RE: 3D Scope/Don Lopp

[Stephen Puckett <spuckett@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>This seemed to
>>work well until at the end of the day a little kid grabbed
>>the lens holders and yanked hard - breaking the superglue
>>join off so that the left lens came flying off!  I retired
>>the viewer for the rest of the day, bringing it out only under
>>my direct supervision.  Sunday, it stayed home.

Tom wrote:

"How did you administer the punishment to the parent?"

This happened out of my sight and was told to me by a person
manning the information table.  At times the kids just swarmed
the displays.  They seem to like to yank, poke, and twiddle
everything often *before* looking inside.  I spent most of my 
time helping (and protecting) in the room with the computer 
and digital camera gear.  About every hour I would check on 
the viewers around the information table, reposition equipment
and handouts, and clean/refocus lenses.  Adult supervision 
usually came about a little late.  One of the draws of OMSI is
that there are a lot of things for kids to 'be physical with'
interactively without hurting the objects or themselves.

I put about 10 cheapy ($0.49 at Goodwill) ViewMaster viewers 
(on a table next to an outside window) for them to play with:
  Batman Forever
  Beauty and the Beast
  Wishbone
  Jurassic Park
which seemed like a good mix ('Wishbone' could have been 
left out and substituted for something computer-generated 
like 'A Bug's Life' or 'Toy Story').  The VM helped draw 
them in (esp. the little ones) with something familiar 
and giving immediate gratification.  They would rush up 
and, as often as not, start pulling the handle or changing
the reel *before* even looking inside!  It also gave them
something they could bang around with relatively safely.  

We also had a couple of Holmes-type viewers with some 
antique animal stereocards.  A few looked at these - mostly 
older kids and adults.  It seemed the older they were, the 
more time they spend with the stereocards.  Looking 
forward, I would like to see more stereocard viewers 
(sturdier with perhaps fixed focus) modern views, probably 
by club members.