The effects of interaction and learning styles on children's experiences in exhibition spaces

Abstract

The ‘didacticism' oriented exhibition spaces first seen in 20th Century that begun with the idea of modern museums have led the new design understanding to be influential and also enabled the visitors actively participate in exhibitions. Today, interaction design is used extensively in exhibition spaces and in-depth studies are required to provide interaction most particularly for children. This article examines the contribution of interaction design and methods to spatial experience and learning process of children in exhibition spaces. In this context it is investigated how the processes of learning, experience, communication and interaction can be coordinated by means of emotions, senses, activities and play. A research which includes an exhibition design for primary school children and an experiment which is done with 121 children that experienced the exhibition is conducted. The exhibition is designed to give information about the story of the novel ‘My Sweet Orange Tree' of Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos to children via generated spatial experiences. Students' experiences and behaviors are observed, and a questionnaire is done in order to understand the children's evaluations and to test their understanding of the story. As a result, some clues related with interaction design were highlighted for future applications. Basicly, it is experienced that, in exhibition spaces for children, interactivity can be ensured not only by use of digital technicques, but also various methods as well.