试论儿童科普展览的内容设计与形式设计

荣正通 钟诸俍

Abstract The psychological and physiological characteristics of children should be taken into consideration during the designs of popular science exhibitions for children. Among the major principles are safety， entertainment and education. In a word， the designs， including content and form， ought to be the integration of education and entertainment.

Keywords exhibition design， museums， children

0 Introduction

Children are the flowers and future of a nation. Developing their interest in science and technology is a part of the responsibilities of museums as well as has influence on the innovation potentiality of a nation. This essay， drawing lessons from the experience in the exhibition designs of Qian Xuesen Library & Museum in Shanghai Jiao Tong University， deals with the normal rules and requirements of popular science exhibitions for children， which inevitably deserve attention to the psychological and physiological characteristics of children.

1 The content designs of popular science exhibitions for children

In the basic process of the content design， the three most important procedures involve deciding on the theme， choosing the exhibits and figuring out the captions.

An appropriate theme may determine the attraction of the exhibition to visitors. Albert Einstein said： "Interest is the best teacher." Besides the school， children acquire knowledge and academic experience mainly due to the interest. Therefore， museums should try to find out the particular interests of the target groups through questionnaires so as to avoid choosing themes and exhibits mainly out of their assumptions. In recent years， many primary schools in China attach more importance to teaching scientific knowledge， so courses concerning nature and science are offered. Museums should make full use of the advantages of their rich collections and convenient facilities to serve as the second classroom of popular science education for children. Thus， the themes of popular science exhibitions for children should comply with the interests and expectations of children， and even the relevant courses rendered in primary schools.

The arrangement of exhibitions， in a broad sense， should include not only the selection of specific exhibits such as texts， pictures， audios and videos， but also the combination of different display methods such as computer presentation， hands-on， man-machine dialogue and game activities. Children， whose mind is filled with curiosity and imagination about new knowledge and yet whose cognitive level is still low and whose attention span is short， are very eager to participate in the exploration for new knowledge and experiences in museums. It is difficult for them to think in an abstract way because they are used to associating abstract concepts with specific objects or situations. Children visit popular science exhibitions not only for learning but also for amusement. Therefore， the core idea of popular science exhibitions for children is "learning by doing". When we plan a popular science exhibition for children， we should take whether children can get pleasure from the experiences as the fundamental standard， which determines the success of the exhibition.

We shouldnt ignore the difference between children and adults in perception， memory， language and reasoning. In the designs of popular science exhibitions， we should develop instructional activities of different depths according to childrens knowledge reserve at different ages. The design principle is the unity of interest and science. In recent years， Qian Xuesen Library & Museum has developed a series of activities named "Aerospace DIY" for primary school students. It provides "magic water" and "flip the villain" projects for pupils of first-grade and second-grade， "vertical magnetic gyro"， "pig climbing pole" and "transmitter" projects for pupils from second-grade to fourth-grade， "static model aircraft"， "self-made space launcher"， "electromagnetic swing" and "solar fan" projects for pupils from third-grade to fifth-grade. In these colorful and interesting activities， through playing games and doing experiments， children can not only learn scientific knowledge， but also cultivate the spirit of exploration for new knowledge.

In addition， we need to take into account the visiting behavior of children when choosing locations of exhibits. Related research shows that： children of 7～9 years old can concentrate on what they are doing only for 20 min or so， children of 10～12 years old only for 25～35 minutes. In other words， after staying for about half an hour in the museum， children may get tired physically and mentally. Therefore， we should rationally design the whole exhibition visiting time. In the former half of the visit， children usually have a quick glance at the exhibits. When they encounter an attractive exhibit， they may stay a little longer. In the latter half of the visit， children usually take a leap of the visit， namely looking around aimlessly. They occasionally stop to watch an exhibit which they are interested in. Therefore， we should try to arrange the main contents of the exhibition in the former half of the exhibition. At the same time， we should try to arrange those large exhibits or exquisite exhibits in the latter half of the exhibition. In the exhibition named "Dream in Space： the Grand Voyage of China's Manned Space Program" organized by Qian Xuesen Library & Museum， the rocket model， the spacesuit and the reentry capsule of spacecraft were arranged in the latter half of the exhibition. This makes young visitors feel excited again when they are feeling a bit tired.

