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.
FETCH, produced by WGBH, is a new PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to 1) cultivate in children "scientific literacy" -- an appreciation for and enjoyment of science, the skills necessary to become independent investigators and a broad understanding of scientific concepts; 2) provide project collaborators with content-rich activities for informal science education in a range of settings; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes: human body, force and motion, and earth and the environment. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for afterschool partners and a toolkit for FETCH exhibits, which will be developed in coordination with museum partners. Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the museum toolkit.
Cyberchase is public television's daily, animated "math adventure series" targeted to children aged 8-11. Thirteen/WNET New York will develop and produce seven new episodes, a multi-media initiative on Math and Weather, plus an innovative series of ten video "math moments" called Do the Math! to be released on air, online, and on broadband. Cyberchase's content spans the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Mathematics. The series goals include: 1) reinforce mathematical knowledge; 2) model mathematics reasoning and help children improve their problem-solving skills; 3) demonstrate the usefulness of math in everyday life; and 4) inspire all children to approach math with enthusiasm and confidence. Ancillary materials, outreach, and a highly popular Web site extend the learning and help make Cyberchase the sole mathematics media project available for the target age group. Cyberchase is now in its sixth production season and fifth year of daily PBS broadcast. The new season will build on the successful format to model effective problem-solving processes, expand the math-rich Web site and bring Cyberchase to today's new-media platforms to prompt children to do math. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the 3D Builder's Math game using an operational prototype working with a sample of students and do a naturalistic summative evaluation to assess impact of the video shorts.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardMichael TempletonFrances NankinBarbara Flagg
Voyage of Discovery is a comprehensive and innovative project designed to provide K-12 youth in Baltimore City with an introduction to mathematics, engineering, technology, environmental science, and computer and information science, as it relates to the maritime and aerospace industries. The Sankofa Institute, in partnership with the Living Classrooms Foundation and a host of marine, informal science, community, and educational organizations, collaborate to make science relevant for inner-city youth by infusing science across the curriculum and by addressing aspects of history and culture. Youth are introduced to historical, current, and future innovations in shipbuilding as a means to learn the science, mathematics, and history associated with navigation, transportation, environmental science, and shipping. Activities will take place at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum where students participate in intensive afterschool, Saturday, and summer sessions. Families are invited for pre-session orientation meetings and again at the end of each session to observe student progress. This project will provide over 3,900 K-12 youth with the opportunity to learn mathematics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), physics (gravity, density, mechanics), design, and estuarine biology while participating in hands-on sessions. Project deliverables include a 26-foot wooden boat, a working model of a dirigible, a submarine model, and pilot control panel models, all constructed by students and subsequently incorporated into exhibits at the USS Constellation Museum. The project also results in the production of two curricula--one each on celestial navigation and propulsion. Voyage of Discovery informs the literature on inquiry-based informal science education programs and strategies to engage minority and low-income youth in learning science and technology.
NASA cloud observation project. Ground observation reports are compared to cloud information retrieved from satellite instruments in Earth orbit. Learn how to make and report a cloud observation at the time of a satellite overpass. Observations welcome from any interested observers, especially in places where official weather observations are rare. Get satellite overpass times, learn about making observations, report an observation, and explore the database of reported observations (which includes corresponding satellite data once they are available).
