The use of umbrella terms term like "hands-on" and "interactive" to describe vastly different kinds of museum exhibition tools, has produced a blurring of important differences between these tools. The origins of this stem from the convergence of different technologies and traditions.

This research seeks to identify and analyse the range of tools that have been broadly categorised as "interactives" within the Powerhouse museum. It seeks to trace the origins of the terms and their usage within a museum context.

Interactives represent the convergence of two separate traditions within the science and technology museum:

The first is tradition derived from San Fransisco's "Exploratorium" which emphasises active participation by users in hands on experiences. Users are able to do experiments and infer scientific principles from first hand experience. The second tradition is derived from the British Science museum. It emphasises working models of machines. Interactives have the potential to demonstrate processes and enable the user to see from new perspectives.

This paper seeks to identify and analyse the range of tools that have been broadly categorised as "interactives" within the Powerhouse museum . It will consider the history , classification, instructional design and purpose of "interactives" as part of exhibitions within the Powerhouse museum.

A sample of computer based interactives and non-computer based interactives were compared . The use of these interactives by museum visitors were observed and differences in the way these different types of interactive can and are being used were identified.