In January 2015 Stockholm’s National Museum of Science and Technology will open a new science center.
“The Creative Brain” - an innovative arena for interactive experience-based learning - explores how imagination and consciousness enable innovation, broadening the horizons of what we can envision. Art, science, culture and technology are blended into sensorial and physical experiences.
The aims are to encourage visitors to work creatively together with innovation, and to be accessible for all regardless of capabilities. Three concepts are the underlying foundation of the science center:
The science center’s primary target group is children aged 3-12 - regardless of their abilities - who come accompanied by families or classes. We are collaborating with several disability organizations and to meet visitor’s demands and expectations, we are working with our target groups via a collaborative project (Nina Simon, “The Participatory Museum”):
Still in an early stage, we have held workshops where ideas regarding service, accessibility and experience-based content have arisen with participant group members being used as advisors and consultants.
Participants will test and help develop exhibition design, content and its educational programs. Some will serve continuously as advisors and others as co-producers with the museum, project architects and interactive designers.
This learning process is a new way of making exhibitions for us. We wish to present our experiences and pose questions to attendees also working in collaborative projects involving children: