This report summarizes a summative evaluation of Amazing Feats of Aging, an exhibition developed by staff at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon. Patricia McNamara, an independent evaluator, designed this study to document the exhibition's impact on visitors at two locations: its permanent installation at OMSI itself and at the installation of the exhibit's traveling version at the Lafayette Museum of Natural History (LMNH) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Data collection strategies included visitor interviews, self-administered questionnaires and unobtrusive
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Patricia McNamaraOregon Museum of Science and Industry
The Maryland Science Center has received a SEPA grant to develop an exhibition, intern program and web site focusing on cell biology and stem cell research. The working title of the exhibition is Cellular Universe. The exhibit is intended to serve the following audiences: Families with children age nine and older; School groups (grades four and up); Adults; 9th grade underserved high school students in three local schools and/or community centers. Topics the exhibit will treat include: Structure and function of cells; Stem cells and their potential, the controversy surrounding stem cell
In April 2001, the Museum of Science in Boston launched the Current Science & Technology Center, an effort to engage public and school audiences in leading edge research and to provide depth and context for science and technology stories in the news within a museum context and through various outreach methods. Health science programming in the CS&T Center is researched, produced and delivered to primarily public audiences in partnership with selected New England area medical and public health schools, teaching hospitals, and biomedical research institutes. This Health Science Education
Oregon State University will expand its successful Master Science Educators program and create a national model for the delivery of natural science education to elementary and middle school youth. Master Science Educators are volunteers who undergo a rigorous 30-hour training and commit to 50 hours of service to a community site, such as a community center, housing project or school. Volunteers work in teams of two so that each site receives 100 hours of service devoted to the research and development of a natural science project. Volunteers and on-site and off-site scientists who act as virtual volunteers, guide youth ages K-8, in the design, development and evaluation of their project. Wildlife habitat projects provide a means for participants to learn inquiry and are tailored to address local science standards. A trainer's guide, a volunteer handbook, a guide for community sites and promotional and training videos will be produced, as well as a web-based science course. It is anticipated that 240 volunteers will be trained to work with over 12,000 youth during the course of the project. Dissemination will occur through the 4-H Extension service, impacting both urban and rural populations.
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, with partial support from NSF, will develop science, mathematics, and technology components for a new, permanent 17,000 square foot exhibition on the Pacific. Broad in scope and dramatic in its impact, this exhibition will cut across many fields and disciplines in presenting a coherent, integrated view of the Pacific regions. Topics from anthropology, geology, biology and geography will be combined using collections, reconstructed objects, large scale models, and interactive components in this landmark exhibition. The project will make extensive use of leading researchers, educators, and an evaluation consultant, and will utilize a variety of prototyping and formative exhibit development techniques. The science, mathematics and technology portion will cost $ 1.9 million, of which approximately one third is requested from NSF. The complete 17,000 square foot exhibition will cost $ 3.3 million and will be seen by at least 10 million adults and children over its 20 year life.
The goal of the three-year Science Education Enrichment Program is to provide 720 Puerto Ricans, six to fourteen years of age, with exploratory learning opportunities to observe, judge, and value scientific experiences. The program will be administered by the Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Puerto Rico. The 4-H curriculum will be strengthened by incorporating interactive learning in six science components: Composting as a Means to Conserve the Environment: The Role of Soil and Water in Protecting Life; Food Discoveries: Starchy (Farinaceous) Vegetables: From Field to Market; Getting to Know about Insects; and Hurricanes and Earthquakes: Events Requiring Disaster Mitigation. Extension Specialists in the subject matter and a research scientist from the Experiment Station will supervise groups of 10-20 children at 63 sites in sessions lasting from six months to a year. Trained volunteers and teen leaders will also participate. A distinguished group of external advisors will serve on an Advisory Committee to provide recommendations on scientific accuracy and future development. Three implementation phases ate planned. In Phase I a draft of a unique Puerto Rican science curriculum model for the Extension Service will be prepared. The skills and knowledge of component directors will be enhanced through collaboration with local and mainland groups to leverage resources for special training on exploratory approaches to learning science. In Phase II the curriculum will be tested and refined. Resources will be mobilized for exploratory science activities. A pilot session will be held for 80 youth. During Phase III all components will be operational. Approximately 640 youth will participate in 58 science session. A dissemination plan will allow for the curriculum materials to be distributed to groups in Puerto Rico and the mainland. The current level of effort will be continued and plans will be made for expansion to other sites. Institutional commitments to the development of this project include an in-kind contribution amounting to approximately 22 percent of the total project amount. In addition to creating an interest in science, the outcomes of the program will seek to build self confidence in science exploration, promote critical thinking, and develop knowledge in youth about career options in the agricultural sciences.
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Oscar Muniz-TorresYamil QuijanoAgenol GonzalezPedro VelezOsvaldo Cotte
This exhibit will integrate graphics, artifacts, highly interactive electro-mechanical demonstration devices together with state of the art interactive educational computer technology to demonstrate how probability shapes nature. It will draw its examples from a variety of scientific fields including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, and biology. It is planned as a permanent addition to the Museum's exhibition program, but will be designed to facilitate easy reproduction for individual copies or for circulation as a travelling exhibit. Millions of visitors--families, teachers, children form diverse communities--will gain a first hand aesthetic appreciation of the pattern finding process of scientific investigation as well as a better understanding of the usefulness of mathematics in explaining how the natural world works.
