The Explainer Program is one of the most exciting programs at the Exploratorium. It focuses on bay area youth between the ages of 15-20. The Explainer program involves students directly in the process of learning by making them part of the museum staff and giving them the important responsibility of being our primary point of contact with the general public. The Explainer program is exemplary of the kind of involvement the Exploratorium makes possible because it lets participants learn about and build their own skills while they are learning to help others, which is the Exploratorium's philosophy. The program has been an integral part of the Exploratorium since its inception in 1969. Approximately 2000 students have participated in the program.
Three groups of Explainers fill thirty paid positions each year. Each Explainer group participates in over seventy hours of training conducted by museum staff physicists and visiting professionals. Besides explaining exhibits to the public, the Explainers are responsible for opening and closing the museum, doing light maintenance on some of the exhibits, reporting ones that need attention from the machine shop and in general, being available to interact with the museum visitors in a variety of ways in their role as the only floor staff. They also perform demonstrations for the public such as a cow's eye dissection and a helium-neon laser.
The purpose of the program is to provide an interactive, art, science, and social environment in which the Explainers can explore phenomena, learn about themselves and others, as well as to provide the museum with a young, energetic floor staff.
In selecting a new group of Explainers each semester, the program directors pay close attention to the racial, ethnic, male and female distribution of the candidates. Each group has its own personality and a great deal of care is taken to achieve a balance among the participants so that their individual talents can blend in a complementary way. Some are skilled in interpersonal relations; others have more science background. Each however, is selected because he or she has something to contribute to the group. It is important to mention, that a candidate for the Explainer program is not required to be knowledgeable of or even interested in science. What the directors look for is some kind of spark that indicates that the student has a potential to learn and an expressed interest in participating. Although being "at risk" is not specifically a criterion for becoming an Explainer, a good number of candidates are chosen because it is judged that working at the Exploratorium would give them an opportunity that would have a deep formative impact on their personal development. We recruit through a variety of networks including San Francisco schools, social organizations, and local youth groups. The Explainers themselves also provide an informal but very effective word of mouth network among their peers. Many students outside of California and the United States have applied by letter. We have had Explainers in wheelchairs, others with hearing or visual impaired. Others have reading, speaking, or other learning disorders.
What the Explainer Program offers its participants is not job training although in the process of learning to become Explainers they are trained in a wide variety of subjects and are given a great deal of responsibility for knowing how to handle complex interactions with the public, and the operation of the museum during open hours. Much more importantly, it offers them a means by which they can recognize their own value as contributing members of a group, whose opinions are taken seriously and whose needs are respected. The program does not represent itself as a rehabilitation center for drop outs, but it has demonstrated time and again its capacity to kindle interest and enthusiasm for learning where normal channels have failed. Nationally circulated newspaper articles and television features have credited the Explainer Program with offering young people an environment and a structure that shows them how getting involved in the active process of learning can be fun and that they are building useful skills and confidence in their own learning practices.
There is an exhibit here about the expansion of a metal as it heats up. You can actually feel a metal rod growing as it heats up. I mean that is exciting. Even though everyone knows that it expands, they were never able to observe it. I think the fact of observing it makes it a lot more interesting. (David 1980)
There were times when something didn't catch my interest in class, but it did when I learned it here. It was hands-on. There was actual proof. It wasn't something read from a textbook. (Marta 1977)
It is not like school where you solve a math problem or a physics problem where the instructor might help you with a step you were stuck on. No, this was a much more interactive kind of thing and you find a lot of times you could answer your own questions just by experimenting with the exhibits (Phillip 1983)
Working at the Exploratorium has given me the opportunity to learn and to teach what I'm learning to others. I am thankful for a chance to learn about physics, a subject I never learned about in high school. Working with people has made me a more open and aggressive person in communicating with others. I've also learned about being responsible in a work situation. (Gina 1993)
... I now understand many of the principles I have been taught in physics and chemistry through the trainings and experiments. The Exploratorium has opened a whole new world and sparked an interest in Science I never had before.(Mariza 1993)
I am working with people from all walks of life and I've begun to see that the world is a lot bigger than "my world". Getting along with people unlike myself has always been hard for me. Judging people before getting to know them has been one of my faults. Thinking on a more positive level allows me to discover the beauty of people. Everyone is different, coming from different lifestyles and cultures. Culture is a celebration of our diverse communities. At the Exploratorium, I've seen people from everywhere come together. I love it. (Tamiko 1993)
If you are in the bay area and want to apply to be an Explainer, call the Exploratorium: 563-7337, May 1 for summer application, September 1 for the Fall, and January 1 for the Spring. The receptionist will schedule your interview at that time. If you are out of the state or country, you need to apply two months earlier than the above dates for the appropriate time of the year. The application in this case, is a letter to Jamie Bell or Darlene Librero at:
The Exploratorium
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco Ca 94123
Or email them at:
jamie_bell@qm.exploratorium.edu
darlene_librero@qm.exploratorium.edu
The letter should include a short autobiography and the reason why you wish to participate in the Explainer program. Please include your telephone number and the best time to call. Your letter will be followed up with a telephone interview two weeks after your application has been received and reviewed.