This planning activity will produce a prototype film on Spanish horses and conduct 10 focus group discussions to determine: audience interest, background knowledge, what viewers would like to see in this documentary, language barriers, cultural barriers, and how the film could be structured to help the public and teachers interact with children. The focus groups will target the follow groups: (1) middle school teachers, (2) elementary school teachers, (3) families with young children, (4) Hispanic families, (5) American Indian families, (6) youth ages 13-19, (7) horse lovers and those involved in horse activities, (8) senior citizens and individuals with disabilities, (9) documentary, museum exhibit and website production professionals, and (10) media and museum marketing professionals. The effort is intended to guide development of a PBS documentary, an interactive website, a companion book, and a museum exhibit on the origins, evolution, migration and impact of Spanish horses. STEM content in mathematics, genetics, paleontology, chemistry, evolution, and animal behavior, integrated with history, will be incorporated into the scripts for this diverse array of media platforms. The project also presents an opportunity to present in a very interesting and real sense the scientific process used for discovery. In addition to producing the prototype film and conducting focus group discussions, this planning grant will help to: clarify the responsibilities of all of the participants, especially the international participants; clarify the contributions from each discipline and scientist; plan in detail ways to achieve the greatest understanding with the anticipated diverse audiences; select the best geographic region, graphics, media, and animation; and establish realistic budgets and elements for production and post-production. Collaborators include: New Mexican Horse Project, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Habitat Media, University of New Mexico and Institute for Social Research, Cambridge University, Texas A &M University, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Selinda Research Associates, and PBS.
The Mathematical Science Research Institute is developing and producing a 15-minute pilot for a regular mathematics slot in a new PBS magazine format program that is being developed. Keith Devlin will be responsible for the mathematics content as well as appearing as the on-camera host. The segments will be based on Devlin's popular radio "Math Guy" segments that have been appearing on NPR's Weekend Edition. The topic for the pilot is the Clay Millennium Problems. The pilot is being produced by Jon Palfreman, an award-winning science documentary producer. Evaluation of the pilot will be conducted by Rockman et. al. If successful, a future segment would explore a range of mathematics topics including mathematics education, epidemiology, scientific visualization, uses and misuses of statistics, how the brain acquires and processes mathematics, and the mathematics of voting.
SoundPrint Media Center is producing a testing a pilot of a radio project that would examine mathematical models used to simulate phenomena, make predictions and generate scenarios. During the "What If: Models, Predications and Scenarios" pilot phase, SoundPrint will produce and test two half-hour documentaries, follow-up radio updates, and a plan for a web-based model simulation and educational resources. Educational Support Services will conduct evaluation of the pilot materials to determine: the programs' ability to translate complicated mathematical and scientific ideas through a storytelling approach, the types of models that best lend themselves to illustrate those concepts, and the degree to which the documentaries as stand alone stories have an impact on listeners. The formative evaluation also will test a website.
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 Center of Connecticut will develop, evaluate, and install 57 mathematical exhibit activities in its new 160,000 sq. ft. exhibit facility. These activities will engage visitors in learning how math is an integral part of daily life and a necessary skill in many careers. Eight math topics will be treated: probability and statistics; relative scale; geometry; symmetry; math puzzles; chaos and fractals; numbers, measurements, and calculations; and estimations. The hands-on activities will range from involvement with low-tech to high- tech, computerized activities. The target audience is people nine and up and it will be available to the museums 500,000 annual visitors. The mathematics activities will be distributed throughout the museum and math will serve as a integrating theme for all the museum's exhibits. The topics are aligned with Connecticut s SSI program which focuses on applied mathematics in context of the science disciplines. Within the state, plans are taking shape to link with Connecticut Public Television to broadcast electronic field trips to the museum through Knowledge Network. Nationally, museum staff members will make presentations at both museum and mathematics education meetings to other museum professionals. The concept of thematic integration throughout the museum will be disseminated through the state and the nation.
This one-hour documentary film profile of world famous mathematician Paul Erdos is being made for eventual broadcast on the NOVA series. At age 76, the world's most prolific mathematician (1,100 papers and over 200 co-authors) still spends all of his time moving from country to country, meeting with other mathematicians to work on problems. The film will show how a prodigious mathematician, with a career of over 50 years, lives and works, how he interacts with his colleagues, and how the international community of mathematicians functions. It aims to explore the human side of a discipline in which God, Beauty and Numbers are the subjects of daily speculation. But what do mathematicians actually do? Because of his peripatetic nature and eternal curiosity, Erdos provides an ideal window on a field that has often been perceived by the public as remote and intimidating. The film will show Erdos and his colleagues at work and play. Interviews and archival materials will establish his contributions in combinatorics and in Number theory. Some more accessible problems will be illustrated with animation and computer graphics. The interplay of a warm human story with intriguing philosophical speculations and mathematical problems will show important results are arrived at in mathematics. This is expected to stimulate interest in mathematics among television viewers and students. The film is in production and only partial funding is being requested from NSF.
