Columbia University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) and New York Hall of Science (NYHOS) partnered to create Research and Rolling Exhibits (RARE). The project's goal is to showcase current research in science and make it accessible to the general public. Five Wondercarts were created over three years, from 2005 through 2008, highlighting topical scientific research and its relevance to the museum's target audience. The carts were programmed to engage families in conversation, letting their interest determine the direction of activities. In this manner Wondercarts
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Ellen GiustiNew York Hall of ScienceKathleen Condon
The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Chicago, Illinois partnered with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate its exhibition Explore: Blue Planet-Red Planet. A front-end evaluation was undertaken to help MSI staff find common ground between the proposed content and interpretation of the exhibition and potential visitors. Data were collected in May 2008 from drop-in visitors at MSI and consist of 35 in-depth interviews with 105 people.
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Randi KornMuseum of Science and Industry
This Pathways Project connects rural, underserved youth and families in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho to STEM concepts important in sustainable building design. The project is a collaboration of the Palouse Discovery Science Center (Pullman, WA), Washington State University and University of Idaho, working in partnership with rural community organizations and businesses. The deliverables include: 1) interactive exhibit prototype activities, 2) a team cooperative learning problem-solving challenge, and (3) take-home materials to encourage participants to use what they have learned to investigate ways to make their homes more energy-efficient and sustainable. The project introduces youth and families to the traditionally difficult physics concept of thermal energy, particularly as it relates to sustainable building design. Participants explore how building materials and their properties can be used to control all three types of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. The interactive exhibit prototypes are coupled with an Energy Efficient Engineering Challenge in which participants, working in cooperative learning teams, use information learned from the exhibit prototype activities to retrofit a model house, improving its energy efficiency. The project components are piloted at the Palouse Discovery Science Center, and then travel to three underserved rural/tribal communities in Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington. Front-end and formative evaluation studies will demonstrate whether this model advances participant understanding of and interest in STEM topics and careers. The project will yield information about ways that other ISE practitioners can effectively incorporate cooperative learning strategies in informal settings to improve the transferability of knowledge gained from exhibits to real-world problem-solving challenges, especially for rural and underserved audiences. This project will also provide the ISE field with: 1) a model for increasing the capacity of small, rural science centers to form collaborative regional networks that draw on previously unused resources in their communities and provide more effective outreach to the underrepresented populations they serve, and 2) a model for coupling cooperative learning with outreach exhibits, providing richer experiences of active engagement.
This broader implementation project will create a professional network of individuals and institutions increasing their capacity to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of large scale community science festivals. The project builds on a previous award that supported the implementation of science festivals in Cambridge, MA; San Francisco, San Diego, and Philadelphia. Each festival reached 50-70,000 attendees, many of them families from low-income, ethnic communities. Festival organizers and participants include science center practitioners, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) researchers, STEM related businesses, public television STEM producers, universities, K-12 schools, and government and foundation stakeholders. The summative evaluation indicated significant impacts on participant's STEM interest, learning, and connections to STEM resources in their community. The number of science festivals across the country is increasing. Consequently this new project will create a professional network with numerous benefits to professionals in the Informal Science Education (ISE) field and other stakeholders including: timely access to information, knowledge and experience related to science festivals; rich relationships to draw on when facing challenges; credibility of the festival concept; ability to partner with multiple festivals and magnify the reach of existing ISE institutions and program; diffusion of knowledge and innovation; and collective intelligence and inclusive consultation. It is expected that the network will involve supporting approximately 50 science festivals during the grant period. A business plan will be developed for long term sustainability of the network and the subsequent growth of science festivals. This is a collaborative proposal with 4 project partners who have distinct roles in creating and sustaining the network: MIT, University of California at San Francisco, University of North Carolina/Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, and The Franklin Institute. MIT's project deliverables include hosting the central management and administrative functions of the network and providing conferences, workshops, individual mentoring of new science festival champions, maintaining the network website, etc. UCSF will develop tools, resources, and linkages to increase participation of scientists in festivals. UNC/Morehead Planetarium and Science Center will provide expertise in statewide festival organizing. The Franklin Institute will help network participants build capacity for engaging low-income families with programming examples, community asset analysis tools, and webinars. This multi-hub approach is a new innovative strategy for creating and sustaining the first ever professional network for science festival organizers. The project evaluation will focus on the network\'s vibrancy, connectivity and effect. Network vibrancy impact data will be collected on how members share goals, enhance leadership, and expand geographic and model diversity. Network connectivity evaluation will study the strength and growth of the relationships within the SFA network. Network effects will study the ways the Science Festival Alliance (SFA) network is achieving science festival organizational capacity looking at increases in the number of science festivals, geographic spread, science festival innovations, and the presence of a SFA sustainability plan. This project will add new knowledge about the impact of networks on the development and impact of science festivals throughout the country.
