"Taking Shape presents ceramics made over a span of 4,000 years by women and men living in the region that today comprises Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Burma."
Taking Shape houses approximately 200 ceramic pieces. While this is a very interesting exhibit, one which I would suggest to anyone interested in organized communities and/or ceramics, the most interesting part of the exhibit was how the materials are presented.
The Sackler Gallery is now primarily as an art museum. It focuses on Asian cultures, but as an art museum, as opposed to a cultural museum. Most exhibits are arranged in a similar fashion as any major art museum, which would focus on the visitor seeing the object, while ignoring the other senses. Taking Shape stands out in this crowd of exhibits because it tries to follow the theory of learning through discovery. This theory believes that people will absorb more if they are active participants in the "lesson".
In this case the "lesson" is the information in the exhibit. The exhibit designers ask the visitor to participate in the exhibit by watching and listening to a video showing the actual creation of the ceramics they are standing among. The visitor is then encouraged to touch various ceramic pieces so that they can experience the difference between earthenware and stoneware. Including materials that involve the sense of touch is a pleasant surprise in the middle of the exhibit. It helps to reignite the curiosity that originally brought the visitor into the exhibit. In addition to the use of touch and sound the visitor is given a pamphlet that asks them to "find" specific objects and information in the exhibit.
I personally believe in the learning by discovery theory. Thinking about my own learning style I can't help but see how having multiple senses involved in education has helped me remember various information. To experience an exhibit that follows this theory please visit Taking Shape. The exhibit will be available to the public until 2010.
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