Enrico Fermi's work gave birth to a real cultural revolution in the Italian scientific scenario. His scientific studies concerned almost every field in physics and had far-reaching effects of which virtually everybody, above all in Italy, is still taking advantage. Two important "by-products" of Fermi's ideas and initiatives will be here taken into consideration: the new way of carrying out research and communicating science invented by Fermi and his group and his publications for the general public, which often stood for high examples of scientific popularisation. Then the focus will shift on
SoundVision Productions is developing and distributing a series of ten, hour-long public radio documentaries that will explore the turbulent boundary between science and the humanities, capturing the present moment of tremendous scientific and scholarly ferment with the unique and intimate power of radio. By introducing the radio audience to the thoughts and voices of some of the world\'s most accomplished scientists, in conversations with the counterparts in the humanities, the series will look at recent developments in science including physics, molecular and cell biology, environmental science, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and the multiple disciplines of the life sciences reflecting the increasingly subtle and widespread application of evolutionary theory. In each program, a careful account of new scientific ideas and discoveries will be placed within the context of historical and contemporary thought about the human and natural worlds. Barinetta Scott, the Executive Producer, has most recently been the Executive Producer for the highly regarded NSF funded NPR series, "The DNA Files." In developing this project, she will work closely with an advisory committee that includes: John Avise, Research Professor, Dept. of Genetics, University of Georgia Samuel Barondes, Professor and Director of the University of California San Francisco\'s Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry Terrence Deacon, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Anne Foerst, Professor of Computer Science and Theology, St. Bonaventure University Ursula Goodenough, Dept. of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis William Irons, Professor of Anthropology, Northwestern University Gordon Kane, Professor of Physics, University of Michigan Jim Miller, Senior Program Associate for the AAAS Program of Dialogue Between Science and Religion W. Mark Richardson, Episcopal Priest, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, General Theological Seminary Holmes Rolston, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University Michael Ruse, Professor of the Philosophy of Biology and Ethics, at Florida State University Mary Evelyn Tucker, Professor of Religion at Bucknell University Dorothy Wertz, Senior Scientist; Social Science, Ethics, and the Law; The Shriver Center.
The Exploratorium will develop a 6000 sq. f.t exhibit Seeing: The Interaction of Physiology, Culture, and Technology . As the first exhibit and program development project of their multiyear initiative "Refocusing on the Floor," this permanent exhibit will consist of approximately 60 new and redesigned exhibits organized into six sections: Seeing Central, Light and Images, Process of Seeing, Seeing Things Differently, Extending Our Vision, and Deconstructing What We See. Visitors will develop their skills at seeing, noticing, and visual thinking, will become more conscious of visual information in daily life, be exposed to current research on vision and visual cognition, be given opportunities to investigate the social and cultural influences on seeing, and be lead to the realization that seeing, interpreting, and understanding visual information are basic to the conduct of science. New partnerships will be developed with community-based organizations that will promote new audiences for the Exploratorium as well as enhance the viewpoints of the participating staff members. The activities will address the National Science Standards in terms of the process skills that are identified and will reintroduce visual thinking skills into the activities linking the exhibit with the formal education's curriculum. Additional workshops and professional dissemination activities will be included in the overall project.
The Whitaker Center for Science and Arts will develop two versions of an exhibit Bodies in Motion: The Physics of Human Movement. The Whitaker Center is a new cultural center to be centrally located in Harrisburg, PA and has as its theme "science through the arts." In keeping with that focus, this will be a highly interactive 2000 sq. ft. exhibit which will provide experiences that reveal the physics embodied in dance, ice skating, gymnastics, and other sports. Two versions of the exhibit will be developed, one will be for the Whitaker Center (2000 sq. ft.) and the other (1500 sq. ft.) will travel to small science centers and children's museums. The core physics concepts to be explored are mass, inertia, force, speed and velocity, acceleration, torque, momentum, angular momentum, centrifugal and centripetal force, kinetic and potential energy, gravity, and Newton's Laws of Motion. By means of the exhibits learners will explore such topics as the role of torque and rotational momentum in turns, how dancers manipulate their center of gravity to create the illusion of floating during leaps, and how physics illuminate the differences between dance and ice skating. There will be a series of complementary programs which include lecture/demonstrations by Dr. Kenneth Laws, a physicist who studies the physics of dance; teacher education programs; support materials for classroom use; professional development programs for teachers; and a brochure on physics and dance for distribution to dance schools.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth BrewerAnn MintzThomas Stone
The California Science Center will develop an exhibition, "Abracadabra: The Science of Illusion." This will be a 6000-sq.ft. traveling exhibit. The theme, the science behind magic, will help visitors understand that magic is based on the complex interplay between sensation, perception, physical science and math concepts, culture, and the art of performance. The goal of the exhibition is to use the public's fascination with magic as a bridge to learning basic science in the area of optics, electromagnetics, simple mechanics, math, physiology and psychology. The exhibit will include seven thematic sections and an enclosed theater for live and taped performances. The exhibition will open at the California Science Center in October, 2000 and then will travel to the six science centers that participate in the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative. It is estimated about 4 million people will view the exhibition during its national tour.
