Although schools traditionally take their pupils to Natural History Museums, little has been elicited about either the overall content of the conversations generated by such groups or of the effect on content in the presence of an adult. Transcripts were coded using a systemic network which had been designed based on pilot studies. A range of variables was created from the coded data. The number of conversations that contained at least one reference to the designated categories were ascertained overall and those of the three sub-groups, pupils and teacher, pupils and chaperone and pupils alone
The Exploratorium is developing a model program that demonstrates the vital role science museum exhibits can play in supporting formal science education reform. The development of exhibitions and enhancement activities is based on the Science Framework for California Public Schools and the emerging National Science Education Standards. The project includes: A series of four museum exhibitions (with a total of 60 exhibits) based on the Science Framework themes of Patterns of Change, Stability, Scale and Structure, and Systems and Interactions Publications (Exhibit Guides and Pathways) for each collection A series of workshops and evening events for teachers, families and students A symposium, video and Internet resource for museum and education professionals An important feature is an information desk and resource kiosk to inform teachers, parents and the general public about science education reform efforts. The project aims at 5,000 teachers, 32,000 parents and caregivers, 140,000 students and 1,320,000 members of the general public.
Five small science museums will form "TEAMS (Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science) Collaborative". The partners include the Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT; The Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC; Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY; Discovery Center Museum, Rockford, IL; and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor, MI. Each museum partner will develop a 1500 sq. ft. (140 m2) traveling exhibit that will include ten to fifteen interactive units and supporting graphics and will circulate to all members of the partnership. The exhibition topics are: AirPlay (Montshire Museum of Science, Dirt (Catawba Science Center), You Can Count On It (Sciencenter), Amusement Park Science (Discovery Center Museum), and Eureka Labs: Science from Head to Toe (Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum). Following the circulation among the consortium members, it is anticipated that the exhibits will circulate more broadly via the Association of Science-Technology Centers Traveling Exhibit's Program. In addition to developing these exhibits, the collaboration has an additional goals 1) focusing on the family audiences by working together to enhance the family science learning through the development of resources that can be used by families that are related to exhibition topics, 2) building institutional expertise in exhibit design, family programming, and evaluation; and 3) conducting research on family learning and sharing results with the field. Complementary materials and activities for teachers will also be developed for each exhibit.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
David GoudyCharles TrautmannSarah WolfMike SinclairJames FrenzaCynthia Yao
Museum of Science will develop a 4500 sq. ft. exhibit "Finding the Pattern". The primary objective is to develop activities and programs that encourage visitors to practice scientific thinking skills in settings that have interdisciplinary science content. The main component is an activity area that will encourage visitors to observe, compare, and sort objects and phenomena in meaningful ways; help visitors recognize that systems of organizing and classifying objects and phenomena reveal underlying meaning; provide visitors with opportunities to practice answering questions and solving problems based on museums collections; and encourage visitors to search for the "hidden" meaning in things around them. The exhibit will be composed of three overlapping areas: 1) the sorting area, 2) the mystery area, and 3) the open collections area. This project is one of the six science activity centers that have been described in the museum's long-range plan; two activity centers/exhibits have been completed. The impact of "Finding the Pattern" will be extended via the museum's web site. Activities that employ the kinds of scientific thinking skills targeted in the exhibit will be developed to engage informal learners at home. Complementary programming linking the exhibit with formal education will include the development of teacher workshops and programs for school groups. Teacher workshops will be developed in consultation with groups of Project PALMS teachers. The activities will be accessible to individuals with disabilities. They plan to open the exhibit in the fall of 2000.
The Magic School Bus Museum Collaborative, requests through Discovery Places, Inc., NSF support for six science museums and Scholastic Productions, Inc., to develop science education materials that capitalize on the interest and excitement in the forthcoming Magic School Bus television series and the Magic School Bus books. Over a three year period the collaborative will provide basic science education activities and demonstrations through museum educational programming. The collaborative will provide tools and support for teachers to use the Magic School Bus themes in their science curriculum and provide hands-on science classroom experiences using mobile museum exhibits. Working with the National Urban League, ASPIRA, the AAAS Black Church Project, and other youth serving organizations, the collaborative will encourage multi-ethnic participation in these museum programs. The numbers of children and their families who will be reached by the Magic School Bus Museum Collaborative are significant. The components of the project are a planetarium program (100 copies), two 1200 square feet traveling exhibits, and activity and programming guide, table-top exhibits and program, and 2 teacher enhancement workshops. Collectively, these components can reach conservatively over 5 million museum visitors in the first year. Coupled with the new television series, the Magic School Bus can have a tremendous impact on the education of young people in the sciences.
The Science Museum of Minnesota will develop "After the Dinosaurs", an exhibit that will feature a detailed reconstruction of the ecology of a Paleocene subtropical environment that existed in the North Plains of North America (58 million years ago). Information presented in the exhibit will come from a 25 year research project carried out by SMM curator Bruce R. Erickson and his colleagues at Wannagan Creek Quarry in northwestern North Dakota. This research has yielded one of the most complete assemblages of Paleocene megafossils in North America. Both the increased knowledge gained from this research and process of the research will be highlighted in this exhibit. Visitors will learn that the world's landscape has changed considerably over time, the analysis of fossils helps scientists reconstruct the past, knowledge of former ecosystems help us to understand current ecosystems, and everyone can be a scientific investigator when we attempt to understand our environment in a systematic way. Two versions of the exhibit will be prepared: a 4000 sq. ft. permanent version that will be installed in the new SMM river front building and will open in late 2000. There will also be a 2500 sq. ft. traveling version that will begin its national tour in 2002. Complementary programming will include an on-line interactive teacher guide and student project curriculum, a teachers' institute, and a variety of youth programming including specially developed interpreter training materials. The exhibit will be accessible to people with disabilities.