Through Wildlife Watch, participants gain first hand experience with plants and animals in their natural environment. The Wildlife Watch website features downloadable "watch" lists by state, and the capability for visitors to share wildlife sightings, photos and stories online. Wildlife Watch is an introductory citizen science program that is perfect for families, photographers, kids, outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who wants a deeper connection with world around them.
Gardeners visit this site and report what varieties perform well - and not so well - in their gardens. Other gardeners visit to view the variety ratings and read the reviews to decide which might work well for them. The VVfG citizen science project also provides an opportunity for researchers to involve knowledgeable, motivated citizens in meaningful scientific research. Research on the performance of vegetable varieties is often limited to commercial production in part, because visiting thousands of home gardens to collect data would be an overwhelming task.
The Annual Midwest Crane Count started in 1976 and currently covers 5 states. The primary purposes of the Crane Count are to help ICF monitor the abundance and distribution of cranes in the Upper-Midwest which helps with crane research as well as introducing people to cranes and their natural environment. In the 1930's, an estimated 25 pairs of Sandhill Cranes resided in Wisconsin. The year 2000 Count tallied more than 13,000 Sandhill Cranes.
You can Celebrate Urban Birds by gardening, by organizing a community event, or by connecting to the outdoors through art projects. Become a citizen-scientist by observing birds in your neighborhood and sending the data to scientists at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. For anyone, anywhere, anytime (even in the suburbs or the country!)... everybody can Celebrate Urban Birds in some way.
You are invited to join Project Squirrel, a Citizen Science program for all ages. Participation only takes a few minutes--simply log on to ProjectSquirrel.org to tell us about the squirrels in your neighborhood. Join people all across Chicagoland as we learn more about the ecology of our neighborhoods through the eyes of squirrels. For more information go to www.projectsquirrel.org.
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Peggy Notebaert Nature MuseumUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoWendy Jackson
The Minnesota Loon Monitoring Program (MLMP) is a long-term project of the Minnesota DNR. Hundreds of volunteer observers annually gather information about common loon numbers on more than 600 lakes in six regions of the state. Volunteers visit each lake for one morning in early July, count the number of adult & juvenile loons seen, and report these observations to the DNR for analysis. The MLMP provides the DNR with the ability to detect changes in the population and reproductive success of the state's common loons, and to anticipate any problems that could jeopardize the future of Minnesota's state bird.
Volunteer "Species Stewards" adopt one or more species of native prairie or savanna plants. On semi-monthly or more frequent visits, stewards log locations, bloom dates, and seed ripening dates, and collect seed to be used to restore additional prairie on old field sites. Additional opportunities for individual or group seed collection and sowing are provided. Buckthorn-busting is also available.
Volunteer to participate in the MN Frog and Toad Calling Survey (MFTCS) to help monitor the number and distribution of frog & toad populations in MN. Participants will be assigned to pre-selected routes and asked to conduct nighttime "listening surveys" on 3 evenings per year between April and July. Available route locations and other information can be found on the MFTCS website. Training materials including a CD of frog calls, maps, and data forms are provided. Volunteers need a vehicle, good hearing, interest in frog conservation, commitment to completing assigned route, and desire to participate for multiple years.