A research on effects of interaction and learning types in exhibition areas on children' spatial experience

Exhibition spaces have gained many different characters and facilities during their historical development. At the beginning of their implications, these spaces' only main aim was to show and share the enthusiasm of some objects. This function was only serving to a small and rich group of the public. After some research and improvements, its characters, aims; and as a result, its visitors' characters and activities in these spaces have changed. As it is indicated, their first aim was to show some interesting objects to people. During the historical period it gained its other aims like; educating people, socializing the public, providing a communication environment for different groups of people, providing experiences for visitors, and providing an interaction for people in all senses. The very main aim for today's exhibition spaces may be explained as providing people a whole sense of experience and interaction with whole members of the space to provide him/her to gain an information. In short today's exhibition spaces' aim may be stated as to give education to people in a more sensual and experiencial manner from formal educational areas. After all these changes, exhibition areas' aim was not the only thing that changed; also the activities of people, their level of communication and their knowledge of exhibitions have changed. When we consider whole research about exhibition spaces, there is one purpose of these spaces that has never changed. This main purpose is providing a communication area to its visitors in all manners; communication with space, and objects, with other people and with its all parts. Moreover, this communication role may be evaluated as a role which is only specified to exhibition spaces as a primary aim of the area. This communication process does not only have virtual and verbal informations; it should also include senses, sensations and also it should provoke ideas of its visitors. When this area provides the whole of these all informations, then it may be possible to talk about a whole communication process. When the historical evaluation of exhibtion spaces is considered, its main activities may be indicated as developed over time. At the beginning, it was just a 'box of curiosities', or a wall with whole stuff hanged on. However with whole research and with the improvements in the society, it gained may other communication ingredients. In the end; with interactive experiences, virtual realities, dioramas, and all the other stuff that provides the whole atmosphere of the exhibition area; the exhibition spaces gained a holistic approach as experience areas. xx The first chapter of the thesis focuses on the changing aims of these areas. The next two chapters will be explaining the main communication role and communicational activities of exhibition areas. Next, the main 'education' and 'entertainment' aim of the exhibition spaces will be discovered and especially exhibition spaces' educational aim for children will be researched. The educational and game theories gains a role at this point. These are informative subjects which affects the development of interior spaces of exhibition areas. Although the developments of educational and game theories have a huge impact on the historical change of these areas, there is no set of rules about educational and entertainmental facilities of exhibition spaces. In the final part, a realized pop-up exhibition project will be explained; which is designed and produced with the support of Istanbul Technical University, Master Degree Scientific Research Projects Support Programme. An exhibitional experiment of a novel is evaluated in order to improve obtained literature research in a real manner. This project is designed to give information to children about the story of 'My Sweet Orange Tree' which is a novel of Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos and 123 children have visited and experienced the area. At the end of the exhibition, a mini questionnaire and whole observations came with the result that; the exhitibion area should be a holistic and harmonic environment which provides a more realistic experience to its visitors. At the end, the whole literature and project research are evaluated and advices for the developers of these areas are provided for further projects.