H2O Chelsea is a community-based water research and surveillance program developed collaboratively by the Municipality of Chelsea, the University of Ottawa’s Institute of the Environment and Action Chelsea for the Respect of the Environment (ACRE). The goal of the program is to develop a better understanding of ground and surface water resources in Chelsea that will inform municipal planning and management decisions. The project is volunteer-driven, relying on the commitment of over 70 local residents, municipal employees and professors and students from the University of Ottawa.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Municipality of ChelseaUniversity of OttawaAction Chelsea for the Respect of the Environment (ACRE)Isabelle Pitre
Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) is an innovative project that creates unique partnerships between informal science education institutions and local colleges conducting research in ocean sciences, with an emphasis on earth, biological and geochemical sciences. The project enables over 100 undergraduate and graduate students that are enrolled in the Communicating Ocean Sciences college course to create engaging learning activities and teaching kits in conjunction with their informal education partners. Institutional teams include: Long Beach Aquarium and California State University-Long Beach; Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University; Virginia Aquarium and Science Center and Hampton University; Liberty Science Center and Rutgers University; and Lawrence Hall of Science and University of California-Berkeley. Students learn valuable outreach skills by providing visiting families and children with classes, guided tours and interactive learning experiences. Deliverables include a three-day partner workshop, a series of COSIA Handbooks (Collaboration Guide, Informal Education Guide and Outreach Guide), an Informal Science Education Activities Manual and Web Bank of hands-on activities. Strategic impact will be realized through the creation of partnerships between universities and informal science education institutions and capacity building that will occur as informal science institutions create networks to support the project. It is also anticipated the evaluation outcomes will inform the field abut the benefits of museum and university partnerships. The project will impact more than 30,000 elementary and middle school children and their families, as well as faculty, staff and students at the partnering institutions.
This five-year project is designed to provide urban youth in grades 4-8 with innovative, hands-on science experiences in an after-school environment that will enhance their science competencies, while increasing the capacity of after-school leaders. In Years 1-3, nine science modules will be developed, field-tested and evaluated in collaboration with 12 after-school programs in Boston, Massachusetts, serving diverse populations of low-income youth. Each module includes a full color activity book, comprehensive facilitation guide and guidelines that enable students to share results of their investigations on the project website. Topics to be addressed include electricity, planets, invention and habitats. A comprehensive training program will include training for coaches who will provide assistance with the implementation of science modules and offer ongoing professional development for after-school providers. In Years 4-5, the project will be disseminated to after-school programs in Los Angeles, CA, Columbus, OH, and Philadelphia, PA. Additionally, the PI will partner with the National Institute on Out of School Time (NIOST) to disseminate the project nationally using the Cross-Cities Network. All materials will be printed in both English and Spanish, while the website will offer the option of downloading materials in a variety of other languages. It is anticipated this project will serve more than 3,000 youth and 400 after-school providers.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), in collaboration with the Small Museum Research Collaborative (SMRC), proposes to create four small bilingual exhibitions in English and Spanish for a national tour to small museums. The exhibitions will focus on current clinical research in nutrition and physical activity and its applications to personal and family wellness. We propose to build four, 700-square-foot traveling exhibitions: two identical exhibitions with a focus on nutrition, and two identical exhibitions with a focus on physical activity. OMSI's SMRC partners bring the experiences and resources of five geographically and thematically diverse small museums to this project. As the lead institution, OMSI brings over 19 years of experience in creating and touring national exhibitions and in collaborative projects with other museums. Front-end, formative, remedial, and summative evaluation will be conducted with family audiences at OMSI and SMRC sites. To extend the visitor experience, OMSI and SMRC will produce related educational materials and programs including a Web site, teachers' guides, small museum staff training, distance-learning programs, and interactive presentations. An SMRC distance-learning network will be created for program dissemination. The project will be developed with the support of local research scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University's (OHSU) General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and other experts in nutrition and fitness research, health care, and education. The project's audience is family and K-5 school group visitors to small science and children's museums in rural and small urban communities nationwide. Latino families are also a priority audience for the project. Each of the four traveling exhibitions will tour to three venues a year for a minimum of eight years. We conservatively estimate that over two million people will visit the exhibitions during their national tours. This project presents a powerful opportunity to reach museum visitors in rural and underserved communities, to invite families to pursue healthy nutrition and physical activity together, and to present and interpret clinical research findings for diverse audiences.
