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The idea of letting the general public play with the average bit of old technology unsupervised would be unthinkable - its simply too dangerous for the non-expert to handle.
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This is the conclusion that many people come to; however I have been working for many years to devise ways around it, and now have over 100 exhibits designed where people can interact deeply and meaningfully with machinery, without necessarily being exposed to any of its risks.
I will say from the outset that quite a lot of the best and most exciting 'activities' require a demonstrator. One might at first assume that the manpower this entails makes it impractical for a small organisation. However, with careful scheduling that gathers up an audience for each special demo, one person can actually handle quite a large throughput of visitors and a range of different activities. I have studied manpower utilisation at existing museums and it ranges from highly efficient to terribly wasteful, where people have to be there but they don't contribute to the visitor experience. We have to be efficient, and ensure that everyone on the premises makes a useful contribution to the visitor experience.
I envisage a range of formats including:
* Demo of major exhibit run to timetable, so that visitors can gather around it when it is due to operate.
* Theatre-style presentation where multiple demos can be given to a seated audience without them having to move.
* Roving demonstrator connects with visitors as they interact with unstaffed exhibits, and subject to availability, leads them on to related demonstrator-only exhibits.
But anyhow let's have a look at some example directly interactive exhibits that can operate unstaffed.
1. Lister 'Start-O-Matic' domestic lighting plant c. 1930s-40s.
See here for plant details:
http://electrokinetica.org/d1/1/3.php
The original DC Start-O-Matic generators are very robust and capable of frequent starts without excess wear and tear because they start on the main dynamo, not a starter motor, transitioning smoothly from starting to running like a hybrid car. Therefore it is quite practical to set up a demonstration with a completely authentic and attractive engine room tableau, in which the plant comes to life under the control of visitor-operated switches that apply load. The switches can be vandal-resistant 12V controls that operate period lighting fixtures via relays. A supervisory timer resets the exhibit if unattended for 5 minutes and thwarts attempts by vandals to damage the exhibit through excessive starts etc. Yes, it will need maintenance. But all sorts of fancy modern interactives need maintenance too.
The exhibit is is designed to teach about simple logic controls via the generator's electromechanical control panel with its large, highly visible timer solenoids and relays, which can be presented up close to the visitors in a transparent case, so that the actual relay logic can be seen working. An interpretation mimic panel has indicators connected to the relays that show what it is doing, augmented if desired by spoken narrations synchronised to the operation of the panel describing what is happening.
So you get multiple benefits from a single exhibit:
* Exhibition of authentic off-grid power generation setup
* Demonstration of relay logic and operation of dynamo with guided interpretation
* Visitors feel engaged because they are in control of the exhibit and it responds authentically, but they aren't left behind if they don't already understand how it works.
* Forms part of various themed paths of discovery that visitors can choose to follow, including logic, power generation, 1930s etc.
How is this different to offerings elsewhere?
* At the Science Museum, you cannot see a diesel generator operating.
* At an engine museum, you can see diesel generators operating, but the only people who will see them are those who would think of going to an engine museum. The power plant is relevant and potentially interesting to lots of people who wouldn't go to an engine museum.
* In neither location will a working power plant exhibit form a memorable learning step about control systems. The science museum will teach you about electrical machines but lacking the engagement of a real live machine cranking up in front of you; the engine museum won't typically explain the electrical side of things in detail at all.
* It's part of a range of programmed journeys of discovery. You might come along because you want to see old washing machines etc 'like granny had.' but as you follow the journey, you can find out how they were made, how the electricity was made to operate them etc.
This post has got rather long so I will come back with other example exhibits in further posts.
Just a final note about the radio communication museum: Nothing wrong with that. You can see radios in a radio museum, computers in a computer museum, telephones in a telephone museum, power plant in an engine museum, electronic musical instruments in the synthesiser museum.... do you see what I am getting at? I'll return to this point later.