COSI Columbus will develop "Speed," a traveling exhibition. "Speed" is a 6,000-square-foot, interactive traveling exhibition introducing visitors to the science of speed. Visitors experience extreme and slow speeds through a variety of interactives. The exhibition emphasizes the role of speed -- that is, the physical phenomenon of changing motion over time -- in governing biological, geological and electronic processes as well as the central role of mathematics as the language of physical science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joseph WisneWanda Foor
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
A regional system of collaborative geoscience interpretation for the Finger Lakes region of New York State will be undertaken. The Museum of the Earth (MOTE) will be the interpretive hub and partnerships with six Finger Lakes State Parks, Cornell University and the Paleontological Institute are in place to provide field sites and geology content information. The integrated interpretive system of signage and related exhibits will be assessed as to reaching the needs of the target audience by way of extensive front end evaluation. The development of the geoscience content and prototyping of the signage will continue throughout the planning period.
The University of New Mexico, in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS) and the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP), will plan the "Trail of Time," a signed and scaled walking trail with exhibits that interpret the geologic history of the Grand Canyon. Scaled so that one meter equals one million years of earth history, the "Trail" will engage visitors in learning about deep time and how geologic history is recorded in the rock record. The planning activity will involve defining specific learning goals based on visitor studies and work with the NPS Interpretation Division. The "Trail" will help 5,000,000 annual visitors to the Canyon learn about the scale of geologic time, the local geology of the Canyon and the process of science.
Jim Metzner Productions Inc, in collaboration with ETCOM and National Geographic, is requesting support for the production of "Pulse of the Planet/Pulso del Planeta" radio programs and an educational website that present current research questions, techniques, and findings in earth system science. The goal of the project is to introduce Earth as a dynamic, complex, global system and to convey basic concepts of systems and the elements of scale, change and interconnection on our planet. "Pulse of the Planet" reaches over one million listeners daily on over 300 public and commercial stations worldwide. The 300 new programs produced in English will be adapted and co-produced in Spanish by ETCOM for broadcast with its 106 radio affiliates. Each radio segment will be supported and extended on the National Geographic Online website with news commissioned to accompany the radio programs. The NGO feature will also include an audio program archive, links to NationalGeographic.com guides, related stories, photo galleries, maps and links for additional listener research. Learning Experience Design Research will conduct formative and summative evaluation services in English and Spanish.
National Geographic Television is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a 3D large-format film, "Sea Monsters," which will focus on current scientific and paleontological research into ancient ocean life. The film will provide audiences the chance to follow men and women working in diverse disciplines within the Earth Sciences including Paleontology, Oceanography and Marine Biology, and the film will illustrate the interplay between science and technology. Standards-based lesson plans for the classroom and informal activity guides for families will augment the impact of the film. During the planning phase the production team will conduct further research into the scientific themes and stories for the film, identify the scientists who will appear in the film, perform front-end topic testing and evaluation in order to assess the public's interest and current knowledge about the topic, write a full film treatment, develop a detailed budget and assess potential CGI studios.
Waves in Space, an educational museum exhibit for upper elementary and middle school students, clarifies the concept of radio wave propagation and how it is affected by variations in the Earth's atmosphere. The exhibit is based on research in upper atmospheric physics conducted by the Atmospheric Sciences Group at the MIT Haystack Observatory. This research is at the forefront of the emerging national space weather effort, a large NSF initiative to forecast and predict dynamic conditions in Earth's upper atmosphere and the effects these conditions have on key technologies such as cellular phones, pagers and satellites.
FETCH, produced by WGBH, is a new PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to 1) cultivate in children "scientific literacy" -- an appreciation for and enjoyment of science, the skills necessary to become independent investigators and a broad understanding of scientific concepts; 2) provide project collaborators with content-rich activities for informal science education in a range of settings; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes: human body, force and motion, and earth and the environment. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for afterschool partners and a toolkit for FETCH exhibits, which will be developed in coordination with museum partners. Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the museum toolkit.
