McWane ScienceCenter (McWSC) is a non-profit, interactive science museum committed to showing the public how science and technology enrich their lives and help them solve problems. McWSC has a goal of extending the power of experiential learning to as many people as possible, particularly those who would otherwise not be able to do so on their own. McWane's environmental education initiative, the Envirosphere Educational Project, uses NOAA's Science on a Sphere (SOS) to provide environmental education and workforce development programs for an estimated 200,000 people. This number includes the general public, school groups from across the region, and 2,500 children in low-income communities from across the state of Alabama. All visitors have the opportunity to go to the SOS exhibit and participate in environmental education programs led by McWSC Education Staff. Each program corresponds to one of the SOS data sets and to the Alabama Course of Study Standards for elementary and secondary schools. The intended outcomes of the Project are to make complex environmental science concepts more accessible to people of all ages; to provide educational opportunities to children who would otherwise not have access to this type of information; to partner with local and state academic institutions, school boards and municipalities to improve environmental science curricula and awareness; and to increase the visitor s knowledge of and pique his/her interest in science and its related real-world applications.
Science On a Sphere (SOS) at Fiske Planetarium will raise awareness and understanding of Earth system science for over 30,000 visitors per year, using student docents and newly-developed, tested pedagogy. SOS will enhance Fiske's ability to engage 3,000 university students and 30,000 K-12 students and members of the public. A student docent program will transform the traditionally passive experience of a planetarium visit into an interactive learning opportunity. The docents will be drawn from two sources: undergraduates who will be future science teachers, who we take from a selective CU program called "STEM-TP", and Hispanic university and high school students taught by Fiske's planetarium manager Francisco Salas. Docents will talk with visitors and help them understand key science issues that affect the earth, leading to more informed decision-making. Fiske will develop bilingual pedagogical material and new data sets, and share them with NOAA and SOS sites. To support the docents, and visiting students and teachers, Fiske Education Manager Traub-Metlay will lead development of explanatory materials that challenge visitors and provide context for what they are seeing. These will be translated into Spanish by Fiske Manager Salas. New data sets, contributed by faculty members, will expand the range of SOS, into space, adding solar interior models, the celestial sphere, and the cosmic background radiation from the Big Bang, along with new terrestrial data such as the worldwide distribution of forest fires. SOS will become a focal point in Fiske's longstanding tradition of teacher workshops, which are often done in cooperation with the University of Colorado and NOAA scientists and highlight NOAA s role monitoring the earth and sun. It also will be integrated with a small suite of hands-on exhibits we are installing that explain how observations can be made in infrared, ultraviolet, and X-rays in addition to visible light. These would complement SOS, which features multi-wavelength data. Fiske and its Boulder Colorado-area partners have raised $75,000 to cover the full cost of SOS hardware, and have formal institutional commitments to long-term program development. This award from NOAA will go into materials development, evaluation, and student pay. Colorado communities are aware of NOAA s important work and the nearby David SkaggsCenter , but security measures make it difficult to visit there. Fiske is much more accessible. Fiske will improve the usefulness of all SOS sites by conducting formative evaluation to assess what kinds of SOS presentations work best with public and school audiences, giving feedback to NOAA and all SOS users.
Field trips are a popular method for introducing students to concepts, ideas, and experiences that cannot be provided in a classroom environment. This is particularly true for trans-disciplinary areas of teaching and learning, such as science or environmental education. While field trips are generally viewed by educators as beneficial to teaching and learning, and by students as a cherished alternative to classroom instructions, educational research paints a more complex picture. At a time when school systems demand proof of the educational value of field trips, large gaps oftentimes exist
The "Salmon Research Team: A Native American Technology, Research and Science Career Exposure Program" is a three-year, youth-based ITEST project submitted by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The project seeks to provide advanced information technology and natural science career exposure and training to 180 middle level and high school students. Mostly first-generation college-bound students, the target audience represents the Native American community and those with Native American affiliations in reservation, rural and urban areas. Students will investigate computer modeling of complex ecological, hydrological and geological problems associated with salmon recovery efforts. Field experiences will be provided in three states: Oregon, Washington and northern California. The participation of elders and tribal researchers will serve as a bridge between advanced scientific technology and traditional ecological knowledge to explore sustainable land management strategies. Students will work closely with Native American and other scientists and resource managers throughout the Northwest who use advanced technologies in salmon recovery efforts. Student participation in IT-dependent science enrichment and research activities involving natural science fields of investigation will occur year round. Middle school students are expected to receive at least 330 contact hours including a one-week summer research experience, a one-week spring break program, and seven weekends of residential programs during the school year. The high school component consists of 460 contact hours reflecting one additional week for the summer research experience. In addition to watershed and salmon recovery related research, students will be involved in other ancillary research projects. A vast array of partners are positioned to support the field research experience including, for example, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Redwood National State Park, College of Natural Resources and Sciences at Humboldt State University, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, University of Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Washington Columbia Basin Research project, the Northwest Center for Sustainable Resources at Chemeketa Community College and the Integrated Natural Resource Technology program at Mt. Hood Community College. The project is intended to serve as a model for IT-based youth science programs that address national and state education standards and are relevant to the cultural experience of Native American students. Two mentors will provide continued support to students: an academic mentor at the student's schools and a professional mentor from a local university or natural resource agency. Incentives will be provided for student participation including stipends and internships. Career exposure and work-related skills are integrated throughout the project activities and every program component. Creative strategies are used to encourage family involvement including, for example, salmon bakes and museum discounts.