The Montshire Museum of Science, on behalf of the TEAMS Collaborative, will develop "TEAMS Traveling Exhibit Collaborative." Four charter members of the TEAMS collaborative, a partnership that includes the Monthshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT; the Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC; the ScienCenter, Ithaca, NY; and the Discovery Center Museum, Rockford, IL, request funding to expand the collaborative by incorporating three new museum partners. They will develop, evaluate, and produce two copies each of four 1500-square foot traveling exhibitions. Each TEAMS exhibition will be accompanied by maintenance manuals, teacher's guides, and program materials for community science events. Three charter museums will mentor the three new museum members, which include the Health Adventure in Asheville, NC; the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, NY; and the Family Museum of Arts and Science in Bettendorf, IA. The four new exhibit topics being proposed by the collaborative are Sound Slices, The Body as a Machine, The Physics of Motion, and The Science of Sports.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David GoudyCharles TrautmannSarah WolfMark SinclairCatherine McCarthy
The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science will develop two areas in a new 70 acre outdoor exhibit "BioQuest Woods: Linking Animals and Plans with Interactive Exhibits". This concept is to pair live animals and plants in their natural setting with science center-style interactive exhibits to communicate key ideas in biology and physics. Support will go to sixteen interactive stations in two four-acre theme areas "Catch the Wind" and "Down to Earth". "Catch the Wind" will assist visitors in the exploration air movement and learning about how plants and animals use air in specialized ways. For example, visitors will experiment with air thermals while observing the behavior of birds of prey and will learn how prairie dogs exploit the venturi effect to ventilate their burrows. In the "Down to Earth" thematic area, visitors, simulate the activities of field biologists, will track bears equipped with radio collars, examine living invertebrates, among other activities. Scientific instruments, including microscopes, in kiosks will aid on-the-scene study of live animals and plans. "BioQuest Woods" will help visitors, teachers and students gain the realistic experience of scientific inquiry in a natural setting. Education programming will highlight curriculum linkages and fulfills the goals of North Carolina's new science curriculum. It directly addresses the State's competency-based goals requiring understanding of natural systems and the interrelations of the basic sciences. Pre and post-visit materials will be developed along with teacher guides and enhancement activities. This project is being developed with the cooperation of the Austin Nature Center, the National Zoo, and the Indianapolis Zoo.
The Materials Research Society will develop "Materials MicroWorld." This will be a nationally traveling exhibition that promotes public understanding of basic scientific principles, issues, and trends in materials research. "Materials MicroWorld" will be developed in two exhibit versions, 5000-sq.ft. and 1500- sq.ft., to serve large and small science centers nationwide. Accompanying educational materials and training videos will enable each museum to tailor exhibit-related programming to suit the needs of audiences and the capabilities of staff. An electronic 'Best of Materials Science Activities ' booklet will be developed for publication on the Materials Research Society website to deepen understanding of exhibit concepts and provide parents and educators with a variety of explorations on materials science that can be safely conducted at home or in school.
