1.016 Communicating Complex Environmental Issues: Designing and Building Interactive Museum ...
Spring 2007
Instructors: Rafael L Bras, Ari W Epstein, Stephen W Rudolph
TAs: Allison R Brown, Erika M Erickson, Holly R Johnson, Sean C Morton, Holly E Owens, Lisa Song, LeVon T Thomas, Kristin L Uhmeyer, Aron Walker, Rodrigo Zeledon
Lecture: MW3-4.30 (16-168)
Information:
Students will form teams of about five members each; each team will
draw on knowledge gained during the Fall Terrascope subject
(12.000), as well as additional research, to produce an
interactive, museum-style exhibit about subjects related to New
Orleans, Katrina, and other related topics. The project will
involve research, design, engineering, construction and writing. As
in other Terrascope subjects, most of what we do will be in
individual teams and will be guided strongly by the students’ own
interest and enthusiasm. In addition to this team work, there will
be lectures, discussions and readings designed to help raise
awareness of the issues that arise when designing exhibits, and of
the benefits and pitfalls of this unique form of
communication.
Announcements
Syllabus
Meeting times:
Class: Monday and Wednesday, 3:00-4:30 PM,
16-168 (until construction begins, when we move to
1-090).
Recitation: Friday, 3:00-4:00, 16-168
(until construction begins, when we move to 1-090). Note:
These are not traditional recitations—they are primarily time set
aside for teams to meet with UTFs and develop plans, build
prototypes or exhibit components, etc.
Description:
Students will form teams of
about five members each; each team will draw on knowledge gained
during the Fall Terrascope subject (12.000), as well as additional
research, to produce an interactive, museum-style exhibit about
subjects related to New Orleans, Katrina, and other related topics.
The project will involve research, design, engineering,
construction and writing. As in other Terrascope subjects, most of
what we do will be in individual teams and will be guided strongly
by the students’ own interest and enthusiasm. In addition to this
team work, there will be lectures, discussions and readings
designed to help raise awareness of the issues that arise when
designing exhibits, and of the benefits and pitfalls of this unique
form of communication.
Objectives:
This class gives Terrascopers
an opportunity to exercise and strengthen the teamwork skills they
have developed in 12.000. In this subject, students will also
gain:
·
Experience in design,
engineering and prototyping.
·
Experience working on a
physical project in a group setting.
·
A greater awareness of
how people learn scientific ideas and how information can be
communicated outside the formal educational context.
·
A deeper knowledge of
the scientific, economic and political issues involving New Orleans
and Katrina.
Grading policy:
This
class will be graded as: A/B/C/No Record, based on the following
formula:
·
30%
Attendance, class participation and assessment (by UTFs and
instructors) of individual effort.
·
20%
Personal “Developer’s Journal,” written in weekly installments over
the course of the semester.
·
20%
Team assignments: preliminary proposal, prototype, final proposal,
etc.
·
5%
Condition of the team’s work area during construction.
·
25%
Final exhibit.
Announced on 08 March 2007 10:17 p.m. by Maria Shkolnik