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Travis Southworth-NeumeyerDaniel Calvert
The National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics (NCED) is a Science and Technology Center focused on understanding the processes that shape the Earth's surface, and on communicating that understanding with a broad range of stakeholders. NCED's work will support a larger, community-based effort to develop a suite of quantitative models of the Earth's surface: a Community Sediment Model (CSM). Results of the NCED-CSM collaboration will be used for both short-term prediction of surface response to natural and anthropogenic change and long-term interpretation of how past conditions are recorded in landscapes and sedimentary strata. This will in turn help solve pressing societal problems such as estimation and mitigation of landscape-related risk; responsible management of landscape resources including forests, agricultural, and recreational areas; forecasting landscape response to possible climatic and other changes; and wise development of resources like groundwater and hydrocarbons that are hosted in buried sediments. NCED education and knowledge transfer programs include exhibits and educational programs at the Science Museum of Minnesota, internships and programs for students from tribal colleges and other underrepresented populations, and research opportunities for participants from outside core NCED institutions. The Earth's surface is the dynamic interface among the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. It is intimately interwoven with the life that inhabits it. Surface processes span environments ranging from high mountains to the deep ocean and time scales from fractions of a second to millions of years. Because of this range in forms, processes, and scales, the study of surface dynamics has involved many disciplines and approaches. A major goal of NCED is to foster the development of a unified, quantitative science of Earth-surface dynamics that combines efforts in geomorphology, civil engineering, biology, sedimentary geology, oceanography, and geophysics. Our research program has four major themes: (1) landscape evolution, (2) basin evolution, (3) biological sediment dynamics, and (4) integration of morphodynamic processes across environments and scales. Each theme area provides opportunities for exchange of information and ideas with a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers and learners at all levels; researchers, managers, and policy makers in both the commercial and public sectors; and the general public.
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Efi Foufoula-GeorgiouChristopher PaolaGary Parker
CitSci.org is a website supporting citizens who monitor invasive species. CitSci.org provides a mapping program that allows citizens, school groups, and professionals to enter invasive species observations into a global database. The observations are then used for natural resource management, scientific studies, and environmental education. CitSci.org offers an opportunity for students and volunteers to perform field studies that contribute to our collective biological databases.
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National Institute of Invasive Species ScienceJames Graham
The Coalition for Watershed Education, consisting of the Land Access Information Association, Great Lakes Children's Museum, Interlochen Public Radio and Northwestern Michigan College Great Lakes Studies Institute will implement a comprehensive science education project for youth and adults. The major components include: Watershed Discovery field experiences, Soundscapes radio broadcasts, Waterscapes exhibits, a project website, and the expanded Great Lakes Coalition for Watershed Education. Watershed Discovery is a field-based experience for youth ages 11-17. Teams of 6-10 youth will work with mentors who specialize in GPS, GIS, geology and geography to research and collect data on the Great Lakes watershed. These students will also use their new knowledge to produce radio segments as part of the Soundscapes component. Youth teams will be trained to interview sources, gather information and write scripts for use on the local National Public Radio affiliate. The Great Lakes Children's Museum will design a permanent, interactive watershed of 1,500 square feet, as well as a traveling exhibit of 500 square feet for visitors ages 7-12. Other deliverables include "A Community Guide to Watershed-based Science Education" (available in print and CD-ROM), a one-day regional dissemination conference, and an interactive website. Strategic impact will be realized through the development of a novel model for watershed education, its subsequent replication and summative evaluation outcomes. It is estimated that over 40,000 children will be reached by this community-wide initiative.
