This page is the starting point for what we hope will become an overview of outstanding applications of entertainment technology to education. So much extraordinary work has been done in this area, much of it for very select (and often small) audiences, that we can not possibly include everything. We do hope to include examples of experiences which inspire and empower as well as entertain and inform the participants... opening up new possibilities, stimulating discussion and encouraging further exploration.

Please send comments about anything on this list, or suggestions for experiences, publications, films or videos which you feel should be included to Karl Sjodahl at: karl@nac.net.

(Note: David Macaulay has a gift for explaining things. Once he understands something, even if only for a short while, he can explain it with clarity and humor. He also has a unique ability to find perspectives for his illustrations which contribute to our understanding. Nearly every book he has created in the past 25 years is still in print. His impressive list of accomplishments includes "Cathedral," "Castle," "Underground," "City," "Black And White," "Baaa," "Ship," "Mill," "Motel Of The Mysteries," "Great Moments In Architecture," "Pyramid," "Unbuilding," "Why The Chicken Crossed The Road," "Short Cut," "Rome Antics" and "Building Big." Several of his books have also been adapted for television on PBS.)

(The first edition of "The Way Things Work" has been his biggest financial success, selling over a million copies of the first edition. The tenth anniversary edition was released in 1999.)

Editorial Review - Amazon.com
Is it a fact--or have I dreamt it--that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?" If you, like Nathaniel Hawthorne, are kept up at night wondering about how things work--from electricity to can openers--then you and your favorite kids shouldn't be a moment longer without David Macaulay's The New Way Things Work. The award-winning author-illustrator--a former architect and junior high school teacher--is perfectly poised to be the Great Explainer of the whirrings and whizzings of the world of machines, a talent that landed the 1988 version of The Way Things Work on the New York Times bestsellers list for 50 weeks. Grouping machines together by the principles that govern their actions rather than by their uses, Macaulay helps us understand in a heavily visual, humorous, unerringly precise way what gadgets such as a toilet, a carburetor, and a fire extinguisher have in common.

The New Way Things Work boasts a richly illustrated 80-page section that wrenches us all (including the curious, bumbling wooly mammoth who ambles along with the reader) into the digital age of modems, digital cameras, compact disks, bits, and bytes. Readers can glory in gears in "The Mechanics of Movement," investigate flying in "Harnessing the Elements," demystify the sound of music in "Working with Waves," marvel at magnetism in "Electricity & Automation," and examine e-mail in "The Digital Domain." An illustrated survey of significant inventions closes the book, along with a glossary of technical terms, and an index. What possible link could there be between zippers and plows, dentist drills and windmills? Parking meters and meat grinders, jumbo jets and jackhammers, remote control and rockets, electric guitars and egg beaters? Macaulay demystifies them all. (Click to see a sample spread of this book, illustrations and text copyright 1998 David Macaulay, Neil Ardley, published by Houghton Mifflin Co.) (All ages) --Karin Snelson

The New York Times Book Review - 12/18/88
The Way Things Work is a superb achievement. It is a very handsome book, a fascinating collection of riddles and a sound educational accomplishment that, while explaining in words and pictures - mostly pictures - some of the mysteries of physics, makes you smile, and often laugh. The author is honest enough to say that the book was intended for children of all ages, and brilliant enough to make all its readers feel brighter than they ever thought they could be."

Customer Reviews
This book really tells you how things work!, December 11, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Oneonta, New York
Do you think you know how a lot of things work? Yes? Well, you are probably wrong. I am a Physics Major in college and I thought I knew how a lot of things work. However, when I found this book in my physics professor's office, I fell in love with this book. I ordered for my copy on the same day. This book is good for the kids, but some of the stuff is hard to understand because there are some words like forces or angles. These are hard to understand for kids, but the pictures in this book are good for the curious kids. They may understand some of the stuff. But, I would rate this book for grownups. You will learn how locks work, how airplanes fly, how helicopters can go forward or backward. You will understand the mechanics just by looking at the pictures, but the reading the explanations also helps you understand. This is a nice book to keep at the corner of your bookshelf.

Buy this book, November 27, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Hartford, CT
My nephew, who is six, thanks me everytime he sees me or talks to me on the phone for sending this book. This is a great book for curious children to "grow into" with their parents. It also helps parents look very smart to their children if they read it first!

"The Way Things Work" at Amazon.com

Marsalis On Music (1995)

This four part series for young audiences was created and hosted by acclaimed trumpeter, composer and educator, Wynton Marsalis. Marsalis on Music features cellist Yo-Yo Ma, conductor Seiji Ozawa, the Wynton Marsalis Jazz Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra.

