I had a really great time today talking to a seminar on scientific visualization and art, at the University of Colorado, Boulder, hosted by Dr. Stephanie V. Chasteen. Stephanie previously held my current position as a post doctoral fellow at the Exploratorium.
The talk focused on my transition from a scientist to an artist, and how this transition was aided and shaped by Bay Area culture. I mentioned all the fantastic experiences I’ve had with Burning Man, The Crucible, West Oakland, Maker Faire, The Exploratorium and The Science Gallery (which is in Ireland, not California, but deserved to be mentioned.)
I used a fantastic new presentation tool call Prezi to put the talk together. If you give allot of presentations I highly recommend giving Prezi a try. It’s a web app, and it’s free. I’ve embeded the presentation below.
2 Comments
Are you familiar with Dave Eggers’ 826 project, which started in SF (at 826 Valencia)? I’d heard of it, but only just saw his TED talk. They’re funky, creative, community based tutoring centers in major metro areas around the country. They’re pretty focused on writing and other linguistic arts, but I’ve been wondering if the model could be adapted to work with math/science/engineering. It seems like most people see writing and language as generally more about expression than science or engineering, but I don’t think it has to be that way, and obviously neither does the Exploratorium, or Maker Faire, or the Burning Man crowd. I think it would be awesome if we could create an 826-like participatory science community center for kids.
Thank’s for your comment. I’m very familiar with Eggers and his 826 projects. I live a few blocks away from the first 826 store (The Pirate Store). I love the direction you are thinking in here. Participatory science centers for kids (and adults) is at the core of what we do at the Exploratorium. In addition to the museum floor we have a whole host of outreach programs and events that strive to create these environments. I know this is also a key component of Make. In fact, at Maker Faire there is a whole section that is focused on kids. I can also tell you that in 2012 when the Exploratorium moves to our new building we are going to have an entire section of the museum floor that is dedicated to creating the exact type of space you are suggesting.
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] is a link to his presentation (which was made with a wonderful new tool called Prezi — I have to try this [...]
Post a Comment