Hands-On History.

This paper asserts that interactive exhibits are more than just hands-on activities but utilize a range of techniques. The variety of techniques is explained with examples of various types of exhibits to involve the visitor in learning more about the exhibit. The paper presents several examples that strike a balance between educating in history museums and preserving collections. Topics addressed include different learning styles, multicultural education, John Dewey's ideas of building on previous learning, social history, hands-on exhibits and the question of preservation of artifacts, multisensory exhibits and living history exhibits, participatory exhibits, interactive computers, and response books. (Contains 21 references.) (EH)