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 New York Hall of Science requests $829,312 over four years to develop and circulate a traveling version of "Hidden Kindoms - The World of York Hall of Science in April, 1991. The traveling version will consist of: an introductory panel; 16 Easy-View microscopes exhibiting living microbes; units dealing with size, scale and magnification; two interactive computer programs entitled "Understanding AIDS" and "How Your Body Fights Disease"; a video microscope for the Microscopic Life demonstration; units on virusesand bacteria; a mosaic of color transparencies of different microorganisms; one Optech (BYOB) interactive video microscope; three zoetropes illustrating mcrobial movement; and a mini-laboratory room containing all the equipment and materials necessary for maintaining the exhibit and presenting the MICROLAB workshops to students and teachers. The 1,500 square foot exhibit will travel to nine sites over three years. The new York Hall of Science will provide on-site training in estasblishing and maintaining the exhibit, a weekly shipment of microrganisms and supporting materials, an exhibit catalog, an 11-minute video featuring living microbes, pre- and post- visit materisla for schools with suggested activities , and programs for student and teacher workshops. A novel feature of this traveling exhibition will be the opportunity for the host museum to retain, on a cost-share basis, the mini- laboratory with its equipment and four Easy-View microscopes which can become the core of a microbiology program. Biology, Microbiology; Informal Science Education; Elementary, Middle and High School
The Brooklyn Children's Museum (BCM) is requesting $242,753 from the National Science Foundation to introduce a traveling version of the Museum's award-winning, interactive science exhibit, ANIMALS EAT: DIFFERENT FEASTS FOR DIFFERENT BEASTS. ANIMALS EAT was designed to assist children in the formation of their concept of a living thing. The exhibition specifically focuses on familiar animals, and on eating in order to illustrate this complex idea. Throughout the exhibit, where appropriate, human parallels demonstrate the interrelatedness of all living things. The touring exhibit will incorporate the in-depth research, development and extensive evaluation that went into the installation at BCM. It will encompass approximately 2,000 square feet and will travel to at least ten locations over a perior of two-and-one-half years, offering hundreds of thousands of children and families a unique and exciting way to learn important natural science concepts. As part of the touring package, the Museum will also circulate Evi"Dents," a science curriculum kit developed for grades 3-5. Using activity books, natural science specimens and investigation tools, Evi"Dents" provides an interactive seven-week study of teeth for teachers and students that develops students' scientific and research skills. Through loans to local schools at the tour sites, Evi"Dents" will complement and extend the educational potential of the exhibition.
The Health Museum (THM) is requesting $868,108 over 30 months to create a 3,600 sq. ft. permanent exhibit containing seven Body Stops components, which will maintain THM's science literacy focus by linking concepts of human biology to everyday experience through visitor exploration of the human body's seen and unseen operating systems. Ancillary instructional materials and programs will be produced. The educational goals of the project are to: 1. Promote understanding of the basic biological sciences in the context of the human life cycle and health; 2. Present vital basic science information through an active and accessible exhibit environment which complements formal science education; 3. Develop an appreciation of basic human biological sciences as they are presented similarly across all people and an appreciation of human variability as these biological processes are played out in the individual. The target audiences are families, urban youth, and student and teacher groups.
The American Museum of Natural History is developing a 10,000 sq. ft. Hall of Life's Diversity that will interpret biodiversity, what it is, why it matters to humans, why it is under threat, and what can be done to mitigate the current pattern of extinctions. The hall will have the following sections: a) the Crisis Center that will serve as the orientation place for the exhibit and where the core principles of the exhibit will be interpreted, b) four interactive habitat models that depict major ecosystems, c) the Spectrum of Life, in which specimens, models, photographs, and interactive multimedia will be juxtaposed and will serve as a field guide to the array of animal and plant life on the planet, d) a Resource Center that is devoted to educational activities, and e) a theater/classroom space. The intended audience for the exhibit is people of all ages and learning styles. The exhibit will illuminate the crucial role that science plays in our everyday lives and will promote science literacy among adults and children. In addition to the main exhibit, there will be a broad menu of complementary programming including traveling versions of the exhibit, a teacher resource guide, and a teacher-training institute. The exhibit and complementary activities are to be coordinated with New York State's State Systemic Initiative program.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Niles EldredgeSamuel TaylorJoel Cracraft
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Exploratorium will develop an exhibit "Memory: A Biological Cognitive and Cultural Exploration" along with various complementary components. The primary objective of this project is to increase the public's awareness of the extent, importance, and nature of their everyday rememberings. Exploratorium staff will use an approach to memory, and cognition in general, that considers culture and cultural differences as essential to people's thinking and behavior. The exhibit area will be about 2000 sq ft in size and will consist of ten to twelve new activities and six revised interactive, interdisciplinary exhibits. Here visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the exhibits, researchers, scientists, artists, and other visitors, to explore the nature of memory and its effect on their lives. The exhibits will give visitors direct, experiential insight into the workings of their memories. Other major components of the project include multimedia presentations, printed materials, demonstrations, film programs and a symposium. A publication Memory and Perception will be a supplemental guide that can be used by teachers and students at the secondary level. It will address appropriate themes in the Science Framework for California Public Schools. Museum professionals, researchers, teachers, and evaluators will be invited to participate in a one- week symposium on Cognition in Science Centers. The purpose of the symposium is to develop a conceptual and practical model of what presenting cognition in an informal education setting means. A report will be published and broadly disseminated by professional museum organizations. It is estimated that the project will reach approximately 629,000 visitors annually which includes 69,000 students and 550 teachers.