The Challenge of Robotics Education in Science Museums

摘要

This paper provides an overview of the spectrum of robotics programs at the Israel National Museum of Science, Technology and Space (MadaTech), including exhibitions for the general public as well as educational activities for students, at the Museum's Gelfand Center for Model Building, Robotics & Communication. MadaTech's robotics programs aim to promote public understanding of science and engineering through the prism of robotics. In this paper, we present innovative robotics initiatives achieved through collaboration between MadaTech and the Technion, and heavily supported by the Ministry of Education and the Haifa Municipality. The initiatives evoked strong interest among broad and varied audiences. Modern intelligent robots, such as the Nao, Thespian, and Aibo, used by MadaTech, have proved their effectiveness as performance and program protagonists. From our experience, conventional robotics education through construction and programming robots can be significantly enriched by learning activities based on interaction with a robot, inquiry into analogies between biological and robotic systems, and rational combination of competitive with developmental activities.