OSCSS Innovation Project

Goal:

Participate in, reflect on, and communicate insights gained from experiencing an innovation process.

Project Description:

The innovation process will be based on creating a prototype of aVisitor Interactiveto supplementthe upcoming public demonstration in the auditorium on Energy. OSCSS students will be divided into five groups and randomly assigned one of the following exhibit halls: Science Arcade, Living Earth, Space, Human Edge, & Biomechanics. The content of each group’s Visitor Interactive will connect the theme of energy with the theme of each hall.

Visitor Interactive:

AVisitor Interactive is a mobile experience for visitors that appears on the floor at the Ontario Science Centre. Visitor Interactives do not replace existing contentfound in the exhibit halls, but should encourage visitors to seek it out. Visitor interactives can be further developed into a permanentexhibit, demonstration or workshop.

Resources:

  • Group Members – 4/5 OSCSS studentsassigned per group
  • OSC Mentor–Julie, Azadeh, Mia, Felipe, orDave willsupport their assigned group throughout the duration of the project.
  • OSC professionals – Will provide inspiration/expertise/support during regular, informal sessions.
  • Time–Most homeroom and Innovation periods (work outside these periods should not be necessary).

Innovation Process Components:

Brainstorming / Ten Visitor Interactive ideas will be created, out of which one will be pursued. Ideas must describe what visitors will doand what you hope visitors will learn.
Visitor Interactive Prototype Build / Visitor Interactive Prototypes will be designed, built and tested with OSC visitors. Guidance, input and feedback will be provided from OSC mentors,professionals and your peers. Three separate testing sessions will occur for iterative improvements.
Visitor Feedback Data Collection and Analysis / Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and analyzed to better understand Visitor Interactive effectiveness.
Science Research + Annotated bibliography / Scientific research related to the Visitor Interactive will be collected, cited (APA format) and briefly summarized.
Reflection and Sharing / Throughout the innovation project, each innovation group will reflect and share their progress and challenges with all other innovation groups. This sharing is meant to improve the quality of work of all groups.
Presentation to OSC Professionals / A (10 minutes or less) presentation to a panel of OSC professionals will be made upon completion of the innovation process. It will include process details, successes, difficulties, and suggestions. OSC professionals should be sufficiently informed that development can continue without further input from the Visitor Interactive creators.
Exit interview / You will meet individually with one of the mentor teachers to discuss your thoughts on the innovation project as a whole. Interview questions will be posted in the wiki in advance.

Project Timeline:

Wed (8:30 AM – 10:00 AM) / Thursday (1:15 PM – 3:45 PM) / Friday (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
Feb 22 / Feb 23
Project Intro
Making an Innovation Process with Joe and Ryan / Feb 24
Tom – Teams and brainstorming
Visit assigned hall
March 1
Mentor Meeting
Research and Development (R&D) - Cool Topics / March 2
Brainstorming & Research ideas (Cool Topics into Visitor InteractiveIdeas)– 10 Ideas / March 3
<challenger mission @ 10:15 AM>
March 8
Mentor Meeting
R&D – 2 ideas / March 9
Pitch 2 Ideas to OSC Professionals
R&D – 1 idea / March 10
Research/plan/work on prototype
March 15
March Break / March 16
March Break / March 17
March Break
March 22
Mentor Meeting
Research/plan/work on prototype / March 23
Research/plan/work on prototype / March 24
Research/plan/work on prototype
March 29
How to Get Data with Julie / March 30
Prototype dry run on each other / March 31
Iterate Prototype
April 5
Mentor Meeting
Iterate Prototype / April 6 (Thurs/Fri Switch)***
Prototypes on the floor!
*10:00 – 12:00 / April 7
Iterate Prototype
April 12 (Chem/HR Switch)***
Prototypes on the floor!
*10:00 – 12:00 / April 13
Iterate Prototype / April 14
Good Friday
April 19
Presentation prep / April 20 (Thurs/Fri Switch)***
Prototypes on the floor!
*10:00 – 12:00 / April 21
Prepare for Presentations
April 26
Presentation to Mentors / April 27
Guest Speaker / April 28
IteratePresentations
May 3
IteratePresentations / May 4
Presentation to OSC Professionals / May 5
Grenoble Project Begins
May 10
Exit Interviews with teachers