Exhibitions

An Exhibition. Think about it as the fourth “e”: experience, explore, educate, exhibit.

An exhibition is a presentation made by an individual (or a group) about something that he/she has experienced. What to exhibit is completely up to the exhibitor:

  • a slide show of a trip
  • a demonstration of an experiment
  • an exploration of a piece of literature
  • a musical, theatrical or dance performance
  • a demonstration of an engineering project
  • an exhibit of a cooking technique
  • a presentation about a course of study

The format of an exhibition is also completely determined by the exhibitor, although it typically consists of an oral presentation about the topic/event incorporating elements such as a display, demonstration, video, slide show, artistic performance, or scientific experiment.

The audience for an exhibition includes peers, parents, and other community members. A question and answer session concludes each exhibition, wherein audience members are encouraged to question not only the exhibitors knowledge and understanding of the topic, but more importantly the process underlying that knowledge —

  • how did you come to be involved in this project?
  • what resources were essential to your success?
  • how has your participation changed your understanding of ____?
  • do you have plans to continue this work?
  • how do you think this activity could be improved?

Although exhibitions may seem most like an end-of-year event, they are flexible enough to be useful anytime of year, for example a “Where did you go this summer” exhibition.

Exhibitions do not have required elements. However, a good exhibit is much, much more than “Show ‘N Tell” and, in the process of preparing for an exhibition, the exhibitor should aim to find a deeper, broader, and even more creative understanding of the topic than maybe he/she had earlier. Some elements that an exhibitor might include are:

  • background information about topic (in as much depth as is necessary so that all audience members gain sufficient understanding)
  • description of experience (what did he/she do as part of this learning)
  • demonstration or live performance to exemplify learning
  • description of what he/she learned, or other comments about learning process

We will be providing opportunities for exhibitions in the upcoming May – Jun 2012 schedule. We encourage all youth members to consider doing an exhibition on a topic of his/her choosing, and request that topics be on something other than a regular e-cubed activity, or that the exhibition significantly extends the topic (e.g., debate) to include learning and experiences outside of e-cubed sessions. Once you have a topic for your exhibition, meet with Barbara or Alison at an e-cubed meeting to discuss your plans, determine a title and assign a timeslot.

Thoughts for the future:

1. Talk to group about having each exhibition video taped.