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
The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida, will develop a permanent exhibition and associated educational programs on natural hazards, phenomena that become "natural disasters" when they interact with the human community and its built environment. The exhibition, 9000 square feet in size, will address the science of these phenomena, the science and technology of forecasting and mitigation strategies and techniques. The exhibition features floods, hurricanes, wildfires, lightning, hail, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanoes. The exhibition begins with an overview and a focus on the dynamic earth. It then presents a streetscape of buildings devastated by the phenomena and eight interactive areas dealing with each of the hazards. The concluding sections include a demonstration stage and a series of elements that focus on communications, community preparedness and response and forecasting. Ancillary materials include: a family exhibition guide, teacher preparation materials, classroom materials on forecasting, a distance learning program and a brochure for the public (to be developed by IBHS). Central to the project is MOSI's partnership and campus neighbor, Institute for Business and Home Safety, a nonprofit arm of the insurance industry with a mandate to educating Americans about natural disasters and ways to mitigate loss and suffering. Other partners include FEMA, USGS, Red Cross, NFPA, local schools and community based organizations. The Institute for Learning Innovation will conduct the evaluation, supplemented by action research investigations by the University of South Florida. A local high school emphasizing design and art will participate in the exhibition development process.
Seeing in the Dark will be a prime-time PBS special about stargazing -- described in the proposal as "the interaction between starlight and human beings who have a look for the love of it, whether just learning the constellations or doing amateur astronomy so advanced that it sometimes rivals professional research." The project teaches "hands-on" astronomy drawing heavily on new technology (large, inexpensive "Dobsonian" telescopes; charged-coupled light-sensing devices [CCDs}; and the Internet) that make astronomical observing practical for millions to whom it has previously been at best a remote possibility. The video will be supported by an extensive outreach effort that includes informal, family projects and formal, in-class exercises. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be a major outreach partner. There also is a companion book, "Seeing in the Dark," published by Simon & Schuster.
The Ocean Institute will design, develop, evaluate and install "Sea Floor Science," a 5,200 sq. ft. site-wide exhibition designed in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University. "Sea Floor Science" will provide opportunities for families, students and the general public to use authentic oceanographic equipment, tools and technology to recreate a world of ocean research and discovery. Visitors will experience how oceanographers are exploring the largely unknown sea floor to permit better understanding of the origin of sediments and rocks, paleoclimate reconstruction as evidenced by marine microfossils, and the dynamics of oceanic lithospheres and margins. The project is a new approach to museum exhibits. It will test innovative convertibility solutions that enable public areas to serve as both teaching stations and effective exhibits. It will also implement cost-effective update strategies to keep visitors at the forefront of scientific research. "Sea Floor Science" will reach 4,000,000 people in 22 states including on-site and on-line visitors, multi-state teacher networks, videoconferencing participants, science professionals, and replication sites at science centers and aquaria nationally.
The San Diego Society of Natural History (SDSNH) will design, fabricate and install a 9,000 square foot permanent exhibition exploring the fundamental scientific concepts of paleontology, geology, biology and ecology as they pertain to prehistoric southern California and the peninsula of Baja California. Playing the role of paleontologist, visitors will be invited to ponder a mystery, explore the setting, examine the evidence, and use scientific tools to discover answers. Carefully crafted settings will support exploration that engages learners of all ages at levels for both novice and experienced learners. Visitors will discover how natural patterns reveal natural processes, and examine the relationship between past, present and future. Focused activities will enable visitors to exercise their skills of observation and critical thinking, with exhibits that promote learning in a family context. The exhibits and activities focus on the Museum's collections and research, and are grounded in comprehensive visitor research supporting exhibit development. The exhibition and related science education materials will demonstrate how these fundamental concepts can be investigated in a regional setting. Visitors will extend their learning experience beyond the museum through a content-rich interactive website, a popular book on regional geology and paleontology, and related public programs and fossil displays at regional nature centers near the actual discovery sites. Exhibition planning, program evaluation and visitor research will be widely disseminated as contributions to the literature on best practices for interpretation of prehistoric life and landscapes.
The Independence Seaport Museum will create "Boat Building: Art and Science," a 3,000-square foot permanent exhibit that is designed to educate visitors about the science of boat building and design. Concepts such as buoyancy, water displacement, turbulence and drag will be explored through interactives, maritime artifacts, models and oral histories of tradesmen. By using the principles identified by the Family Science Learning Research Project of the Philadelphia/Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative (PISEC), the exhibit will be user-friendly for families with young children. Visitor workstation topics may include boat building, floating, buoyancy, sails, wind and boat shape. Visitors will use science processes while learning through open-ended play and exploration. Creative programs for families and school groups, as well as curriculum materials will support the exhibit. A website and technical training manual will also be produced. Four phases of evaluation are planned, and include front-end analysis which will incorporate focus groups with children ages 7-12, and formative evaluation using prototypes of interactives. Remedial evaluation will be carried out once the exhibit opens, and summative evaluation will use tracking and exit interviews to assess learning and understanding. The estimated annual audience of over 130,000 visitors will be expanded by replicating and traveling various components to other maritime museums in partnership with the Association of Science and Technology Centers. Evaluation of traveling components will also be undertaken to determine if they present an appropriate model for maritime-based exhibits.
