The Rhode Island Zoological Society will develop, prototype, install, and evaluate "Habitrek", a 3000 sq. ft. exhibit to be placed in their new Education Center. The center is a circular building and as visitors go through it they will encounter habitat displays of a Urban Providence, Woodlands, Wetlands, and Desert. In addition there will be giant scale replicas of a wormhole, a bat cave, a prairie dog colony, and a stream. Their intent is to use live animals, animal replicas and interactives to shift the visitor's emphasis from simply finding and identifying species to learning about habitats where animals live and where animals and humans often have to interact. In addition to the exhibits, several complementary educational activity packages will be developed. These include a family activity pack of activities that can be completed both at the zoo and in the home. They will relate many natural history stories not obvious from the exhibit alone. To streamline the development process, materials developed by the Bronx Zoo's Habitat Ecology Learning Program (an NSF-supported teacher enhancement activity) will serve as the basis for these family packs. The HELP materials will also serve as the basis for activities developed for use by teachers to complement the already existing Kits in Teaching Elementary Science (KITES) program (another NSF-supported program). The zoo also has cooperative programs with the Rhode Island Girl Scout Council and materials will be modified for their use as well. Of special interest is the attention that is being given to going beyond minimum ADA standards to make the exhibit broadly accessible. Ambient sound will be an important part of all exhibit settings, design considerations will be made for those with limited vision, and sightlines will be consistent with wheelchair standards, are a few examples. The anticipated exhibit opening is early 1998.
The Science Museum of Minnesota is developing, producing, and distributing a project on the geography of some of the most dynamic regions of the world. This is a joint venture between the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with additional support from the St. Louis Science Center. The core element of the project is a 40-minute Imax film the examines seven geographically diverse locations on earth: Madagascar Iguazu Falls The Amazon Greenland The Okavango Delta The Namib Desert The Tibetan Plateau Supporting material for the film will include: o Teacher Guide - 36 to 40 pages of hands-on science activities o Family Guide - to help parents share science and geography with children through simple, at-home activities; geography o Geography Museum Trunk - a steamer trunk filled with artifacts, specimens, activities, and resource materials available for rental to school, museums, and other groups o Greatest Places On-Line - A World Wide Web site with activities for youth and adults to explore the interrelationships of earth, air, water, and life in their local region and a "living atlas" as a forum for comparing and sharing observations with others around the world. o Summer Educator Institutes - where formal and informal educators will receive intensive training in utilizing all aspects of the project with multiple audiences. o Accessibility Guide - which outlines programs and options to provide no- or low-cost viewing for underrepresented audiences. The project will be guided by Geography for Life: The National Geography Standards and Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Science. Dr. Mel Marcus, Professor of Geography at Arizona State University, will have primary responsibility for content. He will work closely with an advisory group of geographers, ecologists, and formal and informal educators. The PI and Executive Producer of the film will be Mike Day, Director and Executi ve Producer of the Science Museum of Minnesota Omnitheater and Executive Producer of seven previous Imax films.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mike DayNatalie RuskCharlie WatersMelvin MarcusBarbara Flagg
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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TEAM MEMBERS:
H. Eugene StanleyDouglas SmithEdwin Taylor
Scholastic Productions is producing thirteen additional episodes for the third season of the fully animated, half-hour television series, "The Magic School Bus." The series, which is targeted at 6-9 year olds, is designed to motivate children's interest in science, to introduce science concepts and ideas, and to inspire positive attitudes towards science and education in students and teachers. The series is unique to science educational television because it breaks the science gender barrier, showcases both education and science, and, through the use of animation which enables the series to transport children to places they literally could not go, presents content in a unique way. Season III topics include: spiders, the Arctic, light, color, the moon, structures, and sound. Outreach activities will include and expand upon those offered for Seasons I and II. During Season III, special emphasis will be placed on reaching families. The project also will use America On-line to promote the series and to communicate the value in and the methods for encouraging children's interest in science. The same basic administrative, content, and production staff will continue with the project. Management and editorial control will be the responsibility of Jane Startz, Executive Vice President of Scholastic Productions. Cheryl Gotthelf, Executive Director of Special Projects for Scholastic Productions will oversee series distribution and utilization, print, research, public relations, promotion, and community and museum outreach. Science content will continue to be supervised by Michael Templeton with the assistance of an Associate Science Content Director, Fran Nankin. Kristin Martin will remain in charge of series production.
