The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) will implement a comprehensive three-year project that provides Hispanics with greater access to science resources and increases their participation in informal science activities. The Hispanic National Community Science Festivals Project makes optimal use of radio and print media, as well as the Internet, to deliver much-needed services to the families in their homes and communities. First, the SRF will partner with the Hispanic Radio Network (HRN) and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC) to reach major Hispanic markets in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Dallas and Yakima, Washington. A community coalition, including members of the radio station, community organizations and science centers, will be created in each of the targeted locales to plan events and support the project. Radio broadcasts will include information on community science festivals organized by science centers in these cities. Daily science radio capsules will also be developed, produced and distributed nationwide. Topics for radio capsules will include parental involvement and participation in informal science activities, and pathways to science careers. The Self-Reliance Foundation will serve as a clearing-house for community science resources by establishing an 800 number-hotline and bilingual Internet site with referral information on science opportunities within the community. It is anticipated that the festivals alone will reach 100,000-200,000 visitors per weekend, while broadcasts have the potential to reach the majority of the U.S. Hispanic population of 32 million people.
Screenscope, Inc. is producing three annual "state of the environment" reports. The reports will consist of a yearly, ninety-minute, prime-time public television program and an extensive outreach initiative to engage families and the public in a variety of educational activities. The television programs will: Present an up-to-date "state of the environment" assessment of ecosystem performance and human health; Feature the year's most important environmental incidents; Highlight the year's most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs and research dealing with environmental issues; Focus on community programs that have helped improve the quality of the environment over the past year. The outreach initiative will include: A Citizen Science Project with strong emphasis on family participation; Neighborhood workshops and coalitions organized by local PBS stations in association with the American Association for Advancement of Science and the World Resources Institute; An interactive web component including real-time environmental satellite data and visualizations; Local and national media events featuring the yearly release of a "State of the Environment" report; Partnerships will be developed with environmental organizations to help promote and implement the initiative's informal education activities. The project will be under the direction of Marilyn and Hal Weiner with the television programs being produced by their company, Screenscope. Anthony Janetos, Vice President and Chief of Programs at the World Resources Institute will have oversight responsibility for the science information presented in the Annual Report. Project advisors include: Bonnie Cohen, former Under Secretary of State for Management and Board member of CARE; Chet Cooper, former Deputy Director, Emerging Technologies, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Robert Fri, Senior Fellow Emeritus at Resources for the Future and former Director of the National Museum of Natural History; Edward Frieman, Director Emeritus at of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice Chancellor of the University of California; Nay Htun, Dean of the University of Peace and former Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme; Thomas Lovejoy, Science Advisor to the World Bank and the UN Foundation; Jessica Tuchman Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Director-General, International Food Policy Research Institute; Maurice Strong, Chairman, Earth council and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. There also will be science advisors for each of the individual episodes.
The long-running and highly successful National Public Radio series "Science Friday" is venturing in new directions. Given that basic research underlies all of the technological advances influencing our world and that tax dollars pay for that research, the public needs to be informed about the basics of research. To address this need for public education, "Science Friday" will examine the importance of research as a theme underlying all science and technology changes by: Finding the research roots at the bottom of each story; Exploring the cooperation among corporations, private institutions, and research foundations and illuminating how each plays a role in the research process; Following the research "bumps" along the road to illustrate that research success depends upon failures -- not all research produces positive results; Illuminating the barriers to successful research; Helping listeners understand the thought process of researchers; Scaling the "ivory tower" by enabling listeners to question and talk directly with researchers; and Helping listeners understand the role of basic research in policy-making. Ira Flatow, the host, will take "Science Friday" on the road and produce programs in Oklahoma, Iowa, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona and other locations. He also will visit schools and universities and will speak at public events. NPR also will reactivate the "Science Friday Kids Connection" which will take each week's program and its guest scientists directly into classrooms across the country.