"It is my hope that children who see these programs will find it easier to make music a part of their lives in a way that is meaningful and beautiful for them. We'd like the programs to painlessly beckon our children into the magical world of music, and to help them understand some fundamental elements of music like rhythm and form and to emphasize the importance of listening to many different kinds of music, noticing how they are related, though on the surface they may seem to be different." -- Wynton Marsalis

Amazon.com Customer Review:
Marsalis on Music, from a music teacher's perspective, November 1, 1999
Reviewer: Andi, New Music Teacher from Arizona
This video series is certainly not a substitute for a sound music education, and does not promote itself as such. It focuses on the elements of jazz and jazz theory, a component that is lacking or inadequate in most of the popular music curriculums for the elementary and junior high school. I like this particular series for several reasons. First, it is something I would leave a substitute teacher because the students can watch it and there is plenty of room for discussion and practice later on. Second,as a successful African-American musician, he is a good role model for young musicians. I work with at-risk students, and have found that it is important to present them with some positive, successful role models that are culturally diverse. Finally, the presentation is attention grabbing. Marsalis has a way of communicating clearly in this series. He explains musical concepts from the simplest to some that are fairly complex in a way that is direct. There is a lot of basic music theory embedded in this series. Plus, it's more fun than lecturing, and kids seem to enjoy it as a change of pace. It's not a substitute for good teaching, but it can supplement and round out a good music education program.

Click this ling for more detailed information on the "Marsalis On Music" Series
 

1 - Why Toes Tap: Wynton on Rhythm (SHV 66488) from Amazon.com

2 - Listening for Clues: Wynton on Form (SHV 66489) from Amazon.com

3 - Sousa to Satchmo: Wynton on the Jazz Band (SHV 66490) from Amazon.com

4 - Tackling the Monster: Wynton on Practice (SHV 66312) from Amazon.com

"Marsalis On Music" (4 VHS Tape Set) from Amazon.com

Produced by Scholastic Rock, "Schoolhouse Rock" was a staple of ABC television between 1972 and 1985. This appealing series of three minute, animated musical segments gave viewers memorable insights into Multiplication ("3 is a Magic Number"), Grammar ("Conjunction Junction"), American History ("I'm Just a Bill"), Science ("Interplanet Janet") and Money (""). Many of the award winning segments remain popular today, with those who grew up around television in the 70s.

Schoolhouse Rock was a 1999 Parents' Choice® Recommendation

Editorial Review (Multiplication Rock) - Amazon.com:
From 1973 to 1985, a generation of kids watching Saturday morning television learned the function of conjunctions and the preamble to the U.S. Constitution with the help of an animated series called Schoolhouse Rock! The brainchild of executives at McCaffrey and McCall Advertising, the three-minute segments combined whimsical cartoons with catchy music (rock was only one of the styles) to help kids learn seemingly dry topics as easily as they could learn popular songs. Multiplication Rock tackles the multiplication tables, covering numbers 0 through 12 (but not 1 or 10), and chances are few people who grew up watching can multiply by 3 or 5 without hearing the familiar voice of composer-singer Bob Dorough. Other underlying talent included jazz drummer Grady Tate ("I Got Six," "Naughty Number Nine") and jazz pianist Blossom Dearie ("Figure Eight"), who contributed vocals. (Subsequent installments would feature many other jazz musicians and songs written by jazz pianist-composer Dave Frishberg and future Broadway composer Lynn Ahrens, who at the time was a fledgling secretary for McCaffrey and McCall.) Years later, the series was considered so hip that now-grown-up rock stars rerecorded the songs, and Multiplication Rock includes a music video of "Electricity, Electricity" by Goodness. -- David Horiuchi

Episode Listings:

Multiplication Rock   My Hero, Zero   Elementary My Dear (Mult. by 2)    Three Is a Magic Number   The Four-Legged Zoo   Ready or Not, Here I Come (Mult. by 5)    I Got Six   Lucky Seven Sampson   Figure Eight   Naughty Number Nine   The Good Eleven   Little Twelvetoes   America Rock   No More Kings   Fireworks   The Shot Heard Round the World   The Preamble   Elbow Room   The Great American Melting Pot   Mother Necessity   Sufferin' Till Sufferage   I'm Just a Bill   Three Ring Government

Science Rock   The Body Machine   Do the Circulation   Electricity, Electricity   The Energy Blues   Interplanet Janet   Telegraph Line   Them Not-So-Dry Bones   A Victim of Gravity Grammar Rock   Unpack Your Adjectives   Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here   Conjunction Junction   Interjections   Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla   Verb: That's What's Happening   A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing   Busy Prepositions   The Tale of Mr. Morton Money Rock   Dollars and Sense   $7.50 Once a Week   Where the Money Goes   Tax Man Max   Walkin' on Wall Street   This for That   Tyrannosaurus Debt   The Check's in the Mail

Rob Owen's book and web site Gen X TV has a great description of the Schoolhouse Rock series.

