‘Hands on Learning' exhibit invites viewers to touch

Middletown — The “Hands on Learning” exhibit will open in Orange Hall Galleries, Middletown, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m., where James Gattuso will provide guitar music. The month-long plus exhibit does just the opposite from what regular exhibits expect — instead of insisting that its viewers be just that and view, “Hands on Learning” wants attendees to touch and partake of the projects in the show. This works very well with children and their families. The exhibit consists of student-designed demonstrations which illustrate concepts important to a particular field or subject. These “stand-alone” projects involve the observers who become a participants as they follow instructions or other written guides made for easy understanding. Following is a list of participating departments and instructors: Physics, John Wolbeck; Math and Computer Science, Maria Blon; Diagnostic Imaging, Diedre Costic; Occupational Therapy Assistant, Flo Hannes; Nursing, Sandra Wardell; Dental Hygiene Assistant, Meg Atwood; Laboratory Technician Assistant, Nadia Rajsz; English, Sandra Graff; Psychology, Doug Sanders; Education, Elizabeth Tarvin, Nancy Carlson, and Pamela Burns; Theater, Max Schaefer; Visual Communication, Joe Litow. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs through Feb. 22, with hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and during events in Orange Hall Theater. In addition to the regular hours, the exhibit will be open on Sunday, Feb. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. because of the Paper Bag Players performance of “Dandelion” in Orange Hall Theater. The exhibit is being presented by the SUNY Orange Center for Teaching and Learning in cooperation with Cultural Affairs. Associate Professor Maria Blon is the organizer. Orange Hall is located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues on the campus of Orange County Community College, Middletown. Questions may be directed to Cultural Affairs at 845-341-4891 or by e-mail to cultural@sunyorange.edu.