The building is dedicated to interactivity, with a large number of physical challenges as well as some based on computers. The creativity of the IT support staff was evident with signs claiming “Klingons have attacked this machine; it will be repaired shortly” or “Humaniod malfunction”. I wonder how those messages would work in the business community?

For those of us who grew up in the era of museums consisting of things in glass cases, the quality of the learning experience in Leicester certainly struck home. Piecing together foam continents to form the ancient Pangea super-continent, then allowing a machine to simulate continental drift, made far more sense than a series of pictures in a geography book. Trying to lift a can of baked beans with weight adjusted based on the gravity on the Sun, reinforced the impact of gravitational pull on different planets. If we didn’t value astronauts enough, then completing a computer simulation of the docking of a space-station with all controls being backwards certainly highlighted their talents in our view. Just sitting back travelling through space in a domed theatre, passing planets, black holes and space debris had everyone enthralled with the enormity of space.

Experience and experimentation are valuable learning tools. There were two rockets on 12m gantries. Via a computer a child could fill a rocket with a certain percentage of water, displacing compressed air. The aim was to pick the right amount water to shoot the rocket up its full height. Our two boys watched another pick 5%; the rocket barely left the ground. He tried 95% and the same thing happened. They looked puzzled. Another child tried 60% and the rocket zoomed up in the air. My son thought for a few moments and selected 70%. His rocket went the full 12 metres, and his chest filled with pride. “I knew what the right value was”, he said. Sensing a ‘learning moment’, I asked how he knew. Once we had passed the flash of male arrogance, he realised that the work of others can inform your learning and help you make better decisions. With limited prior knowledge of physics, then experimentation and teamwork were the only way to the solution. I hope he remembers that for a few more years.

So what does this have to do with e-learning? I know that developing simulations and creating expensive multimedia elements for standard corporate e-learning is beyond the reach of most, either for cost or bandwidth reasons, but the message of ‘learning through doing’ is still a strong one. Reading alone never really works, although the e-learning world is only just catching up with this idea. Involving multiple senses and activity rather than passive input will always achieve a better learning outcome. There are creative ways of achieving good active experiences in online learning without spending a fortune, and if you are involved in the design of a new programme or course, think about how you can make that learning much more valuable. I may have forgotten the names of the moons of Jupiter, but I’ll never forget the pull of gravity on the Sun.