Tim J. Beedle


Original publication in the March 2001 issue of Park World, pages 31-33.


The Edutainment Adventure Continues


It's become something we're now all too familiar with. A science center installs a simulator in an attempt to throw a few thrills and spills in with its lessons. A natural history museum, no longer satisfied by static fossil displays and recreated T-Rex skeletons, brings the world of dinosaurs to life through the use of sound effects and audio-animatronics. An observatory transports its guests to the beginning of time, allowing them to witness the start of our universe through film and mixed-media effects with almost disturbing realism.

Examples of "edutainment" can now be found in almost every major city, and for an understandably good reason. Science centers and museums have discovered that their best shot at becoming a destination for more than school field trips is to present educational subject matter in a highly entertaining fashion. There is an inherent danger in this, however. In finding ways to combine education with entertainment, one of the two ingredients is often sacrificed at the expense of the other. Without innovation, creativity, and the willingness to approach a new exhibit from the visitor's perspective, edutainment is little more than a hollow industry buzzword...meaningless unless you're willing to invest the effort.

Joe Wisne, and the rest of the crew at the COSI Studio in Columbus, Ohio, were well aware of this when they first began dreaming up ideas for their innovative science center. Since opening just over a year ago, COSI (or Ohio's Center of Science and Industry) has set a new standard among the science center industry by combining highly themed, completely immersive "learning worlds" with hard science, arriving at a remarkably effective middle ground. Guests are often surprised by how much they learn while visiting COSI, but they're even more surprised by how much fun they had learning it.

"Experimentation by nature is fun," explains Wisne, Vice President of the COSI Studio. "Science centers should be places where people are free to experiment, to try out science for themselves. Most people view science as something dry and boring, we're trying to get rid of that stereotype." So far, COSI seems like it's succeeding.

One factor contributing to this success is COSI's dedication to taking a different approach while developing exhibits. Not satisfied with the usual exhibit topics and methods of presentation, the COSI Studio always looks to present new areas of science in imaginative and unique ways. To aid in this, their science center has been divided into learning worlds, each focusing on a different subject. All seven of these learning worlds have taken traditional science exhibits to the next level. In fact, to call them science exhibits seems somehow incorrect. They could more accurately be called "science experiences."

Adventure, one such experience, developed out of a void in the industry. Although science exhibits have been created dealing with almost every subject imaginable, prior to COSI, no one had ever attempted a serious exhibit on how science is actually done. Perhaps the reason for this is that taken on its own, it's not very exciting. "It can be a pretty boring subject," explains Allen Boerger, Principal/Creative of the COSI Studio. "If you do it straight you're going to turn a lot more people off to what you're saying than you turn on." The COSI Studio decided early on that they needed to create an exhibit about "doing science." The challenge for the project team was making it interesting.

Determined not to present the subject straight, Boerger and his team developed an exhibit concept unlike any other. Adventure asks visitors to take on the roles of archaeologists that have recently unearthed a lost civilization. After being directed to the dig site, the "archaeologists" are made aware of a mysterious observatory that looms over the rest of the site. They are told that this is the only structure the archaeological team has thus far been unable to access. The guest's challenge then becomes obvious: they are to find a way to access that observatory. The goal is achieved by solving various puzzles hidden throughout the elaborate dig site; however, the experience itself is accomplished through the clever use of theme park technology.

"We used thematic elements, the tools of the themed entertainment industry, to help galvanize our audience," explains Boerger. "We wanted to really engage them and get them in the mood from the moment they walk in the door."

Visitors are likely to be galvanized, sure enough. Covering an area of approximately 8,500 square feet, budgeted at about $3.2 million, and reaching a height of around 25 feet, Adventure is grand in scale and design. The intricate set that houses the dig site includes a base camp, maze, caverns, cliffs, booby traps, idols, and a hidden treasure. The use of lighting, sound, artificial rock work, laser effects, and animatronics all add to the experience. Top this off with a length of stay estimated at approximately 45 minutes and you have an experience unlike any other in the entertainment industry, to say nothing about the world of science centers.

