Designs for Learning - Danielle Tisdale

The idea that stuck out to me most in "Designs for Learning: Studying Science Museum Exhibits That Do More Than Entertain" by Sue Allen was, “every intermediate step in the visitors’ experience must be sufficiently motivating that they make the choice of continuing to invest time and attention there.” This statement seemed important to me because as a Spark I can either help or hinder the intermediate steps in the visitors’ experiences, and I am constantly learning better ways to help keep the visitors’ engaged in the exhibits and their own learning experiences. There are times when I am interacting with a visitor and I can help answer a question or pose a challenge that will further spark their engagement with an exhibit and keep them engaged, but then there are those times when I try to do that and the guest loses interest. I need to keep growing in my awareness of what motivates guests and know when to approach them and offer a challenge or allow them to keep engaging with the exhibit on their own.