The "Schoolhouse Rock" Series at Amazon.com

NOTE: The folks at Children's Television Workshop revolutionized the idea of educational entertainment for young children. The series has won countless awards for excellence on every level. Strong storytelling, catchy tunes, quality design and great performances combined to provide both engagement and enlightenment for several generations of kids.

The Sesame Street Workshop site.

The Sesame Street site at pbs.org

A multicultural and multinational view of peoples and societies of the world. 20 Minutes
Academy Award Nominated Film (Best Live Action Short), 1986

Well written, beautifully shot and with a powerful soundtrack provided by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, this "Romeo & Juliet" love story is set in three imaginary kingdoms: one Blue (art), one Red (war) and one Yellow (technology), which engage in a colorful battle for supremacy. Rainbow War was produced by Bob Rogers and BRC Imagination Arts for Expo '86 in Vancouver, and was rated among the top five shows at the Expo.

Click this link for more detailed information on "Rainbow War"

In the 1950s, the Bell System enlisted top hollywood talent to create an impactful, entertaining and informative series of science programs, which were shown regurlarly in schools. While they are stylistically dated, much of the science content is still on target. Frank Capra ("It's A Wonderful Life," "Meet John Doe," "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," etc.) produced and directed three of the most engaging programs in the series, "Our Mr. Sun," "Hemo The Magnificent" and "Strange Case Of The Cosmic Rays."

Click this link for more information on the eight programs in the Bell Science Series.

Remember The Titans  (2000)

Starring: Denzel Washington , Will Patton ,
Donald Faison , Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst

 
Editorial Review - Amazon.com
With only one major star (Denzel Washington), an appealing cast of fresh unknowns, and a winning emphasis of substance over self-indulgent style, Boaz Yakin's Remember the Titans is, like Rudy before it, a football movie that will be fondly remembered by anyone who sees it.

Set in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971, the fact-based story begins with the integration of black and white students at T. C. Williams High School. This effort to improve race relations is most keenly felt on the school's football team, the Titans, and bigoted tempers flare when a black head coach (Washington) is appointed and his victorious predecessor (Will Patton) reluctantly stays on as his assistant. It's affirmative action at its most potentially volatile, complicated by the mandate that the coach will be fired if he loses a single game in the Titans' 13-game season. The players represent a hotbed of racial tension, but as the team struggles toward unity and gridiron glory, Remember the Titans builds on several subplots and character dynamics to become an inspirational drama of Rocky-like proportions.

Yakin--whose debut, Fresh, was one of the best independent films of the 1990s--understands the value of connecting small scenes to form a rich climactic payoff. Likewise, Washington provides a solid dramatic foundation (his coach is obsessively harsh, but for all the right reasons) while giving his younger co-stars ample time in the spotlight. The result is a film that achieves what it celebrates: an enriching sense of unity that's unquestionably genuine. --Jeff Shannon

"Remember the Titans" (on DVD) at Amazon.com

"Remember the Titans" (on VHS Tape) at Amazon.com

Editorial Review - Amazon.com
Based on a true story, this inspiring American Playhouse production stars Edward James Olmos as a high school teacher who motivated a class full of East L.A. barrio kids to care enough about mathematics to pass an Advanced Placement Calculus Test. Not exactly a variation of To Sir, With Love, the film concerns itself with assumptions and biases held by mainstream authorities about disadvantaged kids, and Olmos's efforts to keep his students coolheaded enough to prove them wrong. Olmos, virtually unrecognizable as the pudgy, balding instructor, gives a career performance in this fine piece directed by Ramón Menéndez, and written by the director and Tom Musca. The DVD release has closed captioning. --Tom Keogh

Customer Review
Educational and thought-provoking lesson about dreams., May 29, 1999
Reviewer: lesliewissink@HASD.org from Wisconsin, U.S.A.
STAND AND DELIVER is one of the best movies to show to high school kids, whether you're a parent or a teacher. Real life math teacher Jaime Escalante, protrayed by Edward James Olmos, teaches his students more than adding and subracting fractions in the cruel setting of East Los Angeles. He shows them how to stretch beyond their limited lives and to rise to their dreams, and he teaches them how to stand up after the world tries to crush their hopes. I show this movie every year to my 8th grade math students, and when the ending credits are rolling, they are always stunned silent, unable to speak. They love STAND AND DELIVER!

"Stand And Deliver" (on DVD) at Amazon.com

"Stand And Deliver" (on VHS Tape) at Amazon.com

Cirque du Soleil

(Note: If you have ever seen Cirque du Soleil perform, you know how inspiring they can be, and why they are included here. If you haven't seen them, check them out!)