WGBH plans to produce a special NOVA series, The Fabric of the Cosmos, based on the best selling book of the same name by physicist Brian Greene. The four 60-minute television programs will be the center piece of a multimedia project that employs multiple platforms including national primetime PBS broadcast, the PBS Web site, podcasts, and an educational outreach campaign that features "Cosmic Cafes." Project goals are to: 1) enhance the public's appreciation of physics by exploring the unfinished story of space and time; 2) find innovative ways of using animation and graphics for television, the Web and on the new media platforms to explain these concepts; 3) bring challenging and exciting ideas in science to people unlikely to encounter them elsewhere by holding public events in communities across the country; and 4) forge effective collaborative partnerships with the American Institute of Physics (AIP), American Physical Society (APS), National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), American Library Association (ALA) and others to maximize impact of the project. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation and Inverness Research Associates will conduct summative evaluation.
The Pacific Science Center, in collaboration and with support from the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium, proposes a three-year program to develop and test a model for delivering mid-scale, astronomy and space-themed exhibits and programming in a shopping center environment, especially in rural locations. The program targets an audience that does not have easy access to a science center or that may not be inclined to take advantage of such a facility. The exhibits and curriculum for this project will be based on Pacific Science Center's well-tested Space Odyssey Van Program, which presently tours elementary schools in Washington State. Phase One of the project will be a test delivery of the existing exhibits and programming to two malls. Phase Two involves construction and testing of the final, larger exhibits and reworking existing programming to better fit a mall delivery environment. Phase Three takes the newly tested devices to ten malls in suburban and rural Washington.
The goal of "Communicating STEM -- Applying the Science of Science Communication to Natural History Media Products in Development/Production" is to bring standard methodology for media product development/production into better alignment with evidence-based best practices for science communication. Presentations in the professional development science strand at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (JHWFF) conference will be curated to demonstrate how adhering to research-based communication strategies has been proven to increase knowledge retention in a lay audience and decrease instances of audience bias. The strand will present emerging methods for assessing media impact beyond simply the number of viewers, as well as in depth case studies examining evidence for measurable benefits to adopting science communication strategies. By establishing an international cohort of interdisciplinary professionals, and by recruiting ongoing engagement through dissemination of project deliverables through partner organizations and university programs, JHWFF will increase opportunities for cross-industry collaboration and provide media producers, STEM professionals and science communication experts with the resources and network necessary for informed, effective public outreach through natural history and science media products. This conference strand is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (JHWFF) is a premier international industry conference for natural history media professionals. This project will establish a cross-industry, interdisciplinary professional development science strand in the upcoming 2015 JHWFF conference. The goal is to advance interdisciplinary collaborations between STEM professionals, science communication experts, media producers, and students/early career professionals. The strand will explore examples of successful science/media collaborations, and increase discourse on best practices for public engagement at the intersection of STEM research, empirically-proven communication methods, and media content for diverse audiences. The project is divided into two phases: Phase I involves the work at the conference; Phase II will provide free online access to edited videos of program sessions made broadly available through partner organizations and institutions, and promoted via social networking, cohort groups, and online blogs. The collaborating organizations (American Association for the Advancement of Science, LifeOnTERRA, and Participant Media), complemented by a broad group of expert advisors, will extend the capacity of the project, facilitate access to stakeholders, and recruit broader participation in both phases of the project. Dr. Louis Nadelson, Director of the Center for the School of the Future at Utah State University, will conduct external evaluation.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), in partnership with the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), proposes to develop the Zoo in You: Exploring the Human Microbiome, a 2,000 square foot bilingual (English and Spanish) traveling exhibition for national tour to science centers, health museums, and other relevant venues. The exhibition will engage visitors in the cutting edge research of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Human Microbiome Project (HMP) and explore the impact of the microbiome on human health. To enrich the visitor experience, the Zoo in You project will also produce an interactive bilingual website and in-depth programs including science cafes and book groups for adult audiences. JCVI will provide its expertise and experience as a major site for HMP genomics research to the project. In addition, advisors from the Oregon Health & Science University, Multnomah County Library, the Multnomah County Health Department, ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, Science Museum of Minnesota, and other experts will guide OMSI's development of exhibits and programs. The Institute of Learning Innovation in collaboration with OMSI will evaluate the exhibits, programs, and website. Front-end, formative, remedial, and summative evaluation will be conducted in English and Spanish at OMSI, ScienceWorks, and tour venues. The exhibition's target audience is families and school groups with children in grades 4-12. Latino families are a priority audience and the project deliverables will be developed bilingually and biculturally. The Zoo in You will tour to three venues a year for a minimum of eight years. We conservatively estimate that over two million people will visit the exhibition during the national tour. This project presents a powerful opportunity to inform museum visitors about new discoveries in genomic research, to invite families to learn together, and to present and interpret health-related research findings for diverse audiences. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): Our research education program, the Zoo in You (ZIY): Exploring the Human Microbiome, is relevant to public health because it will inform exhibition visitors and program participants about the significant new research of the NIH's Human Microbiome Project (HMP). Visitors will make connections between basic research, human health, and their own personal experiences. The bilingual (English and Spanish) ZIY exhibits and programs will present research finding and public health information in enjoyable and engaging ways to reach diverse family and adult audiences.
