Auto Safety Exhibit

Public information and education efforts must continually be reviewed and developed to capture the attention and hold the interest of the target public. In 1994, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, initiated a meeting with staff of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry to discuss how the department could become a part of the Museum's Transportation Zone to help meet the education needs of the general visitors and school children concerning traffic safety.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose was to provide a unique experience in which the visiting public could learn about the scientific and technological aspects of the vehicle, the roadway and the driver that contribute to the safe operation of automobiles. The Auto Safety Exhibit would provide museum visitors one or more of the following experiences:

• Explore interactively the safety features and technologies that help avoid crashes or keep people from serious harm in the event of a crash
• Learn the scientific and technical basis behind important safety issues (e.g., seat belts, alcohol impairment, air bags)
• Explore the physics behind the rules of the road (e.g., how the principles of inertia and momentum and the conservation of energy present challenges in auto safety).

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

A unique partnership was created of private and public donors, the museum and state government. The Auto Safety Exhibit provides a variety of experiences. Visitors create a crash test by placing a 14" wooden scale model of a crash test dummy into a 28" model car mounted on a sloped track. The car travels down the track and into a front-end collision with a barrier. Visitors watch as the dummy is thrown forward by inertia. A video program supplements the activity with a brief explanation of the action. After the impact, the video monitor replays the same impact in slow motion. This instant replay lets the visitors see details they could not catch at full speed.

Visitors observe the effect of the collision on the mannequins in the car. In particular, they see the effects of deceleration, momentum and energy, as well as the impacts that would injure a real person. Visitors see both live and in replay how occupants in a car behave during an impact. They learn that seat belts and air bags prevent a second collision--the occupant striking the vehicle interior.

RESULTS

The Auto Safety Exhibit opened in July 1995. Initial comments and observations about the exhibit are being obtained and will be used to enhance the exhibit as appropriate.

Future activities might include the development of printed activity guides. These guides would have information on many learning levels and would be highly visual for young people. They could function as a pre-visit or post-visit resource for teachers, allowing them to fully incorporate an exhibit visit into their curriculum. A checkout tub may be developed that includes posters, cutout activities, educational games and mock "community traffic safety task force" role-play exercises.

Also under consideration is a CD-ROM kiosk using touch screen technology. An interactive kiosk would offer a fun challenge that allows the visitor to make choices regarding things like speed limits, seat belt use and road conditions. A printout would provide a score or rating and opportunities on auto and traffic safety issues.