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/

Two Museums are frequently mentioned as outstanding examples of educational experience design:

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC

Link to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  Website
An excellent book on the process of designing the US Holocaust Memorial Museum can be found on our "Educational Entertainment Design" page.

• The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL

    (Particularly MSI's "Coal Mine" Attraction)
Link to the The Museum of Science and Industry Chicago Website
Link to the MSI: Online Tour of the Coal Mine

As Chaim Potok points out in the foreword, this book, like the Museum, "is not about beauty but about grim and profound truths concerning the most appalling aspects of human kind." You'll read the words of survivors and victims, liberators and Nazis, the Museum's architect, as well as those who collect artifacts and develop exhibitions.

The Holocaust Museum in Washington is a record of the history of the Museum with sensitively crafted text and both historic and contemporary photographs. Working together, the narrative and pictures bring you a chronicle that you'll come back to time and time again. Seven chapters take you from Creating a Living Museum through The Exhibition and on to The Activities, Education, Collections, and Research.

The Holocaust Museum in Washington is a book that every family should have in their home library.

A Deluxe Edition in a specially designed cloth slipcase is available.

"The Holocaust Museum in Washington" at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Website

Amazon Editorial Review (Booklist)
Weinberg is the founding director of the museum, responsible for its planning phase and the first stages of its operation. Elieli is a consultant to Weinberg who participated in the museum's development. The authors give a brief history of the museum's creation (opened in April 1993 and visited by 5,000 people a day) and describe its architecture and exhibits in words and photographs. They discuss the planning team's commitment to historical truth in order to give the exhibits the highest degree of authenticity. There are hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs throughout the book--photos of kitchen utensils, hair, shoes, forged documents, artificial limbs, and luggage and prayer shawls confiscated from the victims. Haunting and terrifying are photos showing charred corpses of concentration camp inmates, a starved prisoner in Buchenwald, a young Jewish partisan woman being hanged in Minsk in 1941, Danish Jews escaping to Sweden on a small boat, and Hungarian Jews arriving in Auschwitz in 1944. The book provides a well-rounded history of every aspect of the Holocaust, a chilling representation of the museum itself. George Cohen

Synopsis
When the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., opened in April 1993, Holocaust survivors saw their dream come true--their story was now told to the world. This unforgettable book tells the inside story of the museum's creation in words and in 120 color and black-and-white photographs.

Customer Review
A haunting and powerful summary of the museum itself, November 6, 1998
Reviewer: A reader from Memphis, Tennessee
Having recently visited The Holocaust Museum, I felt compelled to own this book as a tangible memory. The book captures the essence of the holocaust experience with outstanding images and words, often understated, that continue to evoke the emotions felt in the museum.

"The Holocaust Museum in Washington" at Amazon.com

From the Museum's founding in 1933 to the creation of the public's favorite exhibits, such as the Coal Mine, the U-505 and Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle, this celebratory volume showcases the Museum's architecture, history and exhibits. 151+ photos.

Hard Cover: 11-817  Soft Cover: 11-963 - Available online from the MSI Museum Shop

"Museum of Science and Industry Chicago" from Amazon.co

Many of the museums on this list are science and technology centers, which require more attention on engagement than art museums or other "collection based" institutions. Several large traditional museums (like the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institute) are included. Several of their recent exhibitions demonstrate the possibilities of using entertainment technologies to contribute to education.

American Museum of Natural History - New York, NY

California Science Center - Los Angeles, CA

Colonial Williamsburg - Williamsburg, VA

COSI Columbus - Columbus, OH

COSI Toledo - Toledo, OH

Denver Museum of Nature and Science - Denver, CO

Discovery Place - Charlotte, NC

Exploratorium - San Francisco, CA

Franklin Institute - Philadelphia, PA

Great Lakes Science Center - Cleveland, OH

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village - Dearborn, MI

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex - FL

Liberty Science Center - Jersey City, NJ

Maryland Science Center - Baltimore, MD

Museum of Science - Boston, MA

Museum of Science and Industry - Chicago, IL

MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) - Tampa, FL

National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution - Washington, DC

Newseum - Arlington, VA

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - Portland, OR

Orlando Science Center - Orlando, FL

Science City at Union Station - Kansas City, MO

Smithsonian Institute - Washington, DC

SonyWonder Technology Lab - New York, NY

Tech Museum of Innovation - San Jose, CA

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Washington, DC
 

For a detailed listing of US Museums, Check out:

From the Oakland Museum of California
http://www.museumca.org/usa/

Please send comments about anything on this list, or suggestions for experiences, publications, films or videos which you feel should be included to Karl Sjodahl at: karl@nac.net.

KARL'S SITE LINKS:

Educational Entertainment Design  (Books and Articles)

Entertainers in Education  (Overview)

Discovery Park Concept  (Entertainers in Education)

Karl's Portfolio

Karl's Resume