- 期刊
科學博物館展示的兒童尺度：人性因素探討
An Exhibition Yardstick for Children in Science Museum: An Exploration of Human Elements
並列摘要
Child education was not really given much attention until the end of the 19th century when children were first recognized as a basis for education. In the century that has passed since then, museum exhibitions for children have emphasized a feeling of comfort and safety in the materials and the environment of such exhibitions, while seeking to attract the curiosity and interest of children as they pass by so that they gain a better learning experience from viewing the exhibitions. In order to satisfy these needs many factors involving personnel, materials, sites and other aspects must be considered, including the needs themselves and the basic inner nature of people. In other words, museum exhibitions must be based above all on people, with an understanding as to the many different types of children and the variables associated with them. In the realm of humanistic psychology, there is Maslow's theory regarding the needs of people. Among human factors engineering objectives the emphasis is on 'designing to fit use by people'. The need-hierarchy theory of Maslow-physical needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs and self-actualization needs adding in the many factors involved human elements' engineering: these are all used as a yardstick to determine how appropriate exhibit may be for young museum visitors. Four factors are identified here for consideration when designing an exhibit for children in a science museum. 1) Physical structure In order for an exhibit to be suitable for children to view it, the first consideration must be that it is the right size for them. This means using the discipline of anthropometry to make sure that everything is on the right scale for kids. 2) Psychological effects Psychological effects can be classified into the desire for knowledge, self-esteem, self-actualization and other basic needs. Children are constantly exploring, analyzing, organizing and looking for knowledge or 'the truth' satisfy their curiosity. This is all used constructing a system of self-awareness and values. Thus the materials used in museum exhibits for children should not be too difficult for them to grasp, and they should not pose questions without offering answers as well. 3) Behavioral characterisrics Human actions are born of general psychological reactions. We all know that the best way for children to learn is through play. But one pre-requisite for allowing children to learn this way is that museum exhibitions must be safe and that every option possible must not involve any king of danger. By 'safe' here we mean not just physically safe, but also mentally safe. 4) Society and Culture Children live amid the ebb and flow of culture, thus it is impossible to avoid considering the effects of the cultural environment on them. This is particularly crucial given the fact that the museums in Taiwan are relatively inexperienced in exhibition design and must often either have exhibits developed by companies overseas or have experts come to Taiwan to help our with design work. This is unavoidable to some extent, but if cultural differences are not taken into account, what effects will these exhibitions have on the true needs of children when they visit them? The final part of this article deals with exhibitions in the Children's Science Center of the NSTM, looking at them from an opposing viewpoint to find examples where they fail to measure up to this 'yardstick' for appropriateness for children. By doing this we hope to emphasize the importance of human elements in developing exhibition designs.