Grocott's Mail
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Sunday, June 15
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Grocott's Mail
    • NEWS
      • Courts & Crime
      • Features
      • Politics
      • People
      • Health & Well-being
    • SPORT
      • News
      • Results
      • Sports Diary
      • Club Contacts
      • Columns
      • Sport Galleries
      • Sport Videos
    • OPINION
      • Election Connection
      • Makana Voices
      • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
      • Newtown… Old Eyes
      • Incisive View
      • Your Say
    • ARTSLIFE
      • Cue
        • Cue Archives
      • Makana Sharp!
      • Visual Art
      • Literature
      • Food
      • Festivals
      • Community Arts
      • Going Places
    • OUR TOWN
      • What’s on
      • Spiritual
      • Emergency & Well-being
      • Covid-19
      • Safety
      • Civic
      • Municipality
      • Weather
      • Properties
        • Grahamstown Properties
      • Your Town, Our Town
    • OUTSIDE
      • Enviro News
      • Gardening
      • Farming
      • Science
      • Conservation
      • Motoring
      • Pets/Animals
    • ECONOMIX
      • Business News
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Personal Finance
    • EDUCATION
      • Education NEWS
      • Education OUR TOWN
      • Education INFO
    • EDITORIAL
    Grocott's Mail
    You are at:Home»Uncategorized»Banter from Bahrain: Do we really need the real thing?
    Uncategorized

    Banter from Bahrain: Do we really need the real thing?

    Grocott's MailBy Grocott's MailNovember 6, 2014No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    There is a debate in museum and science centre circles at the moment about the value of the ‘real thing’.

    There is a debate in museum and science centre circles at the moment about the value of the ‘real thing’.

    Museums have always placed great importance on collecting, studying, archiving and displaying ‘real’ natural and cultural history objects.

    Then the upstart science centres came along and said that real things aren’t important – what is important is the take-home message.

    Science centres therefore developed their interface with the public around interactive displays that have no intrinsic value but are designed to convey a strong message.

    The strength of this message is enhanced by the fact that the public engage – physically, mentally and emotionally – with the interactive displays.

    Visitors to science centres, therefore, learn by doing rather than just by observing an object or reading a label.

    Learning through active engagement with a display has been shown by the Agastya Foundation in India to be significantly more efficient than learning by looking.

    There is no doubt that the ‘real thing’ has enormous emotional appeal.

    Touching George Stephenson’s original ‘Rocket’ steam engine in the Science Museum in London or the Wright brothers’ Flyer in the Smithsonian in Washington DC, is an unforgettable experience.

    But the ‘real thing’ is not always the most popular attraction. During the height of his fame Charlie Chaplin once travelled secretly from Hollywood to England.

    While in London he heard about a Charlie Chaplin look-alike competition, so he decided to enter.

    Guess what? He came third!

    In China they have built, as a film set, a full-scale replica of the Forbidden City, the largest palace complex in the world.

    Over 11 million people visited the fake complex in 2013 and the Chinese authorities predict that by 2015 there will be more visitors to the replica than the real thing.

    But now museums and science centres have found the ideal solution – let’s combine the best of our two worlds! Artifact-based museums are introducing interactive displays into their repertoire and science centres are displaying examples of the ‘real thing’.

    The Bahrain Science Centre is fortunate in that it has both interactive displays as well as real objects.

    The real objects include a magnificent collection of skeletons of Arabian animals, including camels, horses, oryx, dolphins, dugongs, saluki dogs, mountain goats, gazelles, hares, turtles, snakes, ostrich, pelicans, ibises, flamingoes and eagles as well as the superb skeleton of a Bryde’s whale on display on the archway in front of the building.

    It’s a win-win situation.

    Previous ArticleAre the wheels coming off AIG?
    Next Article Art breaks barriers
    Grocott's Mail

      Comments are closed.

      Code of Ethics and Conduct
      GROCOTT’S SUBSCRIPTION
      RMR
      Listen to RMR


      Humans of Makhanda

      Humans of Makhanda

      Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

      © 2025 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.