KCTS Television is producing 20 new programs for the third season of "Bill Nye the Science Guy." The series, which has received an enthusiastic public response, will continue to be on PBS stations during the week and syndicated to commercial stations on weekends. The twenty topics for Season range from earth science, to physical science, to life science, to technology and include programs on such diverse subjects as spiders, time, life cycles, inventions, flowers, architecture, computers, probability, invertebrates, and forensics. Outreach activities for the third season are designed an emphasis on reaching out to new audiences, especially girls and children of color. The Season III outreach components consist of: o "The Big News of Science" - a newsletter distributed through youth serving organizations as well as being mailed directly to viewers at home o An at-home science kit - an easy to use kit that enables children and their families to perform science experiments together at home. Two-thirds of the kits to be distributed directly to youth and one-third will be distributed to children participating in afterschool and community programs. o Teacher's Kit - to be distributed to fourth grade teachers nationwide. o Special appearances - As Bill Nye's schedule permits, he will present a live, traveling science demonstration show in selected urban communities. The programs will be based at science museums, community centers, or similar venues and will include an explanation about the science content of the series, and demonstrations of science experiments where children are invited to participate. o A PBS station outreach kit - This material will provide PBS outreach and education staff with programs, tips for developing local science outreach projects, and a list of informal science resources. The staffing for Season III will remain basically the same as it has been for Seasons I and II. Bill Nye will remain as Chief Writer and Host, Elizabeth Brock will continue as Executive Producer, and James McKenna and Erren Gottlieb will remain the series producers.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth BrockJames McKennaErren GottliebWilliam Nye
The Cranbrook Institute of Science will develop "Our Dynamic Earth," a 7000 sq. ft. exhibit that will provide visitors with insight and understanding of the interrelationships of plate tectonics and climate to prehistoric life. This will make up the earth sciences component in their renovated and expanded exhibit area. This section will include four related areas: 1) Plate Tectonics, 2) The Earth's Amazing Climate System, 3) The Earth Evolving Biosphere, and 4) An Ecological Whodunit. Each area will be anchored by an "icon" that will serve as a guiding image for that exhibit and will be supported by a layered interpretation using objects from the collection, workstations with selected databases, simulated scientific investigations, and hot-links to related Internet Sites. Numerous interactives will highlight the use of scientific research tools and methods. A broad menu of complementary educational activities will accompany the exhibit including take-home activities for families; teacher enhancement sessions and materials for students, and experiences for pre- service teachers. Cranbrook is working with the Detroit Public Schools in their science reform effort supported by an NSF Urban Systemic Initiative and with the Michigan Department of Education through its NSF Statewide Systemic Initiative. The exhibit elements will support and reinforce the systemic reform efforts and will be aligned with the science standards.
The project is based upon the established Math, Science, and Beyond (MSB) program which consists of a series of evening family science workshops (with curriculum materials developed for classroom settings) in which students and parents explore science and mathematics together through exciting, hands-on activities. Units for each grade level (K-6) focus on physical, earth, and life science. The MSB informal science project will adapt materials and bring the program to informal learning settings - 25 Boys and Girls Clubs of California, and 25 California Department of Parks and Recreation sites. These clubs will receive training, materials, and support to operate Science Clubs (after school MSB sessions), Science Camps (summer, off-track and Spring/Winter Break, week-long MSB sessions), and Science Explorers Family Workshops (1-2 hour sessions for elementary school students and their parents). In addition to the Boys and Girls Clubs, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Science Implementation Network is a key collaborator on the project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mary CavanaghEleanore TopolovacM. SusanJoseph Keating
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.