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COMMUNITY:
Project Descriptions

My Climate, My Community: Sustainable Climate Change Exhibits for Rural Audiences

September 1, 2009 - August 31, 2012 | Exhibitions
This planning grant project addresses the problem that individuals and communities in rural areas do not have access to typical informal science education venues that help the public better understand significant issues that impact their lives. A team of Cornell University investigators will develop strategies to educate rural communities in New York State on science-based issues such climate change and energy. The project seeks to determine how to effectively meet audience needs through a set of sustainable traveling exhibits tailored to very small rural venues. If successful, the practices could be expanded into a nationwide initiative for rural communities. The specific objectives of the planning work are to determine the most effective strategies for communicating science-based topics, the baseline knowledge of the communities on the topics; how to engage communities that are under-served by traditional informal science education venues; which human behaviors after the interventions are responsive to the proposed efforts; and how they can broaden their efforts to create a robust model for the nation. Steps to achieve these objectives will include: regional and local climate change opinion surveys, the establishment of rural partnerships and networks, content materials development targeted at specific audiences and regions, development of prototypes of small traveling exhibits, experiments to foster learning in rural communities through Web 2.0, groups and individual discussions, and internet dialogs.

Funders

NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0917581
Funding Amount: 74346

TEAM MEMBERS

  • REVISE logo
    Principal Investigator
    Paleontological Research Institute
  • Trisha Smrecak
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Cornell University
  • Samantha Sands
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Cornell University
  • Robert Ross
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Cornell University
  • Discipline: Climate
    Audience: General Public | Museum/ISE Professionals | Evaluators
    Environment Type: Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits
    Access and Inclusion: Rural

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