ABSTRACT
Educational services for adults have traditionally been characterized by a one-way flow of information and a structured format. When the gallery opened in 1989, its purpose was to help visitors learn about materials and manufacture, function and context, and conservation through hands-on activities and informal conversations with a staff or docent teacher, called a facilitator. A review of the research on learning gave us every reason to believe that an interactive gallery for adults would work. Each of the exhibit and activity "stations" in the Interactive Gallery relates to one or more themes. Sometimes there is a preferred order to the stations, but sometimes the design is purposely less structured, allowing the visitor to begin viewing the stations at any point. The role of the staff or docent teacher, or facilitator, is to engage visitors in conversation, answer questions, and point out connections among stations.