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), in collaboration with the Hall of Health, a hands-on health museum, proposes a two year, Phase II SEPA project entitled Health and Biomedical Science for a Diverse Community. The purpose of this project is to disseminate (1) "Your Genes and Your Choices," a unique, interactive exhibit on social and genetic factors in health, and (2) a 4th and 5th grade health and biomedical science curriculum. The exhibit and curriculum were developed during Phase I. "Your Genes and Your Choices, "which has eight interactive stations and has been piloted at the Hall of Health, is designed for small science museums and health education centers. It will travel to four venues nationwide during Phase II and remain available to other venues after the grant ends. The innovative, activity based curriculum consists of eight instructional units that introduce students to scientific concepts and investigation in the context of the study of diseases and health conditions that disproportionately affect minority populations. The topics are: Fourth Grade: Unit 1: Nutrition: Balance and Imbalance (Obesity); Unit 2. Traumatic Brain Injuries; Unit 3. Infectious Diseases and Immunity; Unit 4. Environmental Toxics: Poisoning Prevention. Fifth Grade: Unit 1. Nutrition: Diabetes; Unit 2. Asthma and Lung Disease; Unit 3. Heart Disease; and Unit 4. Sickle Cell Anemia and Genetics. Each unit consists of five one hour lessons. The curriculum was piloted during Phase I, both in the classroom and in an after school science club, at two elementary schools serving predominantly minority children in Oakland, California. Now we propose to: (1) disseminate the curriculum via science clubs to ten elementary schools in Oakland and Berkeley; (2) offer a series of educator workshops to enhance the skills of teachers and after school personnel to teach scientific investigation and to incorporate the latest findings in biomedical science across the curriculum; and 3) hold family science festivals at each participating school to introduce parents to the topics of the science clubs. The festivals will include hands-on activities, talks by CHORI researchers, and focused discussions with healthcare providers on issues relating to minority health. This project involves clinical as well as basic science investigators, healthcare providers, teachers and health educators, high school and college students, and faculty from San Francisco State University and the University of California at Berkeley. The ultimate goals are to make science interesting and relevant to children who come from ethnically diverse, low income environments; to help them meet state and national objectives for learning in health, science, and scientific inquiry; to help them and their parents understand the relationship between science and health; and to foster their interest in science, so that they may consider future careers related to biomedical science. All project activities will be assessed through formative and summative evaluation. The science clubs will remain in place at the ten participating schools after Phase II funding ends, and the curriculum and evaluation tools will be posted on the internet, and thereby available to others.