When writing the captions of exhibits， we should use simple and familiar words. Since children's cognitive level is limited， its hard for them to understand the professional and lengthy obscure captions. Too many unfamiliar words may make children feel confused and frustrated. We should try to explain the profound professional knowledge by using simple words or short sentences. And we don't have to go into all the details.

2 The form design of popular science exhibitions for children

In the framework of the form designs of exhibitions， graphic and three dimensional designs， the multimedia display design and the interactive design are the most important parts.

In terms of physiology and psychology， children are not mature， so they are more likely to be affected by the environment than adults. In a relaxing and pleasant environment， their mood may remain more stable， their mentality more open， the time of their acquiring knowledge shorter. We should comprehensively use the graphic and three-dimensional decorations in the exhibition halls and the public area in order to provide a comfortable learning environment for young visitors. As we all know， details determine success or failure. The lighting of the exhibition halls should not affect their eyesight. Booths should be made of wood and have rounded corners， instead of hard metal materials so as to avoid any accidental injury. In order to facilitate their reading， the signs should be arranged in the eye-catching positions， the height should be lowered accordingly， and the font of words should be enlarged properly.

Children's perception of things is mainly intuitive， so they are easy to be affected by colors， patterns and sounds. The walls of the exhibition halls should be painted with bright and cheerful colors which help children stay excited. Its advisable for the walls of the public area to have neutral or light cool colors which help children to remain calm， so that they can have a better rest. At the same time， we should avoid using too many kinds of colors which can cause visual fatigue. When selecting the irradiation angle， the designer should pay attention to the height difference between children and adults in order to obtain the best effect. For large exhibits， light should not be irradiated from the bottom so as to avoid light pollution. We can print interesting cartoon characters on the panels in accordance with the themes， which help make serious scientific exhibitions lovely.

The learning styles of children and adults are different. Adults learn knowledge mainly by thinking logically， while children learn knowledge from physical experiences. Children's brain is in a period of rapid development， so their emotion tends to be up and down within a short period of time and lack of self-control. Yet they are good at association and imitation. In the design of popular science exhibitions for children， children should not be regarded as completely passive recipients of knowledge. The designer ought to guide them to become active explorers of knowledge. Interactive multimedia exhibitions can fully mobilize children's visual， auditory and tactile sensations， and then leave a deep impression in their minds which help deepen their absorption of scientific knowledge. In the exhibition named "Turn the Desert into Fertile Soil： Memory of the 30th Anniversary of the Sixth Industrial Revolution Theory put forward by Qian Xuesen"， Qian Xuesen Library & Museum designed a series of interactive educational programs for children. For example， in the desert jigsaw puzzle， children can know locations and characteristics of the deserts on the earth， and learn about various kinds of plants and animals in the deserts.

The younger the children are， the more important it is for them to learn by themselves. In popular science exhibitions for children， interactive experience area should be relatively isolated so as to help them concentrate on what they are doing. The designer should set aside enough space beside the experiment table for children to observe and communicate. In order to ensure the safety of the activities， the museum must assign staff or volunteers to offer regular professional guidance to help children complete scientific experiments and manual production projects. Because some children tend to get too excited and then act out of control when playing games， the designer should take into account all potential risks in advance.

3 Conclusion

Museums should strive to realize the ideals of "combine education with amusement" and "teach through lovely activities" in the new era. The popular science exhibitions for children should be occasions that guide children into the palace of science as well as help them grow merrily. One of the goals of exhibitions is to help children develop the good habit of scientific requiry， which is as important as that of popularizing scientific and cultural knowledge. We must provide young visitors with the best interactive visiting experiences conforming to their physiological and psychological characteristics. It is always our dream to help them enjoy the experience as well as gain knowledge in well-designed popular science exhibitions under the premise of safety.

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