The Workshop to Explore Engaging Broader Publics in Conversations about Assessment of the Societal Implications of New and Emerging Directions in Science and Technology (ECAST Workshop) was created to explore network-building activities to more broadly involve the public in deliberations about the assessment of technology. The workshop aimed to develop models for leveraging the work done by ECAST (Expert & Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology), and specifically expand the reach of the World Wide Views (WWViews) on Biodiversity deliberations. The project team wanted to brainstorm ways
In 2008, the WGBH Educational Foundation, along with the Association of Computing Machinery, was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation, Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, under the Broadening Participation in Computing Program (NSF 0753686). The purpose of the grant was to develop a major new initiative to reshape the image of computing among college-bound high school students. Based on its market research results, WGBH developed a website and other resources that were intended for use by teachers, parents and students. Concord Evaluation Group
Main findings and Points of Interest Both Burke visitors and members found "Life Before Plastics" to be the MOST interesting exhibit topic area. This was in part due to a general interest in history, but also included the desire to learn more about what alternatives to plastic exist, and a peaked curiosity about how past cultures survived without plastic materials, specifically how their own daily routines would be impacted if plastics did not exist. Both Burke visitors and members found "What can I do?" to be one of the LEAST interesting exhibit topic areas. This was in part due to a feeling
The exhibition Innovation Showcase focused on energy-related innovation and individual action. As part of a larger project, Innovations in Energy, the central visitor-focused question for this exhibition was: "To what extent and in what ways do the various components of Innovations in Energy serve toward meeting outcomes for the target audiences?" This summative evaluation of Innovation Showcase addressed this question by identifying how COSI visitors used the gallery space (particularly at the level of individual exhibition elements) and how they described their experience in Innovation
The Take Two Institutional Research Study was an ethnographic case study of the contributions of Web 2.0 philosophy and technologies to museum practice and staff development at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina. It used a naturalistic methodology to investigate staff members' relationships with each other and their publics as the Museum developed and embraced a philosophy of Web 2.0 experimentation, shared authority, and co-creation. An important element in developing Web 2.0 culture at the Museum of Life and Science was leadership that encouraged experimentation and
Bio Med Tech: Engineering for Your Health was a 2,750 square foot exhibition at the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) that dealt with issues related to biomedical technology. Partially funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Awards program (NIH/SEPA), the project was developed through a partnership between GLSC and Case Western Reserve University. The SEPA grant also funded a variety of programming activities, including informal Exploration Cart activities in the exhibition, presentations in the exhibition's theater space, and teacher training
WGBH and the Materials Research Society (MRS) collaborated to create Making Stuff, a multi-faceted project about the all-encompassing role that materials play in shaping our lives. The project included a four-episode NOVA mini-series originally broadcast in January, 2011 that was hosted by NY Times columnist David Pogue, a large-scale national outreach campaign with collaborating partnerships funded in 20 locations, web pages on the NOVA website, and an online contest promoted and hosted on Facebook. Across all project components, the overarching goals were to enhance the general public's
In preparation for the development of the NSF-funded exhibition Places of Invention, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation. The study explored interest in, misconceptions of, and potential barriers to the content in the Places of Invention exhibition, which tells stories of historic and modern communities where people, resources, and spaces have come together to spark inventiveness. RK&A conducted 50 in-depth interviews with
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Smithsonian InstitutionLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and InnovationNational Museum of American History
This study was conducted as part of the formative evaluation of the NISE Network Forum Nanomedicine in Healthcare. The purpose of the forum was to bring members of the public together to discuss the conditions under which nanotechnology applications in medicine and personal care products should be made available to the public. During the forum, participants learned about nanotechnology and its societal and ethical impacts from expert speakers, had chance to ask questions of the experts, participated in a small group discussion in which they talked about the pros and cons of releasing
The Nanoawareness Study is designed to answer the question "What, if any, impact do NISE Net activities delivered at Tier 1 and Tier 2 institutions have on the nanoawareness of the public audiences that experience those activities?" The appendix of this report includes the online survey instrument used in the study.
The NISE Network Forums were created to provide an in-depth learning experience that would (1) enhance participants' understanding of nano and its potential impacts; (2) increase participants' confidence in participating in public discourse about nanotechnologies; and (3) build informal science educators' knowledge and ability to conduct this type of programming at their institution (NISE Network Public Forums Manual, 2007). In an effort to reach out to a more diverse audience, the NISE Network Forums Team translated into Spanish the existing NISE Net forum "Nanomedicine in Healthcare" to
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Elizabeth KollmannJane MorganNanoscale Informal Science Education NetworkRoxana del Campo
The findings summarized in this summative evaluation report focus on three of The World's media venues: (1) its radio broadcast, (2) its Science Podcast (http://www.world-science.org/category/podcast), and (3) its online resources (e.g., articles, streaming audio and video). An additional focus is on The World's participatory Science and Technology Forums. The primary research aim was to assess the project's impact and success at reaching its intended goals while avoiding unintended negative outcomes. Toward these ends, The World's audience members were asked to respond to an online survey
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Arthur JohnsonPublic Radio International (PRI)