(Reposted from January 18, 2012)

Our brain demands we follow certain rules and processes, developed over evolutionary time, to make sense of information and keep us from being eaten by lions or wolves.

Researchers tell us that the brain essentially processes and files new knowledge in three steps: focus, comparison, and building relationships. Museums report that on average, a visitor spends 46 seconds at an interactive exhibit before moving on. If so, in the first few engaging seconds, any exhibit we create should force focus and then hit the other two steps in order.

According to a panel of experts smarter than me, one way is to start by asking the visitor a question. What do you want to know? How can we find out? What does it remind you of? At the root of each answer is a need to make sense of a problem or issue. Asking them, then, to compare the issue to something familiar forces the visitor to focus, but also recall information they already know, define parameters, and concentrate on two or more things at once.  To make sense of these comparisons, the brain is forced to establish relationships, which leads to developing concepts.  If “red” and “”yellow” are comparisons, “color” is the concept that develops. Concepts are not in this world (empirical). They are in our heads and are what differentiate us from that lion.

So, what are some practical tactics and applications of these ideas in exhibits? According to those same panel of experts:

— When we’re creating an exhibit, it’s not about cramming in the highest possible learning per square foot. People need “white space” as much in an exhibit as they do on the written or virtual page. That space gives people time to process.

— Slow people down; increase their linger time
— Provide a low buy-in threshold (low-hanging rewards), but let the visitor take the activity as high as it can go for them
— Honor existing social interactions between people (parents, co-workers, chaperones, docents, etc) who can help discuss comparisons and relationships. Also, allow for peripheral or group observation. Interaction with other people is key. There’s proof to the axiom that “all learning is social.”
— Create a collaborative, not competitive, environment
— Create experiences worth having and remembering: Stretch them and challenge them to learn something new.

— Learning is not terminal: we don’t stop learning at any time in our conscious lives. Think across generations!