The project includes a simulation based Family Learning Program to be administered through the International Challenger Learning Center (CLC) network. The goal is to develop families' skills in learning as a team through science, math and technology (SMT) in an environment where parents and children are co-travelers in a world of ideas. PACCT is disseminated through ten of the Challenger Learning Centers reaching 22,000 families nationwide. Many of these activities are completed in the home at no cost to the anticipated 12,500 participating families. Through this network of centers, all types of communities are served in many states. The activities include Sim-U-Voyages, where family teams work at home; Sim-U-Challenges, where families create a physical model responding to a challenge; Sim-U-Visits, where families hear from scientists and work as scientists in a team solving a problem; and Sim-U-Ventures, which result in flying a mission. Cost sharing is 8%.
Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum and the Beijing Planetarium, is planning a planetarium show and complementary materials for preschool-age children and their families, teachers and other caregivers. The planetarium show will be designed for use in the United States and China and will have the following goals: -- promoting positive attitudes among young children towards science; -- providing age-appropriate information about astronomy in an engaging, entertaining format; and -- fostering am understanding of one another among children in the two countries. During the planning phase, there will be three face-to-face meetings among the principals: at the Beijing Planetarium, at Sesame Workshop in New York, and at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The purpose of these meetings will be to determine: -- What is the appropriate educational content for the show and complementary materials and what does research with children say about it? -- How does this type of project best reach preschool audiences? -- Is there a need or opportunity for producing alternative language or dialect versions of either the English or Mandarin versions of the show and complementary materials? -- What issues or problems affect the design of the show and complementary materials? -- What are the implementation issues? Particular attention will be given to exploring how the project might include cross-cultural information in the show and complementary materials, and how the cross-over characters (Da Naio appearing in the English version; Big Bird in the Mandarin version) might be included in the design.
How do we know the distance to a star? How do we know what a star is made of? How do we know how fast an object is moving? These questions are addressed in this 1,488 square foot permanent exhibit which emphasizes astronomical spectroscopy - the detailed analysis of light from astronomical objects. This interactive, bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibit will demonstrate different applications of spectroscopy that provide insight into the universe, and will provide opportunities for students, teachers, parents, and the general public to learn about the universe. Bilingual ancillary materials will be produced: pre- and post-visit materials for school visitors; a "Life at an Observatory" ten-minute orientation/information video to be shown at the visitor center. Target audiences are students in grades K-12, and general visitors.