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THE - Thematic Human Interface and Explainers
THE - Thematic Human Interface and Explainers group is an Ecsite thematic group dedicated to the professional development of explainers
link to the official website
partners
Pilots was coordinated by Ecsite, and the partners were: Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in Paris, France; House of Experiments in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Italy; Pavilion of Knowledge – Ciência Viva in Lisbon, Portugal; SISSA Medialab in Trieste, Italy and Technopolis®, the Flemish Science Center in Mechelen, Belgium.
The Pilots project was strongly linked to THE (Thematic Human Interface and Explainers) group, the Ecsite thematic group dedicate to the professional development of explainers.
ECSITE, the European Network of Science Centres and Museums
Ecsite is the Europe-wide network organisation that links science centres and museums, natural history museums, zoos, aquariums, universities and research organisations in Europe.
Founded 20 years ago, Ecsite is an expanding network of 385 member institutions located in 30 different European countries, reaching 30 million visitors per year. The common thread uniting these institutions is a commitment to create public engagement in science and to communicate science through accessible, interactive exhibits and programmes.
Ecsite facilitates co-operation among Europe’s science centres and museums – establishing guidelines, sharing expertise, disseminating best practice, encouraging collaboration and developing training programmes. Throughout the world, science centres are collected in associations that represent their common issues and goals. Ecsite represents European science centres and museums by maintaining active contacts with network organisations in other parts of the world.
http://www.ecsite.netCité des sciences et de l’industrie
Paris, France
The Cité des Sciences is the 4th most visited museum in France. Located in the north-east of Paris and established in 1986, it is one of the largest science centres in Europe.
The museum presents permanent and temporary exhibitions in 30.000m2 and is visited by approximately 3 million persons every year. It includes several different activities which all aim to
achieve public understanding of science, such as a space for children, a multimedia
library, several auditoriums dedicated to films and lecture program, a Congress Centre that all attract a very
large audience in France and from abroad.
The Cité is very much involved in training and educating visitors through a program offering a wide range of hands-on activities and actions, demonstrations, shows with the expertise and the help of skilled explainers.
It works in close collaboration with other sciences centres in Paris and in France. www.cite-sciences.frUstanova Hiša eksperimentov
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Hiša eksperimentov (The House of Experiments) is a "hands-on" science centre. At Hiša eksperimentov, however, we are not just carrying out experiments. It is our activities that will tell you most about our work and what we do.
Hiša eksperimentov is intended for everyone!
In the activities of Hiša eksperimentov, science, learning, art and humour are all intertwined. Through them, the visitors' curiosity is aroused and, in a straightforward and interesting way, they are made more familiar with the natural laws and phenomena of everyday life.
Through self-directed research and by conducting experiments, all visitors can discover the truths "on their own skin" - and this method is also the most effective.
There is a Chinese saying which goes like this: "I heard and I forgot. I saw and I remembered. I did it myself and I know". What happens in the Hiša is just that - especially the last part.
Ustanova Hisa eksperimentov
We would like to help to create a society of open-minded people with the spirit of curiosity, who are not afraid to admit that there may be something they do not know about, and who are ready to learn what they do not know. Through personal experiences, acquired by experimenting, the individual's knowledge is enriched, and through the free exchange of ideas between individuals and society is also enriched. Hiša eksperimentov helps towards building up personal experience, and also towards opening up the free flow of information.
http://www.h-e.siMuseo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci"
Milan, Italy
The National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci opened in 1953. Its rich collections are housed in an early XVI century Olivetan monastery in the centre of Milan.
Named after Leonardo da Vinci, a symbol of the correlation between artistic and scientific-technological culture, the museum works towards a wide and democratic dissemination of scientific and technological culture, with a special eye for everyday life applications and future scenarios.
The Museum’s own cultural model meets contemporary international museology: it combines the social-historical dimension of the traditional museum with the interactive nature of science centres.
In order to enhance the emotional and cognitive experience of the visitor the Museum chooses to integrate different cultural tools for interpretation: dialogue, hands-on activities, exhibits, audiovisuals, visual and performing arts.
The Museum covers a surface of 40,000m², hosting 10,000 objects and 11 interactive labs. Collections and interactive laboratories (i.labs) are organised into seven thematic departments (Materials, Transport, Energy, Communication, Leonardo – Art and Science, New Frontiers, Science for Young Children) that explore the evolution of science, technology and society.
http://www.museoscienza.orgPavilion of Knowledge - Ciência Viva
Lisbon, Portugal
The Pavilion of Knowledge - Ciencia Viva is an interactive science and technology science centre, open to the public since July 1999. Among other projects Ciencia Viva supports science education projects at school, short placements for students in research labs and summer activities for the general public. The Pavilion of Knowledge serves as driving force for Ciencia Viva Science Centres Network which presently has 18 science centres in all country. Besides the exhibitions the Pavilion promotes several educational activities to attract youngsters to science. It has its' own training centre for teachers in order to develop meaningful learning activities in informal contexts..
http://www.pavconhecimento.ptSISSA Medialab
Trieste, Italy
Sissa Medialab was set up in November 2005 but its roots are grounded in the work of a group of scientists and science communication experts who worked in the early 1990s at SISSA, to develop highly innovative projects and technologies for scientific information.
In collaboration with scientists world-wide and within a markedly international framework - as the very nature of science requires - they developed original instruments for communication within the world of research (starting from the Journal of High Energy Physics, the first online
scholarly journal made by scientists for scientists), and for external communication, towards the public at large (as in the case of ''Ulisse - in the web of science'', a portal visited by millions of readers with an interest in science).
Technopolis®, the Flemish Science Center
Mechelen, Belgium
Technopolis®, the Flemish Science Center is a unique experience for a day out with your family or in group. In Technopolis® you learn all about the basic scientific and technological principles behind everyday things in an interactive and fun way. 
Take a nap on a bed of nails,
land an aircraft safely on the ground, race against a dragonfly or ride a bicycle at a height of 5 metres above the ground!
In the weekends and the school holidays, there are lots of exciting shows and demos given by Technopolis®-edutainers. They explain all kinds of scientific experiments and phenomena in a simple and fascinating way. During school holidays, prepare to roll up your sleeves and get to work in the workshop.
www.technopolis.be