Hopa Mountain, in collaboration with Blackfeet Community College, One Step Further, and Ogala Lakota College, will develop "Native Science Field Centers (NSFC)" to provide year-round informal science education for youth ages 8-18 and adults. Informal science education professionals are also served through the publications and materials designed to support programs targeting Native communities. The "NSFCs" will be located on the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap, and Pine Ridge reservations. The centers will develop "TribalWatch" environmental science programs that will be disseminated to six other tribes in the Missouri River Watershed. The "Tribalwatch" programs create a STEM career ladder for youth and adults to develop scientific expertise, knowledge of monitoring and an understanding of management of local lands. New technologies will be created for the evaluation of Native science programs that incorporate indigenous evaluation methodologies. Key partners include the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the Field Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Deliverables include "Native Science Field Centers, ""TribalWatch" programs and a "TribalWatch" toolkit and training plan. Strategic impact will be realized through capacity building within Native communities, research and documentation of programming practices and dissemination of the toolkit and publications to informal science education professionals, 32 tribal colleges and other educational organizations that serve Native communities. It is anticipated that this project will reach 100,000 Native and non-Native youth, adults and informal science education practitioners in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
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Bonnie Sachatello-SawyerHelen AugareMichael Fredenberg
The Minnesota Zoo and Eduweb will design and develop "WolfQuest," an online, 3-D, multiplayer videogame based upon the behavior, biology and social structure of the gray wolf. This dynamic interactive experience will allow learners to become a virtual wolf (avatar) to explore gray wolves within an authentic virtual replication of wolf habitat and social structure. The scientifically accurate graphic representations of the virtual environment will afford rich and robust learning of wolf behavior, biology and habitat ecology. Participants are intended to emerge from the learning experience with a clear understanding of wolf conservation issues in the real world. "WolfQuest" is supported by a website that will function as a self-sustaining community of learners who will participate in discussion forums with wolf experts, and receive ongoing gameplay information and interaction with other participants. Additionally, the project website will provide educational guides for parents and teachers, interpretive materials, incentives to reward participants' achievements acquired through "WolfQuest" gameplay and provide a link to informal environmental organizations throughout the country. The national informal education network will afford regional customization of "WolfQuest," as well as provide social interaction among participants and organizations. The national participant network will disseminate and promote the "WolfQuest" game and wolf-related science programs. Two kiosk installations will be deployed at the Minnesota Zoo and the International Wolf Center for extended learning opportunities at those sites. Project assessment will aggregate data on learners' content acquisition, attitudinal change, game engagement and will yield guidelines for the field on effective practices in development of science education games, along with appropriate methodologies for evaluating game-based learning.
The "Environmental Science Information Technology Activities (ESITA)" based at the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) at UC-Berkeley is a three-year, youth-based proposal that seeks to engage 144 inner-city ninth and tenth graders in learning experiences involving environmental science and information technology. The goal of the project is to develop, field-test, and disseminate an effective student-centered, project-based model for increasing understanding and interest in information technology. Program components included an afterschool program, summer enrichment and an internship program. An extensive partnership involving community based agencies, environmental science organizations, a local high school and industry support the project by serving as host sites for the afterschool program and internship component. Student participation in project-based, IT-dependent research activities related to environmental science will occur year round. Students will research air and water quality in their local communities and study attitudes toward -- and use of -- information technology among their peers. The focus of the research activities is based on the results of a students-needs assessment. Students participate in the program over a two-year period and are expected to receive at least 240 total contact hours. The afterschool program serves as the project's principal mechanism for content delivery. The five-month afterschool program consists of inquiry-based mini-courses on the following topics: Information Technology tools and concepts, earth and physical science, data compilation and modeling, and publication of research results. The summer enrichment component encompasses a series of workshops at LHS; excursions to IT-related exhibits, environmental facilities, and IT-based companies; and an annual student robotics fair. During the second year of program participation students will complete 12-month internships to support the application of concepts and skills learned the first year. The LHS Student Geoscience Research Opportunities program will serve as a model host site for the program. Stipends are provided throughout the program to encourage student participation and retention.
Coastal Communities for Science: A Bering Sea Partnership is a 3-year program of collaboration among the WWF-US, four Alaska native rural communities and regional scientists investigating the ecology of the Bering Strait. Its primary purpose is to advance youth interaction with science and it proposes to achieve this by engaging young people from high school and beyond to conduct research with scientists. The project which involves training community youth on science and research methods, capacity building of informal educators in these rural communities to lead and encourage field-based programs, inclusion of community elders in the overall learning and communication of science concepts and the creation of a model of collaboration. The science content, an amalgam of community interest and researcher interest, is grounded in local environmental and economic issues. With WWF's support and electronic technology, this has the potential of being a model project that is broadly disseminated at local, regional and national levels.
Understanding the Science Connected to Technology (USCT) targets information technology (IT) experiences in a comprehensive training program and professional support system for students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Participants have opportunities to assume leadership roles as citizen volunteers within the context of science and technology in an international watershed basin. Training includes collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of scientific data. BROADER IMPACTS: Building on a student volunteer monitoring program called River Watch, the USCT project enables student scientists to conduct surface water quality monitoring activities, analyze data and disseminate results to enhance local decision-making capacity. The project incorporates state and national education standards and has the potential to reach 173 school jurisdictions and 270,000 students. USCT will directly impact 81 teachers, 758 students and 18 citizen volunteers. The USCT project provides direct scientist mentor linkages for each participating school. This linkage provides a lasting process for life-long learning and an understanding of how IT and STEM subject matter is applied by resource professionals. Broader impacts include accredited coursework for teachers and students, specialized training congruent with the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," and building partnerships with Native American schools. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The USCT project is designed to refocus thinking from static content inside a textbook to a process of learning that includes IT and STEM content. The USCT engages students (the next generation of decision makers) in discovery of science and technology and expands education beyond current paradigms and political jurisdictions.