The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will design, develop, evaluate and install "Technoquest," a permanent 6,000 square foot interactive technology exhibition for families, underrepresented groups, school groups and OMSI's general audience. "Technoquest" will fill OMSI's Technology Hall with a suite of highly interactive, exciting and engaging hands-on educational exhibits, computer simulations, audio and video components, text, graphics and artifacts. The exhibition hall will be divided into five thematic areas: industrial technology (robotics), medical technology, transportation technology, computer technology and communications technology. Other experiences will include a quick-change area for rapidly exhibiting emerging technologies and a Technology Lab where activities conveying a deeper understanding of the general principles of technology will be presented. Ancillary educational materials will be disseminated to the general public and to educators via print, the exhibition website, teacher workshops and professional development workshops for informal science educators. Content of the exhibition and ancillary materials will focus on general educational principles established by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) that emphasize the processes common to all forms of technology and that align with state and national science standards. Principal concepts include The Nature of Technology, Technology and Society, Design, Abilities in a Technological World, and The Designed World. These principles will be reinforced throughout the exhibition. Each thematic area will highlight all five key principles of technology as defined by the ITEA.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Raymond VandiverJan DabrowskiBenjamin Fleskes
The New England Aquarium proposes to develop a traveling exhibition based on recent research implicating human activities in the worldwide increase in jellies. Humans are changing oceans so that they are becoming more suitable for jellies than for fish. The exhibition is expected to reach 12 million people -- primarily families with school-aged children -- across the nation. No jelly exhibit to date has shown jellies as important indicator species and ecosystem linchpins. Dissemination will include materials and programs for school and community outreach. A Sea Jelly Activity Kit and a community art/science program will be developed. In each year of the project approximately 100 urban teens will intern in the jelly culturing facility, where they can learn about the science of culturing jellies and present their experiences to the public.
The New York Aquarium, a subsidiary of the Wildlife Conservation Society, is developing Alien Stingers, a 4000 square foot, permanent exhibit featuring Cnidarians, jellyfish and their relatives. This exhibit will showcase species such as the purple stripe, umbrella and lion's mane jellies. Other animals to be presented include colorful sea anemones and live corals. Visitors will learn about Cnidaria and their habitats, ecological roles, adaptations and relationships with other ocean life. Endangered species, human impact on habitats and various conservation efforts will also be highlighted. The exhibit design will create a sense of wonder and mystery using dramatic lighting, music and unique displays. Moveable 3D models, interactive graphics and specially designed cylindrical tanks will result in an exhibit experience that stimulates curiosity and invites learning. The project has a comprehensive, multi-level evaluation plan structured around two exhibit openings. The first round of evaluation will look at the impact of two-dimensional graphics and prototype interactives. A second opening is planned which will add complex prototype interactives that are designed to present more intricate messages. Both layers of evaluation will be used to shape the permanent exhibit graphics and promote self-directed learning. A website with a live jelly-cam supports this exhibit, along with a host of educational programs and materials for various audiences. A family handbook, children's activity guides, visitor guides and a children's book on jellyfish are among the supplemental materials planned. It is anticipated that over 815,000 visitors will view Alien Stingers on an annual basis.
MONEY is a traveling exhibition using the familiar and fascinating subject of money to build math skills and promote economic literacy. The exhibit will provide an engaging and relevant context in which to explore mathematics using experiences such as making change, comparing prices, saving, balancing a checkbook, paying bills or budgeting -- which are all direct applications of math. This exhibit will address the needs of children and their families for economic literacy as they make decisions that shape their futures. Through a mix of hands-on interactives, audio and video components, computer-based activities, graphics, text and artifacts, the exhibition emphasizes the mathematical skills, concepts and problem-solving strategies necessary for economic literacy. Areas in the exhibit will address the history of money, how it is made, prices and markets, and world trade. Within these contexts, visitors will develop computational skills and gain an understanding of concepts such as operations, patterns, functions, algebra, data analysis, probability and mathematical representation. The concepts are highly correlated with -- and build upon -- the NCTM National Standards in mathematics. Families, children and learners of all ages will be able to experience the exhibit during its national tour. There will be ancillary resources in the form of family take-home activities, a teacher's guide with classroom activities, and an exhibit website.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will carry out a museum-wide initiative to distribute exhibits and programs about new science and research among its core exhibits. The project goal is to redefine science for visitors as a dynamic human endeavor that is rich in discovery and relevant to their lives, as well as to position SMM as a resource for complex science and science issues. The project includes Current Science Central (500 sq ft) plus three Current Science Zones (250-300 sq ft) distributed among existing galleries (Mississippi River, Human Body, Experiment). Standardized formats (e.g., newscast scripts, quiz questions, multimedia kiosks, bulletin/graffiti boards) will provide frameworks that simplify the constant need for updating content and increase the ability to respond quickly. Target audiences are families, school groups, teachers, teens and lifelong learners from among the 850,000 annual visitors; involvement of the Youth Science Center will engage underserved audiences. Project collaborators are researchers (University of Minnesota, Augsburg College, Gentra Systems, 3M and JPL), as well as media (Physics Today, television and radio). The science museum field will benefit from the experience gained through this project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Liza PryorCari DwyerMark DahlagerPaul Martin
The Museum of Science will design and produce an exhibition, "Two of Every Sort", whose aim is to present a scientific basis for the public's understanding of genser, reproduction and human diversity. Using interactive techniques and state-of-the-art media technology, the exhibition will debut at the Museum in Boston, tour science centers in seven other cities and reach an audience of nearly 2.5 million. The eight museums are members of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, which has approved "Two of Every Sort" as one of a second round of shared-cost exhibitions scheduled to appear at each of the member institutions. "Two of Every Sort" (4,000 square feet) will present introductory scientific overview, ranging among biology, anthropology, botany and biomedical technology, to make discussion of these difficult and sensitive matters more meaningful. The exhibit will offer an unusual opportunity to millions of people -- families, teachers and youngsters, to consider complex questions in a safe, friendly learning environment.
