Intent

Each subject specified an individual intent. Charles wanted to spend time with his daughter, and play with her inside due to an expected snowstorm. He also mentioned allowing her to burn some energy, have her meet other children and the educational value of the museum. A secondary objective was to keep on a schedule, so that his wife could use the car that afternoon for grocery shopping. His daughter Morgan told us that she really wanted to show her father and his friends the museum because we “weren’t going to believe it.” She had been to the museum previously, and wanted us to experience the surprise of discovery the way a child would. Clearly, she was aware that she would have a good time as well.
As we arrived at the museum, Charles accurately described how the visit would play out. He predicted that Morgan would run around and do whatever she wanted, but return to him with questions. When she did have questions, he would use that as an opportunity to teach her something. He did not expect that she would learn much directly from the exhibits, but treat it more like a playground.
Morgan predicted that we would be amazed by what we saw at the children’s museum, especially an Alice in Wonderland room that shifted perspective. While none of the adults quite had the mind-blowing experience the Morgan expected, we were especially impressed with the forced-perspective room. It seemed possible that her predictions for our reaction were intertwined with her expectations for her own enjoyment.