Use of interactive exhibits in college physics teaching

One of the main joys in learning physics comes from an enhanced ability to understand and explain natural phenomena in the everyday world. Yet, in formal physics instruction, students encounter natural phenomena only in the laboratory and through lecture demonstrations. In this paper we examine the use of interactive exhibits as another pedagogical means for presenting phenomena and relating these phenomena to everyday experience. Along with the discussion of the nature of such exhibits, we describe an internship program that was designed to train academic faculty in the construction and use of interactive exhibits, and we illustrate some of the ways these faculty use exhibits in their teaching. Finally, we point out some of the constraints and issues that arise when the notion of exhibit-based learning is introduced into the university setting.