The Open Lot

EDUC 303x: Designing Learning SpacesMay 30, 2008

Dave HaynieDana NelsonSarah Parikh

Nesra Yannier

Documents on previous ideas

Connect the community through the history of the area

Connect the community to nature by observing and interacting with it

Inspire wonder and curiosity in children and adults

Create a sunny-day destinationsunny-day destination

Attract and accommodate large number of visitors (400,000 annually)

Offer new interactive exhibits that respond to children's diverse educational needs

Invite self-directed, open-ended exploration

Share the importance of the river as a life source

Tell a story through the exhibit

“Any natural place contains an infinite reservoir of information, and therefore the potential for inexhaustible new discoveries.”

–Richard Louv

Make it equal to or more exciting than the indoor space

Tell a story through the exhibits [Exploratorium]

Learning should be a high priority in the outdoor space

Create a unique gateway to the outside area and a the pathway through the exhibits clearly marked and visible [Exploratorium]

Include places to sit and connect

Create visibility within the area, especially from the sitting areas

Consider the weather and positioning of the sun [Y2E2]

Partitions and groupings of exhibits on the same topic may also help visitors to make connections between exhibits [Exploratorium]

Include both single user and multiple user exhibits [Solitary vs Shared]

Cycles of Life

Exploration

Adventure

Bugs/Animal Life

Water

River History

Cultures

Camps of Inhabitants

Ecology—human impact

Nature and science: shadows, rainbows, sky, sun/moon, magnetism, rocks, fire

Navigation—compass, maps, GPS orientation

Identification of Nature—plants, insects, trees, etc.

Weather—rain, clouds, snow, fog, temperature, thunder/lightning, etc.

Microscope play—bucket river water, mud

Ropes—pioneering

Energy sources—sun, windmill, watermill

Bones—digging and discovery

Optics—light

Transparency

Visibility and interest generation

Fort wall w/ raised walkway

Writing surfaces built in

Interchangeable panels/content

Sand art in the wall

Waterfall/waterway—collecting rainwater

Exhibits in the wall (ant farm, etc. cross sections), animal homes/windows

Interactive on both sides—3D pins

Surfaces where kids can display their artwork

1769-1846: Spanish explorers colonize California

1777: Mission San Jose is founded

1846: California is annexed to the US

1887: San Jose’s Chinese population builds Woolen Mills, Chinatown (burned down in 1902)

1966: Guadalupe Parkway built

Other River Inhabitants (insects)

Chinese Immigrants

Spanish Missionaries

Ohlone Indians

Prehistoric Animals

A variety of other creatures inhabit the river as well, including insects, reptiles, and mammalsExhibit Ideas

Use the wall to demonstrate living spaces of other local inhabitants

Ants, bees, squirrels, coyotes, etc.Fence Implications

Cross sections of fence may display insects in action

Portions of fence may hold interactive homes where children may crawl through

Brief history:

Presence in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley since early 1850s

Majority peasants from villages in southern China Seeking gold and good wages to send back to China

to support their families and villages Late 19th century San Jose’s agricultural and industrial

economy relied on Chinese labor Built houses along river Established and worked in Woolen Mills on river

Exhibit Ideas

Energy sources in nature – industrial economy

How people create energy from nature• Windmill• Watermill• Solar power

Fence Implications

Front of Chinese house as part of fence Ladder going up to balcony – climb up peek

through the windows and see the river Kids paint the walls of the house, add

bricks to some parts Water mill – lighting up bulbs in the house Rainy weather – collect rain water, run

faster, more energy created

How the fence fits in

front of a Chinese house as one of the parts of the fence

ladder going up to the balcony – climb up peek through the windows and see the river

Kids paint the walls of the house, add bricks to some parts

Water mill – lighting up bulbs in the house Rainy weather – collect rain water, run faster, more

energy created

Brief History:

Santa Clara Mission was founded in 1777 along the Guadalupe River.

Founders probably traveled here by boat.

It had to be rebuilt many times due to floods and earthquakes.

Look out to the Guadalupe River

Build small towers with actual building materials

Plant, care for, and harvest crops

Use navigation techniques including compass and GPS

Learning

Can visitors navigate to specified locations? Are the plants growing? Do visitors come back and check on them? Are kids more interested in gardening at home?

Fence implications

The tower should be close to the fence. The tower or mission style walls could be part of

the fence.

Building Tule reed huts

Using a mortar and pestle to make paint

Harvesting (snacking on) indigenous edible plants

Learning

Learn a bit about the people who used to live in this area Enduring understanding: the environment is rich and full of

plants that can be used for building shelter, painting, and eating

Assessment: How much time is spent at this exhibit? Do people try to build? Do they experiment with the mortar and pestle? Later, can kids recognize berries that are safe to eat?

Fence Implications

Fence integrates indigenous plants and building materials Berries can grow on the fence-- an edible fence! Can have windows to look out at river

Grizzly bear

Black bear

Tule elk

Black-tailed deer

Pronghorn

Mountain Lion

Raccoon

Gray Fox

Coyote

Dog/wolf/coyote

Rabbit

Jackrabbit

Bobcat

Skunk

California sea lion

Sea otter

Harbor seal

Goose

Duck

Crane

Hawk

Eagle

Loon

Pelican

Western Grebe

Cormorant

Learning

Time spent digging Number of Holes Dug Number of Bones found Number of Bones

Identified Success in identifying

bones

How the fence fits in

Section of wall with bones in it could be incorporated into the fence

Prototyping

Select visitor use prior to full museum access Includes observations, filming, interviews, etc.

Roll-out Review

Intense scrutiny of learning and responses upon initial opening Observations, questioning, surveys

Direct Assessments Through Use

How long do visitors spend at exhibits How much of a given input is used—maps, paint, bricks, cards, etc. How many people follow up online on exhibit website How many drawings are posted, questions left

Scheduled Assessments

At regularly scheduled intervals (e.g., every other year) perform an inventory of leaning impact on guests

Piaget

Theory of Cognitive Development: emergence and construction of schema Preoperational period (years 2-7)-- need experiences, logic skills

not refined Concrete operational period (years 7-11)-- more developed

classification and logic skills

Jerome Bruner

Discovery Learning Students are more likely to remember concepts if they discover

them on their own Instructional Scaffolding

Sufficient supports (such as a compelling task or resources) promote learning when concepts are first introduced.