1997-99 Fellows    1994-96 Fellows    1991-93 Fellows    1988-90 Fellows

Barbara Rogoff
August and October, 1996



Barbara is professor of psychology and education at the University of California at Santa Cruz, as well as author of 'Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context; Everyday Cognition and A Community of Learners'. Her research into the social context of learning was of great use to management, exhibit, and program staff. She conducted a seminar on inquiry for the School in the Exploratorium, and held several discussion sessions with the high school Explainers on her research in cross-cultural learning differences in the U.S. and Guatemala. Barbara also launched a small experimental staff team to focus on an exhibit fix-up project, which brought staff from different departments together, enhancing cross-departmental communications.

James Crutchfield
February, April, and May, 1996



Jim is a physicist at the University of California at Berkeley, and research professor with the Santa Fe Institute, a research institute for studies in nonlinear dynamics and complex systems. During his fellowship, he served as senior advisor for the development of a special exhibition entitled 'Turbulent Landscapes: The Natural Forces that Shape our World'. He was highly effective in helping the exhibition team develop a series of communication goals for the overall exhibition, and also helped ensure accuracy in the content of the information conveyed to the general public through various interpretive materials. Jim was instrumental in securing a donation of a special "Netra Server" from Sun Microsystems, enabling the Exploratorium to enhance on-line programs, and to accommodate the numerous visitors to the Exploratorium's Web site. Jim also spent many hours in lengthy conversation and interviews to aid in the development of a random-access audio tour developed for the exhibition.

Edward T. Hall
November 1995, May 1996



Cultural anthropologist and prolific author, Edward returned as an Osher Fellow in November 1995 for the first part of a two-part fellowship. He lent his unique perspectives to a wide variety of exhibit development and program efforts throughout the Exploratorium. During his fellowship, he concentrated on the Refocusing of the floor project. Numerous provocative discussions were held with large numbers of staff in which Edward challenged many of the assumptions regarding the organization and content of the Exploratorium's public environment. Many of the ideas raised in these discussions have become key themes in the Refocusing planning effort. He also met with our School in the Exploratorium staff to discuss cultural issues related to working with diversity in the schools, and he held some lively sessions with our high school Explainers on the cultural differences the Explainers encounter as they assist the visitors on the exhibit floor.

Arthur Shimamura
October 1995 and March 1996



Art is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. His research background in biology and psychology enabled us to build strong conceptual foundations for the creation of a new exhibit area on memory. The first part of his fellowship was primarily focused on meeting with exhibit and program staff to provide an overview of fundamental ideas and questions in memory research. He also brought some of his graduate students to the museum to critique text for some of the prototype exhibit ideas. In addition to conceptual knowledge, Art provided us access to a wealth of resources in memory fields. In the spring, he helped organize a day-long advisory meeting for the Exploratorium's Memory project with top-level psychologists and neuroscientists.

Wynne Harlen
April 1995



Director of the Scottish Council for Research Education in Edinburgh, Wynne has worked to encourage schools to create learning situations in which the processes of science are used to develop conceptual understandings. She has also conducted extensive research in how children and adults use out-of-school experiences in more formal learning settings. Her wide-ranging research was of use in creating the pedagogical infrastructure of our National Center for Teacher Education, and in planning the Institute for Inquiry's inquiry-based curriculum programs.

Michael Spock
February and March, 1995



For twenty years, Michael worked in a parallel path with the Exploratorium in creating a highly interactive museum, the Boston Children's Museum. For the past seven years, at the Field Museum in Chicago, he worked with the staff to deepen and restructure the methods and goals to create a museum that is much more responsive to public education. His experience and interest in informal learning was useful in exploring ways to make our public environment more effective, and for observing the kind of learning that occurs at the Exploratorium.

Jonathan Miller
October 1994



Jonathan is a medical doctor, author, the creator of the Body in Question TV series, and a theater and opera director. During his fellowship, he interacted with highly diverse areas of the museum. He met with Feedback, Framework, and Genetics exhibit planning groups, editorial, museum Explainers, marketing, as well as media and teaching staff. In addition, he brought other outside experts to the museum, including child development researcher Alison Gopnick, perception researcher Irvin Rock, Oxford philosophy professor Bernard Williams, and Harvard education professor Howard Gardner. His weekly brown bag lunches were attended by a large number of staff from every area of the museum.

Jim Minstrell
February and April, 1994



Jim is a high school science teacher from Mercer Island, Washington, and nationally respected learning researcher. His experience was of great use in our teacher programs, especially for the Teacher Institute and the Explainers. His work in teaching teachers to research their own students' learning was of use throughout the museum.

Mierle Ukeles
January 1994



Artist-in-residence for the New York City Department of Sanitation, Mierle Ukeles co-coordinated a symposium with museum personnel. This symposium involved artists in large-scale waste management projects, and helped us plan ways to link environmental issues and art with our future expansion planning.

 1997-99 Fellows    1994-96 Fellows    1991-93 Fellows    1988-90 Fellows