The Great Lakes Story is a 3,000 sq. ft. interactive traveling exhibit based on the highly successful and unique permanent exhibition at the Great Lakes Science Center. Its focus is devoted to highlighting the natural history of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The traveling exhibit will allow even more visitors around the country to understand the beauty, majesty and restoration efforts of this important national resource. Through a planned six-year tour, it is estimated "The Great Lakes Story" will be experienced by as many as three million people. There will be several components, including hands-on exhibits, organized with a centerpiece of a walk-around model of the Great Lakes region, and other interactive components. The four major areas of the exhibit are physical characteristics of the Lakes, the natural cycles and processes which shaped them over time, changes and threats to the Lakes (especially human-induced), and finally, restoration efforts to bring the Lakes back to being the rich and productive ecosystem they should be. Along with these exhibit areas, other project components are educational and marketing materials to ensure that host science centers are able to provide a complete learning experience to their youth, family, and adult audiences around the country.
The California Science Center Foundation will develop the California Science Center's Air and Space Gallery, a 12,000-square foot exhibit space. The California Science Center will reopen Aerospace Hall (closed in 1998) with new and re-designed exhibits and offer a full complement of learning experiences. Funding from NSF will support design, fabrication and core program development of the Air and Space Gallery. The Gallery will feature four themed areas that explore the depth and breadth of aeronautics and space exploration: Air and Aircraft; Humans and Their Spacecraft; Mission to the Planets; and Stars and Telescopes. Also featured will be a Discovery Room for young learners and their parents, a changing exhibit gallery and educational programs for the public and for schools.
Sesame Workshop created a new planetarium show and outreach activities for children ages 5 and 6 and their families, teachers and other caregivers. The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, the Beijing Planetarium and the Liberty Science Center also collaborated on the "sharing the sky" themed show to help Chinese and American children identify differences and similarities in their respective associations to astronomy.
This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project from the University of South Carolina (USC) is based on the ongoing multidisciplinary investigations of Eugene Karabanov and Douglas Williams (OPP-0229737) in the Russian Arctic. The scientific objective of the 2003 expedition was to reconstruct the variability of freshwater discharge and terrestrial carbon flux to the Artic Ocean from the Lena River during the last 500 to 1,000 years, improving understanding of the impact of climate change. As part of that undertaking, the team collected broadcast quality digital video. This project will interpret the research findings and documentation through collaboration with EdVenture Children's Museum (ECM) in Columbia, South Carolina. Deliverables will include: Meet-the-Arctic Scientist programs; Artic Discovery Weekends; Arctic Discovery Boxes (three hands-on units); and Arctic CyberLoft Experiences. Content will include the role of the Arctic in global climate change; watersheds, fresh water systems and ocean circulation; human adaptations and culture. The CRPA project will share the results of the research expedition with children and families attending EdVenture through this university-museum partnership. In addition to visitors from the six-county Midlands area of South Carolina, the project will reach an extended audience through an Arctic Science website at USC with links to the EdVenture site.
National Geographic Television is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a 3D large-format film, "Sea Monsters," which will focus on current scientific and paleontological research into ancient ocean life. The film will provide audiences the chance to follow men and women working in diverse disciplines within the Earth Sciences including Paleontology, Oceanography and Marine Biology, and the film will illustrate the interplay between science and technology. Standards-based lesson plans for the classroom and informal activity guides for families will augment the impact of the film. During the planning phase the production team will conduct further research into the scientific themes and stories for the film, identify the scientists who will appear in the film, perform front-end topic testing and evaluation in order to assess the public's interest and current knowledge about the topic, write a full film treatment, develop a detailed budget and assess potential CGI studios.
The Space Science Institute (SSI) will design, develop and travel a 3,500 square foot exhibition about the outer planets of the solar system and their satellites, whose presence contributes to making Earth habitable. Designed around the theme "Living With Giants," the exhibition will feature hands-on interactive visitor experiences that describe the Solar System, engage visitors in learning about planetary exploration, focus on the planetary science of Saturn and its moons and provide access to current information from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. Special attention will be given to designing "Space for Kids," an exhibit area targeted specifically for young learners and their families and caregivers. SSI will collaborate with leading scientists and educators as well as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create education programs and a virtual exhibit website to extend the science learning of the exhibition.