Tim Rogers - Learning Retrospective

Hey Everybody ... I’ve been a bit remiss in posting this entry, but I hope you won’t find it too dated … I was fortunate to accompany Emily Williams and Kristin Williamson LJ/SLJ Public Library Think Tank in Miami which was billed as “Libraries and Literacies: Redefining our Impact.”  The format of the event included two separate days – one that include whirlwind tours of innovative library and museum spaces around Miami and Dade County, and the other with a cavalcade of keynoters describing how their organizations (libraries and others) were trying new things to address outcomes related to a series of literacy issues we all face.  Because there is no way for me to describe it all, I will share my biggest takeaway from the event – how our space can impact what and how people learn … a stage-setting for all kinds of literacy efforts.

As we toured a variety of locations, I was struck at how all of them had been designed to peak interest and draw folks in, while giving them options to explore.  None did this better than the Miami Children’s Museum which provided visitors with 20 or more spatial opportunities to interact and engage with each other, the museum staff, and of course the exhibits.  There were distinct differences in the look and feel of each section (i.e., exhibit), so when visitors entered the hall of the Castle of Dreams – a giant sandcastle-like sculpture with a built-in playground slide that marked the entrance to the rest of the museum, their expectations were set for the rest of their visit, as the Castle acted as a portal of sorts for the discoveries to come.  Further into the museum, a four-corners of sorts was encountered in which the Super Market, the Bank, and the Wellness Center – sponsored by the Publix supermarket chain, Bank of America, and Baptist Medical Center turned what might seem like a fairly ho-hum everyday experiences, into a learning games for kids, finding the right foods for recipes in order to meet certain health outcomes, while showing them how to scan, weigh, and pay for their groceries (using museum cash or credit).  Having recently seen how my 16-month old granddaughter finds joy from learning how to operate a bubble-generating “lawn-mower,” this combination of everyday experiences reminded me that in our mission to grow smarter communities we need to include playful learning opportunities that allow for real-world exploration in safe and supportive environments.  While there were other environments that spoke of Miami’s uniqueness, like the Cruise-ship and Aquatic Life exhibits, one that grabbed my attention was the  Music Maker Studio, a fully equipped space with technology enabling interactive auditory experiences, from creating music using a giant walk-on keyboard (like in the movie Big) and a sound-proof booth for building a symphonic collaboration one instrument at a time (press a button to add specific instruments, so you could hear each part separately, or all together).  Each of the exhibits was a standalone lesson, and yet, when merged together, provide every child the opportunity to draw connections and learn hostistically.

In addition to the museum’s regular exhibits, they had a designated space making up roughly one third of the museum that was used for temporary and travelling exhibits.  The space morphs throughout the year to accommodate an everchanging variety of learning experiences, funded in part through grants and other private sources that receive underwriting credit to attach their brands to this highly visible and well regarded institution.  Additionally, many of the staff at the museum are education majors from local colleges, working part-time to get hands-on experience with kids in teaching environments before they step into the classroom.  One young man I spoke with (Jarred) told me that every 90-days when the travelling exhibits change, he gets to learn an entirely new set of skills.  His job is the same – teaching kids, but the subjects vary from science to history to art to some form of play, and he loved that the job gave him the opportunity to teach kids across all ages and demographics – not just a single class at a single school.

I came away enthused and excited.  Everything I saw fit easily within our Library Unbound plan – learning experiences for targeted member clusters, playful environments that engage new members and new groups, and even our concept of Spark!Build!Hold! to develop a strong following and support system (including funding).  But the visit also left me wondering how we could embrace this approach – creating truly distinct learning environments within our buildings in order to provide a set of compelling experiences for targeted audiences?  How might we partner with local, regional, and national organizations and businesses to fund this kind of development?  How can we devote that kind of space and the staff time and resources necessary to operate intentional and thoughtful learning programs that rotate regularly?  Of course, those answers require smarter people than me … Over the next few years we will be sending more staff to events like this one, and on “field trips” to visit libraries and other institutions (like the one planned to Las Vegas/Clark County Public Library to talk about how they distribute 40,000 items across an area twice as big as ours every day) from which we can learn the whats and hows and whys.  I enjoyed the Think Tank, and it did make me think … a lot.

Lastly, I wanted to thank Emily and Kristin, from whom I was able to learn a lot about some of the great things that we do as a library every day … amazing how little you see unless you have guides!