The Liberty Science Center, located across the Hudson River from the former World Trade Center, will develop, evaluate and install an 8,000 square foot, five-story permanent exhibition about the architectural design and engineering, physics, and urban-related environmental science of skyscrapers. The exhibit will use a vertical space that includes a view overlooking southern Manhatten, the former World Trade Center, and one of the most famous urban skylines in the world. The exhibition is organized around three basic theme areas and is balanced between the advantages and disadvantages of skyscrapers. Visitors enter the exhibit through SKYSCRAPER WORLD, an advance organizer that sets the stage for the exhibit and identifies possible wayfinding pathways through other areas. BUILDING THE BUILDING (second and third levels) addresses principles in the design and construction of skyscrapers, while HABITAT AND IMPACT (fourth level) describes patterns of adaptation in the ecosystems created by skyscrapers. An outdoor observation deck (fifth level) facing the Manhattan skyline and the former World Trade Center, provides the opportunity for skyline programming. What is a Rooftop, Rooftop Garden, and Skyline Clock, assisted by binocular telescopes for observing detail, are interactive programs that use the skyline as a teaching tool. Taking advantage of the dramatic skyline seen from the Science Center, the project will document changing public attitudes about skyscrapers and analyze patterns of visitor traffic and wayfinding in a five-story exhibition tower. The exhibit is supported by mediated public programs in LSC and by experiences for school audiences, both at LSC and in local schools. Although "Skyscraper" is primarily an informal learning experience, it has significant linkages to formal in-school programs.
With support of this planning grant, Russell Donnelly, Professor of Physics and Director of the Cryogenic Helium Turbulence Laboratory at the University of Oregon, Eugene, is developing a four-part television series on low-temperature physics. Based on Tom Shachtman's 1999 book of the same title, the series will explore the field's key concepts, the significant individuals and events in its history, its impact on society through such technologies as air conditioning, refrigeration and liquefied gases, and its promise for the future. Shachtman will be the principal writer for the project, and Donnelly and Shachtman will work closely with television producers Meredith Burch and Steve Lyons, formerly a producer for NOVA. Barbara Flagg will conduct front-end evaluation during the planning phase. Activities to be conducted during the planning phase include: Preliminary evaluation of audience knowledge; Consultations and meetings with advisors; Development of detailed content outlines for the four programs; Exploration of means to enhance the impact of the project through ancillary materials and outreach; Assessment will include an investigation of the potential for adapting the content to other media such as design of a traveling exhibit, development of a Spanish-language radio version, production of "mini-films' for use on children's cable television, and publication of specialized print media.
The Exploratorium will develop exhibit designs that encourage visitors to become more cognitively engaged with exhibits -- to use exhibits as tools for self-directed exploration, rather than as authoritative demonstrations. To do this, the staff is drawing on new work in the fields of education, visitor research, human factors engineering, computer interface design and interactive exhibit development at other museums. The Exploratorium proposes to conduct evaluative research and exhibit development that maximizes possibilities for visitor-authored questions, activity and discovery, or active, prolonged engagement (APE). The project team plans to create 15 new exhibits and renovate an additional 15 exhibits in the physical sciences. The team will strategically position the exhibits to support active, prolonged engagement throughout the collection. Although the project focuses on physical science -- the most fundamental part of the Exploratorium exhibit collection -- the results will apply to exhibits in nearly all science disciplines.
WGBH is producing a three-hour television series about the scientific quest for a unified set of laws governing the universe. The programs, to be broadcast as part of the on-going NOVA series, will place special emphasis on the new development in physics known as string theory. Inspired by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene's best-selling book of the same name, "The Elegant Universe" will explore the ways in which our understanding of matter and forces, space and time have shifted over the years, most recently with the emergence of string theory in the 1980s and its resurgence in the last five years. Greene will play a prominent role in the series, both on camera and as a consultant helping the producers shape the programs. The series, planned for broadcast in the fall of 2002, will communicate critical scientific concepts through filmed experiments, carefully crafted explanations, and the latest in computer animation. Interviews with scientists and historians, re-creations of key breakthroughs in the history of science, and sequences featuring physicists working on today's most pressing problems will allow viewers to share in the excitement of scientific discovery. Outreach material will be developed for the public and for teachers. NOVA Online will produce a rich companion Web site to allow viewers whose interest is piqued by the series to enhance their learning in a number of ways, including interactive animations of famous experiments and essays that go deeper into subjects than the programs could.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Margaret DrainPaula ApsellBarbara Flagg