The Academy of Natural Sciences Object

Walk Like a Dinosaur Exhibit

The object that I chose is the treadmill and dinosaur mechanism that makes up the "Walk Like a Dinosaur Exhibit."  This interactive can be very important for visitors that are seeking a hands on experience in the museum.  Children could particularly be interested in the object, because it forces them to engage with the information to fully understand how dinosaurs would move based on the alignment of their bones and joints.  Exhibiting information in this way allows for the visitors to have a visual understanding of the information that is being presented, and therefore can reach a broader sense of learners.  Not everyone can read a panel of information, or they do not want to read every single panel.  It is good to have materials for visitors to have an experience with.  I can assume that this is why it was included in the gallery.     

This object is displayed near real dinosaur bones so that visitors can connect the information that is being supplied with the real objects that are on display.  The label mentions how the bones are located right next to this exhibit, and it is written so that any visitor could understand and convey the information.  However, it might be difficult for young visitors to understand the term "vertebrate," and it is written a couple times on the panel.  But it could be easily explained by parents or adult visitors based on the information provided.

Paleontology is a subject that would definitely further my knowledge of this subject as well as biology.  It is important to know how species evolve and based on the fossils of dinosaurs, it shows us a species that is completely unknown.  It would also be good to understand the history and evolution of Earth over billions of years and how that effected the fossilization of these creatures.  A good website that outlines the this process can be found here.  Also, it would be good to know about geology and what types of climates these creatures were living in and how that impacted their skeletal structures.        

People who might not be interested in this object would be those who are physically not capable of operating it.  Also, it might be something that is uninteresting to those who believe that dinosaurs are some kind of conspiracy.  Although, I think that the amount of people who believe this are very slim in population.  People that do not learn through hands on experiences might not recognize the importance of this educational tool.  They might just view it as a fun aspect of the exhibit rather than an informative one.   

Currently, there are other types of interactives in the same exhibition space that demonstrate how different dinosaurs moved.  It allows for visitors to actually take the positions that dinosaurs would have walked in and take the steps that they have.  I think that it would also be good for imagery of these dinosaurs to be depicted, and also to have skeletal structures to be on display.  It might also be interesting to have a video display with graphics that depict the movement of a dinosaur while a person is operating the machine.  This would also enhance the engagement of visitors, by drawing attention to the exhibit and therefore more visitors would obtain the information.  Overall, this exhibit is really a great tool for visitors to interact with and engage with the information.  

The Academy of Natural Sciences