Unicorn Projects, Inc. is producing a project about historic mills in American and the science and technology of their operation. The project will combine a nationally broadcast one-hour PBS special with print and interactive educational materials for the home and school markets along with family-oriented personal appearance by host-author David Macaulay at selected museum and mill sites across the country. The goal of the project is to acquaint viewers and participants with the technological innovations and the scientific, social and historical significance of water-powered mills in the early part of the industrial revolution. In addition to the television program the project will produce Mill Times newspapers applicable in formal as well as informal settings, curriculum-based school videos and teachers guides, activity kits including "toys" designed to introduce concepts in applied mechanics, and family-activity programs at selected sites. The PI and Producer/Director will be Larry Klein who has produced and directed the previous Macaulay programs among many other PBS specials. David Macaulay, author of many best-selling books on architecture and technology, will be the host and will work closely with Mark Olshaker, the writer, in developing the script for the program. The Education Director will be Toby Levine. The principal technology and history advisor will be Patrick Malone, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and American Civilization at Brown University and past president of the Society for Industrial Archaeology. The science advisor will be Theodore Ansbacher, principal of Science Services, an informal science education consulting company. Other advisors include Robert Dalzell, Gary Kulik, Judith McGaw, and Merrit Roe Smith.
WGBH will develop, produce, and distribute Wonders of the Modern World, a project that examines the science and technology behind the building of five international landmarks -- the Golden Gate Bridge, the Aswan Dam, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Toronto Skydome, and the English Channel Tunnel connecting Great Britain and France. Wonders of the Modern World is an integrated, synergistic project that combines a nationally-broadcast, prime time television series with print, interactive components, and on-line products for home and school. The goals of the project are to educate the public about concepts in physical science, technology, and engineering and to engage youth and adults in a diverse range of science and technology activities using various media ranging from on-line telecommunications to print. The specific components of the project include: o A prime time PBS television series consisting of five one-hour programs that will be hosted by David Macaulay, author of numerous popular books on technology such as How Things Work, Cathedral, Castle, and Pyramid, o A World Wide Web site where users can conduct interactive science and technology activities, o Print guides to help with on-line activities, o Family-oriented video vignettes with experiments in structural design, o Activity kits that include the materials needed for conducting family-based science experiments, o Curriculum-based school videos, o Student/teacher guides that will help interpret the series for classroom use, and o A CD-ROM. WGBH has formed alliances with four national organizations that will undertake a major effort to engage members of underserved and low-income communities in the series and the ancillary activities. These organizations are The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Community Technology Centers Network, The Public Library Association, and The American Architectural Foundation. The PI and Project Director will be Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOV A and Head of the WGBH Science Unit. Larry Klein, Head of Production Group, Inc., will be the Series Executive Producer and Co-PI. Beth Kirsch of WGBH will serve as Director of Educational Print and Outreach, and Mark Olshaker will be series editor and scriptwriter. Ted Sicker, Executive Producer for Interactive Projects/New Media at WGBH Educational Foundation will direct the development and deployment of the on-line components of the project. Barbara Flagg will conduct formative evaluation and Irene Goodman will conduct summative evaluation.
