nthu

si-

asm

for

lear

ning

. Thi

s is

(m

e of

the

goal

s of

the

pigr

ain,

A,

)ola

s H

umph

rey

says

:

It's

nal l

ike

we

wan

t thc

m (

WI

(lc

gu O

M)

SO

CIle

e.SH

IM'

Wh

ent

Ite

Intl

Whe

ts 0

10 th

ough

t sci

-

ence

tins

bor

ing

pr im

poss

ible

gel t

o a

poin

t 0.Id

e1.e

sat'

"Hey

. thi

s is

n't s

o ba

d. It

S

actu

ally

fitn.

I st

ill w

ant t

o be

a ch

ef n

ot 0

sci

entis

t. bu

t rm

gleu

l I g

ot ti

tast

eliw

But

ther

e is

a fl

ip s

ide

to th

e

kind

of l

earn

ing

pnw

es-:

Exp

lain

-er

s ar

e C

NI1

0S('(

.1 tI

C;.1

1t1

1(2

Exp

lora

-

toriu

m.

1 la

nds-

on. i

nqui

ry-h

ased

.

hve-

torin

que

stio

ning

is n

ot a

styl

e of

edu

catio

n th

at is

pra

ctic

ed

in m

o.it

publ

icor

priv

ateh

igh

sch(

)ols

. Sev

eral

Exp

lain

ers

have

,.orn

e ha

ck a

nd to

ld D

arle

ne th

at

they

sig

ned

up fo

r sc

ienc

e cl

assy

,at

thei

r hi

gh s

choo

k, o

nk. t

o he

disa

ppoi

nted

Jin

d bo

red

by th

e

a th

e su

bjec

t was

taug

ht.

\ Stin

t Ci'

.111

1.\l

/Liln

l'ran

11"I

iC1

''1)

111_

Iit,

i stu

dent

s

.10(

I get

oth

er jo

hs.

\Ian\

rea

ti/e

that

the

lc\ e

l ol

iesp

onsi

hilit

. titi

st..1

11(1

they

lia(

.1.it

the

mus

eum

is n

otkl

uplit

ateL

l in

othe

r (.

.ntr

\

RA

nsw

er

rs

au

ec

tj

an.

posi

tions

. One

stu

dent

cam

e ba

ckto

Vis

it an

d co

mpl

aine

d th

at:

I did

n't k

now

this

was

suc

ha

gant

lob

until

I ,t.

..),O

t an-

uthe

r)(

q gi

ly5

Wer

erc

aill'

Ct)

(Il I

NIs

s('s

. )in

t

me

use

my

brai

n an

d m

ake

my

own

deci

sion

s an

d .1

Pli

didn

't go

(m

anta

sav

ing

'ller

e ar

e th

e ru

les

and

.rol

lth

em a

nd th

atS

that

.-M

an, I

mis

s th

is p

lace

1 he

re a

re 1

11.1

11V

slle

C('S

S S

t( )

ies

111

)111

the

Exp

lain

er p

rogr

am. 1

tall

a

doze

n se

nior

sta

ff m

embe

rs a

t the

Exp

lora

toriu

m s

tart

ed th

eir

care

ers

as E

xpla

iner

s. S

ome

stud

ents

ret

urn

,1S

inte

rns.

or

in o

ther

par

t-tim

e

posi

tions

in th

e m

useu

m. O

ther

s

go C

m to

col

lege

stud

ents

who

had

neve

r gi

ven

that

a (

11(

/ligh

t

hero

n ..

bein

g an

Exp

lain

er. A

le\\

haev

en g

one

on to

bec

ome

teac

h('P

s. C

ngill

elT

s. ;1

11(1

Ph

1).s

in

WO

Ph\

of in

tere

sts

..par

ked

lw th

eir

time

itth

t: 1:

xplim

-atm

rium

.

But

mos

t of t

he s

tude

nts

who

hav

e be

en E

xpla

iner

s go

back

out

into

the

wor

ld a

ndgo

on

with

thei

r hv

es. T

hey

know

a h

ue m

ore

abou

t sci

-en

ce. a

nd a

lot m

ore

abou

t

peop

le a

nd h

ow to

get

alo

ng.