This project will create a series of half hour radio programs that will educate audiences about the environment and traditions of the northern Polar Region. Each radio program will be recorded in the wilds of Alaska and northern Canada during close contact with nature providing a direct authentic experience. Cultural anthropologist and author, Dr. Richard Nelson will host the programs on topics such as wildlife, ecosystems, weather and climate, glaciology, communities and land, and indigenous traditions. Distributors of the programs include the Alaska Public Radio Network, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and inserts in NPR's Living on Earth.
This Communicating Research to Public Audiences proposal is based on Cindy Van Dover's NSF-funded research, OCE 0350554, Biogeography and community structure in mussel beds at Pacific hydrothermal vents. The primary deliverable is a traveling science and art exhibit that focuses on the PI's deep sea research of hydrothermal vents and the organisms living in those environments. On several of these expeditions, the PI was accompanied by nature watercolorist/scientific illustrator, Karen Jacobsen. Jacobsen's work, along with animated sculptures of tubeworms by sculptor, Chuck Pell, and displays of dive artifacts will form the body of the exhibition, which will travel to both marine and art museums. Major partners are the North Carolina Maritime Museum and the Muscarelle Museum of the College of William & Mary. Muscarelle will manage the tour. Additional learning products will include an exhibition catalog with essays by Van Dover and others, a naturalist's guide to the exhibition, educational materials for children, video podcasts, docent training materials, and website content
This project is processing still photographs and time-lapse photography of Alaska's Columbia Glacier and making them available to science media and the public through a web site. Collaborators include research scientist W. Tad Pfeffer, National Geographic photographer James Balog, and Mark McCaffrey, a member of the Outreach Committee for the International Polar Year. The images and web site information are highlighting the contribution of glaciers with fast dynamic response to the rise of global sea level and to climate change. The project is conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of the web site at informing the science media and the public.
Cyberchase is public television's daily, animated "math adventure series" targeted to children aged 8-11. Thirteen/WNET New York will develop and produce seven new episodes, a multi-media initiative on Math and Weather, plus an innovative series of ten video "math moments" called Do the Math! to be released on air, online, and on broadband. Cyberchase's content spans the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Mathematics. The series goals include: 1) reinforce mathematical knowledge; 2) model mathematics reasoning and help children improve their problem-solving skills; 3) demonstrate the usefulness of math in everyday life; and 4) inspire all children to approach math with enthusiasm and confidence. Ancillary materials, outreach, and a highly popular Web site extend the learning and help make Cyberchase the sole mathematics media project available for the target age group. Cyberchase is now in its sixth production season and fifth year of daily PBS broadcast. The new season will build on the successful format to model effective problem-solving processes, expand the math-rich Web site and bring Cyberchase to today's new-media platforms to prompt children to do math. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the 3D Builder's Math game using an operational prototype working with a sample of students and do a naturalistic summative evaluation to assess impact of the video shorts.
DATE:
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardMichael TempletonFrances NankinBarbara Flagg
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA is organizing a workshop, The National Ocean on the Edge Workshop, which is convening more than fifty leading scientists, exhibit designers, film makers, informal science educators, and communicators for two and one-half days, May 12-14, 2009, along with follow-up activities. The participants are taking four of the booklets in the National Academy of Sciences Ocean Science Series as the point of departure for developing concrete exhibit and program ideas to exchange, entertain, educate, and empower the public. The four themes are: Coastal Hazards, Ocean Pollution, Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries, and Oceans and Human Health. Workshop participants are exploring and evaluating several modes of communicating with the public and preparing a tool kit for each theme. Each tool kit will include: a revised booklet based upon the NAS document;a set of references suitable for the general public; a set of recommended films and exhibits on the topic that have worked for general audiences; and concrete ideas for connecting with the public. In addition to traditional modes of communicating with the public, a variety of social networking techniques are being explored.