Chabot Space and Science Center is developing an exhibit of Chinese astronomical artifacts and organizing a United States tour of the exhibit. "Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China" consists of 31 exhibit pieces, including seven large astronomical instruments, chronographs, stone carvings and star maps. Many of these artifacts have never before left China. In order to increase the awareness and understanding of students, teachers and the public about Imperial China's rich astronomical achievements, Chabot will develop a variety of interpretive materials and programs that address interests and learning styles, present scientifically and historically accurate information, and serve both informal and formal educational audiences. These materials will include a planetarium show, an audio tour, special signage, multimedia animations/interactive kiosks, a web site, student activities, community events, a science drama program, activities for the general public and a variety of printed materials. Many components will be developed in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alexandra BarnettCynthia AshleyMichael Reynolds
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is producing "Realm of the Black Hole," a one-hour high definition television program for the PBS science series NOVA and "Black Hole: The Other Side of Infinity," a twenty-minute full motion program for planetarium theaters. Both of these media products will draw upon a large-scale visualization effort conducted by leading scientists in collaboration with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The shows will examine the broad revolution now taking place in high-energy astrophysics by using scientific simulations and data-based animations to illustrate the life cycle of stars and the birth of galaxies. The two presentations will be supported by a website designed for use by the general public and by outreach materials and resources for teachers and informal educators. The media production will be under the direction of Thomas Lucas, President of Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc., and co-produced by Donna Cox, Professor, School of Art & Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Paula Apsell will be the Executive Producer for the NOVA program and Joslyn Schoemer will be Executive Producer for the planetarium show. The Science Advisors include Roger Blandford, Professor, Theoretical Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology; Laura Danly, Space Science Curator, Denver Museum of Nature and Science; Michael Norman, Professor, Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego; Harvey Tannanbaum, Director, Chandra X-Ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; and David Thompson, Astrophysicist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Thomas LucasJoslyn SchoemerAndrew J. HamiltonDonna CoxBarbara Flagg
The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, CA is forming and leading a national collaboration producing Maya Skies, a full-dome digital planetarium theater project with several deliverables: a 25-minute Maya Skies show, a model for collaborative production in the full-dome field, research on full-dome immersion experiences and learning, the establishment of a national consortium of seven full-dome theaters and professional development workshops for the field. The research, conducted by the Institute for Learning Innovation, will test the degree to which personal relevance influences free-choice learning experiences. New technologies for digital, high resolution image data-capturing of archaeological sites will be employed. The project's goal is to advance the digital planetarium field with innovations in show production and research and with increased impact on public audiences and the practice of planetarium professionals.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alexander ZwisslerAlexandra BarnettMartin StorksdieckDavid Beining
400 Years of the Telescope was an interactive, multimedia project enabling the public to participate in real and virtual telescope experiences, understand the far reaching advances that the telescope has made possible, and discover how technology, science, and society are interconnected. Partners included PBS (Southern Oregon Public Television - SOPTV), Interstellar Studios, Leading astronomers and science writers, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), Carnegie Science Center (Buhl Planetarium) and 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i. A two-hour, high-definition documentary, aired twice on PBS in 2009, kicking off the International Year of Astronomy.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kris KoenigJames ManningRose TsengMark StanislawskiShawn Laatsch
This project is designed to develop a 3D planetarium show and a TV documentary to describe our Universe, Galaxy and Solar system. This is a significant project for public and youth as they do not comprehend this aspect of their world with clarity. New technology using a 3D film is anticipated to be attractive and capture the audience's attention better than previous exhibits methodology. The Detroit region has been selected for testing various aspects of the planning project. The partners include the Detroit Science Center, the Detroit Public School system, Dr. Mark Morris (Astronomer) at UCLA, the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Detroit Public Television, and the Carnegie Science Center. Subsequent dissemination of the results and techniques increases the potential for Nation-wide impact.
The Pacific Science Center will develop a 7000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit "Other Worlds! Other Beings"? Concerned that the general public is largely uninformed about the results of the years of basic science research carried out by U.S. scientists, this exhibit will provide an opportunity for visitors to learn about the results of this research and increase their own understanding of the earth and the solar system in general. The exhibit will introduce visitors to the planets, their environmental characteristics, potential and unlikely probability for life to exist on other planets and the processes involved in astronomical research. In addition to the exhibit, they will develop a planetarium program, materials for use by teachers and students, various workshops and other programs for teachers and community leaders, and a full marketing package for participating museums. The exhibit will travel to a minimum of nine museums during its three year tour after opening at the Pacific Science Center in December, 1997.
The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum will develop and produce a planetarium show for distribution to other planetariums and informal learning centers across the United States. The forty-minute planetarium sky show will help audiences build their own experiences upon the observations and rich interpretations of astronomical events of the traditional Skidi Pawnee. The sky show will have four major science themes: (1) Pawnee observations as the basis for their cosmology; (2) native use of the sky for ceremonial and agricultural calendar-keeping; (3) audience familiarity with the sky and its cycles; (4) indigenous astronomical and meteorological knowledge as systematic scientific knowledge. Pawnee Indian Skies will help public audiences learn how to manipulate star finders to see how stars move in each sector of the sky, understand that stars rise and set in predictable directions on the horizon, understand the Pawnee ceremonial earthlodge as an astrological observatory, and to understand the position of stars, planets, and constellations importance to the Pawnee Indians. This nationally-distributed planetarium show is projected to reach 4.8 million people over 5 years. The development of this show will be shaped in consultation with the Pawnee Skidi chiefs, tribal educators, artist, musicians and elders.