Adventure steers drastically away from the exhibit model traditionally used in museums. This model usually involves grouping together a series of small hands-on exhibits that share a common theme, a method that Wisne doesn't believe is true to life. "The traditional model would lead you to believe that science is departmentalized, divided into neat little disciplines," he illustrates. "Science as it exists in nature, however, is very interdisciplinary. Adventure is organized very naturally, which allows visitors to make real-world connections between different areas of science."

This unique approach makes even more sense after hearing that the COSI Studio also wanted Adventure to tell a story. The exhibit deals with a rather elusive subject, and as Boerger explains, without a unifying storyline it would probably be impossible for people to grasp the concept in a museum setting. "People walk through the door, and I think they're a little bit taken back by all of this," he elaborates, "but it's really the only way we could make this exhibit work. By putting a set of experiences all within the same area, tied together by an engaging storyline, Adventure offers guests a context to remember the whole experience rather than each individual thing that they did."

To aid in developing the storyline, and to ensure that the experience was as engaging and real as possible, the COSI Studio brought in a team of experts from all throughout the themed entertainment industry. Howard Jones of JPI Design, the lead scenic architect on Adventure, believes that the theme park industry and the science center industry have a lot they can learn from each other. "Theme parks attempt to create a memorable experience for their guests," Jones says. "COSI is looking to do the same thing. Adventure offers people an experience that they can't find anywhere else. The future of science centers and hands-on education rests in exhibits like Adventure. As they become more popular, theme parks will probably see a need to make their experiences more relevant."

This marriage of science and entertainment is apparent all throughout the exhibit. Visitors are asked to utilize various scientific principles to obtain clues or rewards. The clues are given to them by audio-animatronic idols representing four important aspects of discovery: questioning, reason, inspiration, and perseverance. The rewards are brief shows and presentations that also utilize audio-animatronics, as well as other effects such as light, sound, and lasers. Adventure also makes use of local actors who act as guides throughout the exhibit while entertaining and educating visitors.

Boerger, Wisne, and the rest of the COSI Studio are all very pleased with the blend of enlightenment and amusement. The exhibit requires guests to think scientifically to complete it, while presenting itself as something fun. In so doing, Adventure has become a new edutainment high point. Technology is used to supplement and strengthen the educational experience, not merely to provide a few conspicuous theme park thrills.

Not surprisingly, Adventure has proven to be one of the most popular learning worlds at COSI. Of the approximately 1 million people that visited COSI during its first year, Wisne estimates that around 60% of them complete the Adventure challenge. However, the exhibit's popularity goes beyond merely drawing crowds. Many aspects of the exhibit have gained a sort of life of their own. For example, the animatronic idols, created by LifeFormations, have proven to be extremely popular with children and are instantly recognizable to anyone who has experienced the exhibit.

The level of detail that has been given to Adventure as well as its intriguing storyline, have also given it something that most museum exhibits are seriously lacking, repeatability. Over the past year, Boerger has noticed an increasing number of people returning to Adventure again and again to decipher hieroglyphics and work through some of the more elaborate puzzles concealed in the dig site. These puzzles are all part of a secret secondary quest in Adventure that only visitors who make it to the observatory are even made aware of. This quest revolves around the search for a hidden treasure, the Treasure of Knowledge, and is much more involved than the primary goal of gaining access to the observatory. Boerger estimates that it takes around 15 hours to complete. However, quite a few people seem more than willing to undertake it. "I've seen people returning every weekend and using notebooks to document all of their finds," Boerger mentions, "their level of dedication is amazing."

The popularity that Adventure has gained throughout the year is great news for the COSI Studio. After all, it's rare to see people enthusiastic about learning. Then again, science is usually not presented in such an innovative and exciting manner. Wisne attributes Adventure's success, as well as all successful examples of edutainment, to simple human nature. "There is something about creative problem-solving that is at the heart of being human," he explains. "However, solving puzzles in a real-world theatrical environment, such as Adventure, is extremely rare. In fact, we don't know of anything quite like it anywhere. Where else can you step into a movie and pretend you're Indiana Jones?"

With lots of creativity, devotion to science, and a little bit of theme park wizardry, COSI has definitely succeeded in making science interesting. Now if they could only do something about algebra.

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