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H. Eugene StanleyDouglas SmithEdwin Taylor
The Museums of the Rockies will develop a 2450 sq. ft. exhibit titled Landforms/Lifeforms and complementary educational materials including teacher enhancement activities, outreach trunks, and other programming. The exhibit will serve as the pivotal experience for visitors as they engage the museum's theme One Place Through All Of Time and it serve to introduce all other permanent exhibit galleries. Using the important and spectacular geological and paleontological resources of the region and the museum's collections, the exhibit will bring to life the concept of the evolution and diversification of life in response to changing geological conditions from the Precambrian to the end of the Mesozoic. Visitors will experience the Northern Rocky Mountain Region and the life supported by that region over time. Critical thinking skills of visitors will be stimulated with the purpose of enhancing their overall science literacy. The exhibit is designed to promote adult-child interaction. Special attention is being given to attracting a rural audience. Complementary programming aimed at K-12 students and teachers will be developed. The content of these activities will address the goals set forth in Montana's systemic initiative and the Systemic Teacher Excellence Preparation program. The educational materials will also be shared with member museums in the Mid-Continent University Natural History Museum Consortium.
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Arthur WolfShelly WhitmanBeth MerrickBonnie Sachatello-SawyerSharon Horrigan
The National Museum of Natural History is producing 3-D and 2-D versions of a large format film on natural history. With a working title of Wonders of Life, the film will explore the diversity of life on Earth and how this diversity came to be. It will examine the biological, geological, and cultural entities that interact in myriad ways to generate, shape, and sustain the enormous biological and cultural diversity of our planet. The film will be supported by outreach material designed to support further exploration of the topic of diversity in both informal and formal settings. An inexpensive family activity guide to be available at venues that show the film will feature engaging and challenging activities for families with children ages ten through 15. A teacher resource guide, distributed free to teachers attending the film with groups of students, will be developed for use in grades 5 through 8. A classroom activity poster will be developed to serve grades 2 through 5. A Wonders of Life home page will support in-depth study of the film's topics. Larry O'Reilly, Director of The Discovery Center Project at the NMNH, will be PI and Executive Producer for the film. The Senior Scientific Advisory Board will be chaired by Dr. Robert S. Hoffman, Senior Scientist and former Assistant Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution. The board also includes Sir David Attenborough, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Margaret Geller, Ivan Hattingh, and Dr. Thomas Lovejoy. Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer, Curator of Paleobiology and former Associate Director for Science at the NMNH, will lead a core team of scientists who will be directly involved in production. The film will be produced by Christopher Parsons and David Douglas will be Director of Photography.
Unicorn Projects, Inc. is producing and distributing a project on the origins of life and its connections to the origin of the universe. The project will present the challenges facing scientists working to unlock universal mysteries and the often painstaking but ultimately rewarding process of the scientific endeavor. It will be designed to reach the lay audience by linking what seem to be abstract and complicated ideas -- like how the universe was born, or how stars evolve -- to issues at the heart of everyday life raised by such simple questions as "Where did we come from?" The components of the project will include: * Four, one-hour television programs for prime time broadcast * An informal science outreach component targeted to middle school-age children and families * Activity kits and training guides adaptable for both informal and formal education * A World Wide WEB site The Co-Executive Producers for the series will be Thomas Levenson and Larry Klein. Levenson has been on the staff of NOVA at WGBH and was producer for the NOVA program on Einstein. Klein has been the producer for numerous science films including "Matters of Life and Death" in the Science Odyssey series. The co-producer for the series and science editor for the project will be Alan Dressler, an astronomer and cosmologist whose principal area of research is the formation and evolution of galaxies. Advisors to the series include: Colleen Cavanaugh, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University; George V. Coyne, Director of the Vatican Observatory; Douglas Erwin, Research Paleobiologist and Curator at the National Museum of Natural History; Sandra Faber, Professor of Astronomy and University Professor at the UCO/Lick Observatory, UC, Santa Cruz; John P. Grotzinger, Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Matt Mountain, Director of the Gemini 8M Telescopes project; and Ethan J. Schreier, Astronomer and Associate Director for Operations at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Outreach material will be developed by staff at the Pacific Science Center and implementation will be handled by the AAAS.
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Thomas LevensonLarry KleinBarbara Flagg
The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies, New York Botanical Garden, Puerto Rico Youth at Risk, Boy Scouts, and others implemented a citizen science program for age 12 and older. This project targeted local residents, visitors to Hacienda La Esperanza Reserve, and members of community environmental projects on topics including archeology and human impacts on local ecosystems; conservation and restoration of wetlands; and shoreline and costal processes.
Each year, more than 200 volunteers donate over 7,000 hours of their time, skills, and enthusiasm to reach Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary's goals in environmental education, scientific research, and the protection of the vulnerable wetland ecosystem. This is the equivalent of a $100,000 donation. These volunteers have a variety of backgrounds---teachers, librarians, construction workers, chemists, college and high school students, and yes, some are even professional wetland ecologists! What they have in common is an interest in nature, pleasure in being outdoors, and a desire to explore the ecology of natural habitats such as wetlands and forests. At the Sanctuary, they collect water samples . . . clear trails . . . weigh turtles . . . guide visitors on nature walks . . . draw maps . . . lead canoe trips . . . make posters . . . seine for fish . . . host the Visitor Center on weekends . . . and so much more!
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Jug Bay Wetlands SanctuaryFriends of Jug BayChesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve SystemLindsay Hollister