The

y ar

e m

ore

awar

e of

thei

row

n ab

ilitie

s an

d st

reng

ths,

and

mos

! of t

hem

hav

e ga

ined

conf

iden

ce a

nd m

atur

ity. T

hey

have

lear

ned

skill

s th

at th

eyw

ill u

se th

rou0

out t

heir

life-

times

and

that

is a

suc

cess

stor

y in

itse

lf. A

108

9 E

x-pl

aine

r su

mm

ed it

up

nice

ly:

}Ott

ask

wha

t nviC

lear

ned

by M

e en

d of

the

sem

este

r? It

e're

lear

ned

a lo

t abo

ut p

eopl

e. :1

lot

abou

t sci

ence

. too

. But

MH

Say

it's

pcu

ple.

Ihni

.ta

lk w

ith th

em. h

ow to

act

with

them

and

I Min

k I'm

g(Iin

g to

rem

embe

r th

at M

e

re.s

t of m

y ly

e

4.

,

'

29

App

endi

x

Sam

ple

recr

uifi

ng le

tter

mai

led

to p

rosp

ectiv

ete

ache

rs a

nd s

choo

lad

min

istr

ator

s.

30

Aug

ust 3

0, 1

9

Dea

r T

each

ers/

Cou

nsel

ors:

The

Exp

lora

tori

um is

abo

ut to

beg

in o

ur F

all 1

9E

xpla

iner

sem

este

r. W

e w

ould

like

to in

vite

thre

est

uden

ts f

rom

you

r sc

hool

or

agen

cy to

app

ly.

Inte

rvie

ws

will

be

held

fro

m S

epte

mbe

r 21

thro

ugh

Sept

embe

r 25

. If

you

have

any

stu

dent

s yo

u th

ink

mig

htbe

inte

rest

ed in

wor

king

as

a E

xpla

iner

, the

y m

ay b

egin

calli

ng (

415)

563

-733

7 fo

r an

app

oint

men

t sta

rtin

gSe

ptem

ber

1, I

9.

Enc

lose

d is

a s

hort

jobd

escr

iptio

n, a

n E

xplo

rato

rium

broc

hure

:and

a c

opy

of th

e m

ost r

ecen

t iss

ue o

f th

eE

xpla

iner

Pro

gram

new

slet

ter.

Plea

se p

ost t

his

lette

r in

you

r cl

assr

oom

or

offi

ce.

Ifyo

u-ha

ve a

ny q

uest

ions

abo

ut th

e po

sitio

n, y

ou m

ay c

all

Jam

ie B

ell o

r D

arle

ne L

ibre

ro a

t (41

5) 5

61-0

342.

Thu

nk y

ou,

"1-C

PY7?

124

funi

e B

ell

Man

ager

. Exp

lain

er P

rogr

am

61

The

Exp

lora

tori

um's

Stu

dent

Exp

lain

er P

rogr

am

Req

uire

men

tsM

atur

e hi

gh s

choo

l fre

shm

en: s

opho

mor

es. j

unio

rs. o

rse

nior

s: c

olle

ge f

resh

men

Art

icul

ate

Ope

n to

lear

ning

new

idea

sIn

tere

sted

in w

orki

ng w

ith p

eopl

e w

ithi

n zj

mus

eum

stru

ctur

eA

bac

kgro

und

in s

cien

ce is

not

req

uire

d.

Job

Des

crip

tion

Act

as

a m

useu

m g

uide

, hel

per.

and

1w

:trol

ler

Ave

rage

com

mitm

enttw

o to

fou

r m

onth

sA

ttend

sch

edul

ed le

ctur

es a

bOut

the

mus

eum

'sex

hibi

ts (

6(1

hour

s)A

ssis

t sta

ff in

mus

eum

or.

ratio

n an

d ex

hibi

tm

aint

enan

ce

Pay

rate

is $

4.25

pct

. hou

r(i

nclu

ding

trai

ninc

... s

essi

ons)

Hou

rsA

vaila

ble

shif

ts. S

prin

g an

d Fa

ll se

mes

ters

:2-

3 w

eekd

ay a

fter

noon

s (1

:30-

5:30

p.m

.) a

ndW

eeke

nds

9:30

a.m

. to

5:30

p.m

. or

Wee

kend

s on

ly (

9:30

a.m

. to

5:30

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