The Royal Panopticon of Science & Art, Leicester Square, WC2 February 12, 2014
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The British middle and upper classes saw Queen Victoria’s reign as a time of great discovery and many of London’s great museums, galleries and exhibitions – including the Great Exhibition of 1851 – opened in the 1850s. Surviving examples are the Victoria and Albert (debuting in 1852 as Museum of Manufacture), the National Portrait Gallery (1856), the Reading Room at the British Museum (1857), and the Natural History Museum (1860). One that did not fare as well was The Royal Panopticon of Science & Art, opened on March 18th, 1854.
via The Royal Panopticon of Science & Art, Leicester Square, WC2.
Is the Exploratorium Flunking Itself? | Leaping Robot Blog | Patrick McCray September 24, 2013
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When the Exploratorium burst onto the museum scene in 1969, it heralded the arrival of a new era of interactive display that was at once modest and remarkable, conservative and path-breaking. Modesty shone thru in its creative method, which was scrappy, open-ended, and experimental, even while its institutional vision of redefining the museum experience was expansive and its faith in the scientific method bordered on naïve.
via Is the Exploratorium Flunking Itself? | Leaping Robot Blog | Patrick McCray.
US NSF – EHR – DRL – Division Static Template June 23, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Academic Technology, Science Education, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
DRL invests in projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM learning for people of all ages. Its mission includes promoting innovative research, development, and evaluation of learning and teaching across all STEM disciplines by advancing cutting-edge knowledge and practices in both formal and informal learning settings. DRL also promotes the broadening and deepening of capacity and impact in the educational sciences by encouraging the participation of scientists, engineers, and educators from the range of disciplines represented at NSF. Therefore, DRLs role in the larger context of Federal support for education research and evaluation is to be a catalyst for change—advancing theory, method, measurement, development, and application in STEM education. The Division seeks to advance both early, promising innovations as well as larger-scale adoptions of proven educational innovations. In doing so, it challenges the field to create the ideas, resources, and human capacity to bring about the needed transformation of STEM education for the 21st century.
Oral History Transcript — Dr. Frank Oppenheimer March 29, 2013
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Oral History Transcript — Dr. Frank OppenheimerThis transcript may not be quoted, reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part by any means except with the written permission of the American Institute of Physics.This transcript is based on a tape-recorded interview deposited at the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics. The AIPs interviews have generally been transcribed from tape, edited by the interviewer for clarity, and then further edited by the interviewee. If this interview is important to you, you should consult earlier versions of the transcript or listen to the original tape. For many interviews, the AIP retains substantial files with further information about the interviewee and the interview itself. Please contact us for information about accessing these materials.Please bear in mind that: 1 This material is a transcript of the spoken word rather than a literary product; 2 An interview must be read with the awareness that different peoples memories about an event will often differ, and that memories can change with time for many reasons including subsequent experiences, interactions with others, and ones feelings about an event. Disclaimer: This transcript was scanned from a typescript, introducing occasional spelling errors. The original typescript is available.
Remembering the California Museum of Science & Industry March 28, 2013
Posted by sandyclaus in Art and Science, Exploratorium, Museum History, Science Museum Environment.add a comment
As for images of the old CMSI, I am currently on a quest to acquire postcards, brochures, guidebooks, and any other memorabilia (especially from the 1970s; even photocopies will suffice).
Through exhaustive research, I have been able to amass a collection of precious images and articles and proudly display them on this site. I hope to add more as my search contiues, so please return soon for another look.
via Remembering the California Museum of Science & Industry.
Chemistry and the Public Sphere: Moments of Transition March 28, 2013
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.”Chemistry and the Public Sphere:
Moments of Transition
Marina 6
Chair: Jennifer Rampling (University of
Cambridge)
Commentator: Bernadette BensaudeVincent (Université Paris I, PanthéonSorbonne)
Sponsored by the Forum for the History of
the Chemical Sciences (FoHCS)
“Philosophical Instruments and Public
Display: New Modes of KnowledgeMaking and Demonstration in
Eighteenth-Century Chemistry
Courses,” John C. Powers (Virginia
Commonwealth University)
“Beyond Genius, Before Theory:
Recovering the Lost World of Practice
in Nineteenth-Century Chemistry,”
Catherine M. Jackson (University of
Notre Dame)
“Opportunity vs. Risk: The Changing
Culture of the Early 1960s,” Robert
Bud (Science Museum, London )
Part 1: Report from “Art as a Way of Knowing” Conference at Exploratorium March 28, 2013
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Roger Malina outlined four generations of art/science collaborations, loosely as follows:
1st generation: tied to the arts in industry movement of the 1880s, marked by an emphasis on photography and film, and art and design, citing the Bauhaus as an example.
2nd generation: the establishment of interdisciplinary centers in the 1960s and 70s, such as Center for Advanced Visual Studies, E.A.T., and Exploratorium. He called this a period of “techno optimism.”
3rd generation: marked by the birth of digital culture and “creative industries.” Organizations that are emblematic of this include IRCAM, Paris, Ars Electronica, V2, MediaLab Pradp. Attendant with a similar digital optimism.
Malina said the 4th wave that we’re witnessing now is defined by a collaborative impulse, networked consortiums, and the building of “a new kind of institution,” one that’s small and agile, and generally underfunded. Arts Catalyst, Science Gallery, Eyebeam, IMERA, Marseille, and others are exemplary of this new breed. This wave, he argued, is “art-world driven,” and tied to Mode 2 science – a new form of knowledge production that emerged from the mid 20th century which is context-driven, problem-focused and interdisciplinary. He also used the term “intimate science” to describe this type of practice.
via Part 1: Report from “Art as a Way of Knowing” Conference at Exploratorium.
Exploratorium Final Day San Francisco California (January 2, 2013) – YouTube March 28, 2013
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Published on Jan 5, 2013
The last day of operation for the Exploratorium at it’s Palace of Fine Arts location, which fell on a free admission day, after 43 years in its Marina district home. The new location at Pier 15 will open April 17, with more room and new exhibits.
via Exploratorium Final Day San Francisco California (January 2, 2013) – YouTube.
The Responsive Eye, Part 1 Mike Wallace 1965 – YouTube March 28, 2013
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Part 1: Report from “Art as a Way of Knowing” Conference at Exploratorium March 28, 2013
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The “Art as a Way of Knowing” opening keynote was given by Lawrence Weschler, author of several works of “creative non-fiction,” including Seeing is Forgetting the Name of What One Sees: Conversations with Robert Irwin, and Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder. Weschler began by talking about the 18th Century, before “art was split off from science.” He named the year 1637 as the beginning of this fissure, marked by the publication of René Descartes Discourse on the Method which birthed the famous quotation, “I think, therefore I am”. Weschler discussed Francis Bacon, and the “Age of Wonder,” and presented paintings of Wunderkammers as “interdisciplinary expressions of the wonders of creation.” He also elaborated on how the study of anatomy was originally an artistic pursuit, not a medical one. Weschler summarized the distinctions between creative and scientific inquiry as such: “The artist uses himself as the measure” while the scientist “uses an external logic process.” Throughout his talk, Weschler deftly wove-in slides of Old Master paintings and quotations of poetry, with more recent quotes from the likes of James Baldwin: “Let us lay bare the questions that have been precluded by answers.” It was a very romantic kick-off.
via Part 1: Report from “Art as a Way of Knowing” Conference at Exploratorium.
Culture Foam: Bubbling Up 
