P3D RE: PD3 Exhibits

["Susan B. F. Wageman" <swageman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 24 Jun 1999, "Tim Stabler" <tstabler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>And, since everything was plastic-wrapped, I
>could not even look at the pictures in the book to see if they were
>worth the $16.95 per book.

These books are published by Dorling-Kindersly (http://www.dk.com). I bought
the Human Body book for Greg for his birthday. The viewing system is
interesting. You end up looking at the right image straight on, and the left
image in the mirror. (No way to freeview these!) Some of the images were
kind of flat (Greg would say totally, but I saw a bit of depth). Others were
very cool. Even as a standard book, the quality of the images and text are
excellent -- especially for a young person interested in the subject.

By the way, I work at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.
The only books in our shop are the Rocks and Human Body books. I believe
they leave them wrapped, because the mirror is actually detached -- in a
pocket in the back of the book. Wouldn't want to lose that!

>they also have a virtual reality roller-coaster ride where I found
>the image too small to really get into the ride although the seat was
>shaking.  I told the girl they should have done that in 3D also and
>really had a ride then.

We also have a rollercoaster exhibit at The Tech. First you design your
coaster, then you sit in a real coaster car and see a POV movie of your ride
on a very-large screen monitor. No shaking.

Yes, stereo would be cool, but you always have to juggle bang-for-the-buck
in developing exhibits. Stereo is not just more expensive. It adds
complication to daily operations and can significantly slow "throughput." In
many cases, you end up having to staff the exhibit to handle goggles,
glasses, or whatever viewing aid you have. This both increases cost and
increases the time it takes for an individual to experience the exhibit. I
could go on -- there are many factors. But, this is probably enough for now.

Susan B.F. Wageman
swageman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
suewageman@xxxxxxxxxxx


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