The Exploratorium will develop "The Electronic Guidebook: Extending Museum Experience Using Networked Handheld Computers." Through this project, the Exploratorium and the Concord Consortium will investigate the use of new technologies to enhance the learning experience of science museum visitors. The exponentially increasing availability of portable personal computing devices provides an opportunity for science museums to develop new ways for visitors to experiment and interact with exhibits. The partners will design and prototype a museum-based "Electronic Guidebook" for visitors. Twenty-five Exploratorium exhibits will be connected to a museum network and handheld portable computers through infrared connections. The target audiences for this project are the general public (adults and families) and children in the K-12 age range. The primary disciplinary focus is physics, with a secondary focus on mathematics.
The Great Lakes Science Center plans to enhance an existing facility by adding the Great Lakes Situation Room. This addition makes innovative use of live theater techniques to provide interactive programming for the visiting audience. The Great Lakes Science Center is a relatively new addition to the Informal Science arena but the visitation has double the expected projections. The programs for the situation room are: Science and Information Technology Show; Great Lakes Data Quest; My Own House Data Quest; and Mathematics All Around Us. These new programs, linked to the Great Lakes Environment and exhibitions throughout the facility will further enable the visitor to actually learn about science, environment, and technology using a unique format and "state of the arts" tools made available by informational technology. This project will impact a large, diverse audience in the Great Lake's area and beyond. It has the potential for replication in other museums and science centers. The goals of this project are to enhance the visitor's experiences and learning while at the science center. The themes for the programs will explore some popular topics among the visiting audience. This is a three-year project that will quintuple the programming capacity of the theater, enhance its role in providing Informal Science Education, provide new active learning experiences and expand the center's capacity for accommodating larger audiences of families and school students. The cost sharing for this award is 66.5% of the projected total budget.
The Shared Signing Science Planning Project will develop a prototype of a web-based Signing Science Pictionary. The prototype will be piloted to families and caretakers of deaf and hard of hearing children to study the feasibility and effectiveness of the learning technology and identify the activities that are most effective in helping deaf children learn life science at informal science centers. The project team will also compile a dictionary of science terms with the intention of including the terms in a full version of the Pictionary. The final Pictionary will be comprehensive; including scientific terms from life, physical, Earth, and space science and will be presented in animated sign language accompanied by written explanations and pictorial illustrations. The project will also produce a video guide with a description of activities that parents can implement with their children. The planning project will result in a prototype with 100 life science terms of species found at the three informal science centers the children and parents will visit to test the prototype. These informal sites are hands-on and exploratory featuring marine organisms and a range of terrestrial flora and fauna to touch and interact with. To prepare for the site visits, parents and caretakers of deaf or hard of hearing children will be taught how to use the Pictionary with children through a Flash-based movie that introduces the interactive features and assists the parents in engaging with their children in three activities using the signing scientific vocabulary. The preparatory vocabulary work with the parents and children will lay the educational foundation for the visits to the informal science education sites. Families will test the initial project prototypes with deaf children using a control group for comparison. Pre-tests will be used to assess childrens' vocabulary before use of the Pictionary. Follow up tests will test knowledge of the new words and will include field observations of children in museums, zoos, and farms, where the new terms will come to life in corresponding exhibits. The results of the ongoing evaluation will be compiled into a guide for other developers of similar materials for the deaf community, and will impact the development of the final project. The project will broaden participation of an underserved audience in STEM learning and generate new knowledge about how to effectively integrate emerging learning technologies into exhibits and programs for deaf learners.The project team includes TERC and Vcom3D and collaborators from Gallaudet University Regional Center at Northern Essex Community College, the College of the Holy Cross, and the Learning Center for Deaf Children. Participating informal science education institutions are represented by the EcoTarium, Davis' Farmland, and the Stone Zoo. These partnerships provide the necessary expertise and support for the proposed project to have significant impact on advancing STEM learning in informal settings for children with hearing disabilities through the use of assistive learning technologies.
Washington Independent Writers is engaged in a planning phase toward publication of Quest?, a 4-page, tabloid sized newspaper about science, technology, and society for children and their families. The target audience is children age 8 to 16, with a focus on the 10-14 year-old age group, along with their parents, teachers, and counselors. A prototype version of the paper has been published locally and distributed through Safeway stores. During the planning phase, the PI and staff will conduct the following activities: Conduct front-end evaluation of the target audience with particular emphasis being given to identifying ways to reach underserved and underrepresented groups; Work with science, technology, and graphics experts to improve the quality of the content and design; Explore traditional and new distribution mechanisms and cooperative arrangements; Create and test interdisciplinary procedures for evaluation; Establish a network of individual, community, corporate, and institutional supporters, including educators, community leaders, scientists, and engineers; Create linkages with schools and school programs; Explore funding sources and sponsorships; Continue building a Board of Advisors.