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), in collaboration with the Hall of Health, a hands-on health museum, proposes a three-year Phase I SEPA project entitled "Health and Biomedical Science for a Diverse Community." The project entails development of a novel, interactive biomedical science curriculum for 4th and 5th grade students in low socioeconomic environments. Complementary to the curriculum, a hands-on exhibit on social and genetic factors in health will be developed to enhance learning by students and families. The curriculum and exhibit will be pilot tested with students from two elementary schools in Oakland, California. The curriculum--which will specifically address minority health issues such as asthma, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease--will include four five-lesson instructional units for 4th grade, and four five-lesson instructional units for 5th grade. In addition to classroom activities, the project will include workshops for teachers, family health and biomedical science nights, field trips to the Hall of Health, and an annual health and biomedical science festival for families. The project will involve clinical as well as basic science investigators, patients and families, and high school and college students. It will draw on the talents of teachers and health educators from the Oakland Unified School District, directors of SEPA projects at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, faculty at San Francisco State University and the University of California at Berkeley, and employees of LeapFrog, Inc., a company located in Emeryville, California, that makes interactive educational products. The ultimate goals of the project are to make science interesting and relevant to children who come from ethnically diverse, low socio-economic environments, to help them and their parents understand the relationship between science and health, and to foster their interest in science so that they may consider future opportunities in careers related to biomedical science. All project activities will undergo front-end, formative, and summative evaluation.
The National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI), in collaboration with the Colorado Clinical and Translational Studies Institute (CTSCI), and Colorado Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), requests support for Discover Health/Descubre la Salud (DH/DS). The bilingual (English/Spanish) project will include an interactive library exhibit supported by media and community education resources to engage underserved communities in learning about their cardiovascular and digestive systems, and how to keep them healthy. The project will target underserved communities, including rural and Latino communities, working through libraries and community institutions. The project will use a strategic combination of bilingual, interactive exhibits presented at libraries and community health fairs and festivals, career events, family nights, science camps, and mini-med schools, to engage students, families, and adults in these important health issues. Project PI Robert Russell, Senior Education Associate at NCIL, and NCIL Founder Co-PI Dusenbery, Founder of NCIL, will direct the project. Dr. Jack Westfall, who will direct the Community Engagement Core of CCTSI and also directs Colorado AHECS, he will direct their subaward. An outstanding advisory committee includes biomedical researchers, community health educators, librarians, and informal science educators. They will provide expertise on biomedical science content and help guide the project's implementation. Knight Williams, Inc., a highly experienced media and community evaluation firm, will conduct the full required project evaluation.
The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) Conociendo Tu Cuerpo (Know Your Body) Hispanic Community Health Sciences Education project is an initiative designed to introduce Hispanic students and families to biomedical science and health education resources, and increase their participation levels in these fields. The educational goals of the project are to: (1) Encourage Hispanic undergraduate students to pursue careers in biomedicine and science through a mentoring program at the university level; (2) Inspire an interest in biomedical science among Hispanic elementary-age students and parents through community outreach activities; (3) Inform Hispanic parents about biomedical science education standards and academic requirements for pursuing biomedical and science related careers; and (4) Inform and inspire Hispanic students and their families about the biomedical sciences and related careers through a series of daily nationally broadcast Spanish-language radio capsules, and a nationally syndicated Spanish newspaper column. Conociendo Tu Cuerpo (Know Your Body) includes several key components: A model, Washington, D.C., area coalition of informal science, health, community, education, and media organizations that will publicize and provide hands-on health science activities at community festivals and other community settings; Hispanic undergraduate student health-science fellows to be trained and provided experience in facilitating health science activities; and nationally broadcast Spanish-language radio capsules that will cover topics in areas of biomedicine, research, education, and health-science careers. Parents and students will be able to access additional information about biomedical science opportunities and Hispanic role models in the biomedical sciences through the project's Conociendo Tu Cuerpo website and the bilingual 800 telephone help line promoted by 147 participating radio stations and 102 newspapers nationwide. The project will be supported at the national level through collaboration with the Hispanic Radio Network and the Pacific Science Center. The Washington, D.C., collaborative will include the Capital Children's Museum, local Spanish language radio stations, area universities, and health and community organizations. Development Associates, the largest American education and evaluation consulting corporation, will evaluate the project.