The Space Science Institute is establishing a museum educator/theater network of eight museums around the country, pairing larger with smaller institutions. The Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific also are collaborators. The primary audience is informal science education museum educators; secondary audiences are museum visitors experiencing the to-be-developed programs. The Science Theater Education Programming System (STEPS) is a technology that has been developed by the PI and others. The team will be continuing to expand the capability of the system for this project, and the partnering museums are collaboratively creating an initial set of theater programs on astrobiology, along with a suite of training programs and communication formats for educators. The STEPS technology allows these programs to be delivered both on site and via outreach, depending on the goals of each organization. The intent is to form the core of a community of practice that would enhance the professional capacity and identities of informal educators. The theater program format is positioned as a flexible, low-cost alternative to traveling exhibits, particularly for the smaller institutions. Deliverables include: the establishment of the network, the STEPS system and programs, professional development tutorials and workshops, evaluation of the programs, and a research project and report examining the network as a community of practice and vehicle for strengthening the professional identities of museum educators.
The Maryland Science Center (MSC) seeks funding for a planning grant to investigate the potential of Science on a Sphere (SOS), a NOAA-developed research tool that projects real meteorological and geological data sets onto a large suspended globe. MSC will evaluate a temporary installation of SOS as a public exhibit and school group learning tool, as well as hold a workshop for staff from other museums and prepare a report for dissemination. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: SOS offers a way to present real data on earth and planetary sciences not possible in a two-dimensional format. An advisory group of exhibit and education professionals from three other science centers (Tech Museum, San Jose, CA; SciPort, Shreveport, LA; Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ) and NOAA will add expertise in the evaluation of SOS, which will be carried out by RMC Research Corporation. BROADER IMPACT: SOS has the potential to become a new tool for science center presentations nationwide. Testing and evaluation results will be shared with other science centers at the ASTC Annual Conference and other means of dissemination.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Roberta CooksPeter YanconeJames O'Leary
The investigators address a major educational challenge by introducing a novel format and content for science education, (a) building on past successes; (b) combining development and dissemination at a new level; and (c) centered around an interactive planetarium show aimed to inform the public on an emerging scientific discipline and medical field: Tissue Engineering. For achieving a multitude of goals, the investigators propose the establishment of a unique partnership in scientific and medical education, bringing together university researchers, clinical leaders, science center experts, and students, educators and community representatives at all levels. The project is catalyzed by the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of tissue engineering and its application to improving people's lives. The main goals fall in three categories, as follows: Education: - To communicate scientific information about the human body (principles of function will be emphasized over specific facts or terminology by focusing on a limited but fundamental set). -To convey the excitement and importance of tissue engineering research. The show will utilize engaging interactive demonstrations of tissue functions and illustrate the medical uses and potential of this field. Innovation: - To enhance the educational experience. The developers will use group-interactive technology as a tool for education by engaging participants as participants in the processing functions of the body. A special visualization/interactivity laboratory will be used where prototype interactive scenarios will be tested using focus groups, consultants and representatives of the target audiences. Dissemination: - To insure national distribution to other planetaria. The presentation system will utilize portable interactive technology (to be developed). It will be deployed to planetaria throughout the country, coordinated by the Association of Science and Techology Centers (ASTC). - To engage the target audience in the development process. Content development will be achieved by a consortium of leading research universities and medical centers, with input from a panel of worldclass experts. Visualization, interactivity and sound technologies will be developed in Pittsburgh, in a unique collaboration between the arts and sciences, based on past successes. Evaluation activities will be extensive, as will the range and targets of the spin-off educational materials. The Carnegie Science Center planetarium itself will serve in achieving group immersive visualization, akin to virtual reality, for improving target audience involvement. The expected outcome is a new way of delivering educational content, and a better understanding of the emerging field of tissue engineering by the general public.
This evaluation examines visitor engagement at the “Science On a Sphere” (SOS) exhibit at Pacific Science Center, Seattle, WA. Evaluators varied characteristics of the data presentation—such as topic presented, presence of a question prompt, and image rotation—and measured the resulting visitor engagement for each of the different treatments. Furthermore, the evaluation examined visitors’ interest in the SOS exhibit, as well as the extent to which visitors connect the exhibit to surrounding exhibits. This study examines different treatments to the SOS exhibit to determine the presentation
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University of Washington | Pacific Science CenterDylan HighDanielle AcheampongEllie KleinwortTravis Windleharth
In 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) an Environmental Literacy Grant for Science Education. Over the course of four years, SMM’s Planet Earth Decision Theater project developed new Science on a Sphere (SOS) programming, films and other scientific visualizations all intended to increase public understanding of the major role that humanity now plays in creating large-scale global change. Evaluation Questions 1. Are the components interesting and enjoyable? 2. Are visitors aware of the components’ main messages? 3. Do visitors