The goal of the project is to produce a one hour television documentary and a series of video teaching modules which explore a wide range of scientific disciplines in an exciting manner by presenting the story of how these disciplines are used in the preparation and racing of an Indianapolis race car. This program will be distributed to a wide audience through its broadcast by PBS and cable sports networks; through dissemination to classrooms and museums nationwide; and through distribution via agencies that focus on bringing educational programs to youth and minorities across the country. We expect to attract a new audience to science, the millions of Americans who are infatuated by automobiles. This is an audience that cuts across age, ethnic and racial distinctions in America today. This exciting story of applied science should also appeal to American youth in a way that more traditional science stories do not. The major scientific disciplines involved in the project are: basic engineering, mathematics and physics, aerodynamics, materials science, mechanics, telemetry and computer aided design. This project is submitted to the Informal Science Education Program. The specific content of this project will be aimed at an audience with little background in science. High-school students and adults should be able to understand all the principles presented. Younger audiences will gain insight into how a knowledge of science is fundamental to a sport that many of them find fascinating.
ONE, TWO, THREE...INFINITY: The World of Mathematics is a series of eight one-hour films about math in the real world. It will be produced by WQED/Pittsburgh for prime-time broadcast on the 340 PBS stations and in many foreign countries. The goal of the series is not to "teach" math but to show, in an entertaining fashion, the importance of math in many walks of life--music, art, engineering and communications, to name a few. Math affects our lives everyday in ways many of us have never imagined. Yet few of us ever stop to think about it, perhaps because of "Math anxiety." This series will be the first to reveal math's importance not only as a tool for discovery, but also as a major cultural force. Drawing on WQED's proven skill in creating special visual effects, and making liberal use of magic and mystery, puzzles, and paradoxes, the series will break down the public's fears and misconceptions about math. We hope viewers--children as well as adults--will come away with a new appreciation of mathematics and, most important, a more open attitude toward learning about it--the first step toward a higher level of math literacy. WQED's Producers and cinematographers bring many years of experience on such award- -winning programs as PLANET EARTH, THE INFINITE VOYAGE and the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIALS. A diverse and distinguished advisory committee will help shape the series and ensure its accuracy. And a companion book, together with a program of educational materials and activities, will extend its reach beyond the television audience, making the series a potent catalyst for learning.
The Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will conduct a feasibility study for engaging museum visitors in data analysis through this planning grant. Intellectual Merit: This project builds on the extensive prior work of the PI in developing Tinkerplots software for middle school students. At the same time, it potentially takes advantage of the many museum exhibitions that include various kinds of data but provide no mechanisms for visitors to analyze the data and draw conclusions. This project makes the connection by seeking to demonstrate the proof of concept for the transfer of this data analysis program from the formal to the informal setting. Broader Impact: This project will purposefully test three very different settings -- Museum of Science, Boston, MA; Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, MA; and Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO -- to explore the advantages and limitations of this approach in those learning environments. If successful, the software could have very wide application.
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.
This project, WALKING ON WATER, chronicals the success of Jaime Escalante's nationally acclaimed mathematics program at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. Overcoming crime, poverty and a 50% drop-out rate, Mr. Escalante transformed Hispanic students with deficient scholastic backgrounds into the top calculus students in the country. As a result of this success, Garfield High School is now a magnet school for math and science in the Los Angeles School District. Mr. Escalante's story will be told in a 90 minute film docudrama which will air nationally on public television's American Playhouse series, the 14th most popular program on PBS reaching 1.2 million homes. The film is designed for general theatrical release, for educational distribution on cable, for videocassette release and will be dubbed into Spanish for airing in Spanish theaters. In addition, Eddie Olmas, the Emmy award winning star of Miami Vice who portrays Mr. Escalanate in the film, will use the film in personal appearances. Reviewers all agree that this story will inspire and motivate students and teachers alike. They also agreed that it is equally important to reach other significant audiences such as parents, school administrators and opinion leaders so that they will understand and support these types of education efforts.
9710718 Kleiman Cultural Research and Communications, Inc. is developing a project that will center around a one-hour documentary program entitled Promises to Keep. The film, now in its planning phase, will chronicle the day-to-day efforts of students, teachers, and parents at one inner city public high school as they work to implement standards-based math and science reform while maintaining their commitment to full educational equity. The goal is to inform viewers about a significant reform effort underway, heighten their awareness of the possibilities of high quality math and science education for all, and stimulate them to support or initiate similar efforts themselves. During the planning phase, the applicants will focus their efforts in several critical areas: 1. Develop a better definition of the target audience so that the next stage can be designed best to address the needs and interests of that audience. 2. Clarify the goals, structure, and content of the program. For example, is the proposed film to be primarily motivational or should it provide a "blueprint for change?" How, specifically, does the school achieve its goals of excellence and how will this be conveyed in the film? How can school around the country relate to the examples set by Thurgood Marshall High School? 3. Design a strong outreach, promotion, and distribution plans to assure that this will reach the intended audience. 4. Assess the location constraints that will be present during production. 5. Familiarize the advisors with the school where the film is to be made. The Co-Principal Investigators and film producers for the project are Vivian Kleiman, an award winning producer of such programs as Color Adjustment and My Bodies My Business, and Sharon Wood who has produced, directed, and or written programs for Portrait of America and Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren. Project advisors include Dennis Bartels, Yolanda George, Donna Gerardi, Nancy Kreinberg, and Tom Romberg.