1. Build stepwise a prototype -Virtual Clinical Research Center- (VCRC) for K-12 learners and mentors (diverse peers, experts, and patients) by accessing, mobilizing, and linking the human and physical resources of a prototype national network of Clinical Research Centers (CRC) and translational laboratories through state-of-the-art Telemedicine communication and collaborative technologies and featuring T3 or the 3Ts - Teams, Technologies, Translation - of the Clinical Research Enterprise); 2. Develop the Medical Ignorance Exploratorium (MIEx) as a hybrid K-12 cybercafe-health science museum with key features of a) navigable, game-like, 3D environment including -Isles of Medical Ignorance- and -Questionator,- b) Resource Library, c) Live Performance Theater; and d) Collaboration Space, all to stimulate and guide student-centered inquiry about medical breakthroughs, clinical topics, and sick patients (featuring cyber Q3 or the 3Qs-Questions, Questioning, and Questioners); 3. Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the curricular and delivery resources and models in SA1 and 2 as well as the dissemination in SA4; 4. Disseminate, embed, and expand the refined Virtual CRC and Medical Ignorance Exploratorium in K-12 schools, the clinical research community, and beyond.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Marlys WitteGrace WagnerMichael Bernas
The American Museum of Natural History requests SEPA support for a five-year development and implementation project entitled "Human Health and 'Human Bulletins': Scientists and Teens Explore Health Sciences in the Museum and World At Large." The program has three complementary components: (1) the development of 7 new productions for the Museum's digital media/documentary exhibition program, Human Bulletins http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org) featuring the newest health-related research; (2) a mini-course, entitled Hot Topics in Health Research NOW, an intensive after school program covering genetics, epidemiology, human health and human evolution, including a section on ethics in research; and (3) A "drop-in" Human Bulletins Science Club, where students meet monthly to watch a Human Bulletin visual news program, engage in informal discussions with significant researchers in the fields of evolutionary science and human health. The main goals of this project are: (1) to inform young people about emerging health-related research by using the Human Bulletins as core content for programming and points of engagement; (2) to promote a life-long interest in science among participants by teaching them how health-related science research could potentially affect them or their families; (3) to empower teens to critically assess the science presented to them in the Museum and in the world at large by teaching them to break down the "information bytes" of the Human Bulletins and to analyze how stories are presented visually and how to find answers to questions raised by the Bulletins; (4) for the young people in the program to see themselves as participants in the Museum by developing "mentor" relationships with Museum staff. This will allow students to see AMNH as an enduring institution to be used as a resource throughout their education and careers; and (5) to give students the means to envision themselves with future careers in science, research and in museums (thus fostering new generation of culturally-diverse, culturally enriched scientific leaders) by introducing them to scientists in an informal setting where there are no consequences for making mistakes or asking questions. The students will be given "behind the scenes" looks at new career options through the scientists featured in the Bulletins and the NIH funded researchers on the Advisory Board presenting at the informal sessions. Ultimately, the project aims to give students to critically process the information they receive about public health, see the relevance of human health science to their lives and pursue careers in health science. All of these skills are measurable through formative and summative evaluation. This project will teach young people to understand information about public health that is presented to them through visual and popular media as well as through formal scientific texts. It will also teach them to think about how human health sciences impact their lives and how the decisions they make impact larger human health. Finally, the program will also encourage students to pursue careers and further information about public health.
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), in collaboration with the Hall of Health, a hands-on health museum, proposes a two year, Phase II SEPA project entitled Health and Biomedical Science for a Diverse Community. The purpose of this project is to disseminate (1) "Your Genes and Your Choices," a unique, interactive exhibit on social and genetic factors in health, and (2) a 4th and 5th grade health and biomedical science curriculum. The exhibit and curriculum were developed during Phase I. "Your Genes and Your Choices, "which has eight interactive stations and has been piloted at the Hall of Health, is designed for small science museums and health education centers. It will travel to four venues nationwide during Phase II and remain available to other venues after the grant ends. The innovative, activity based curriculum consists of eight instructional units that introduce students to scientific concepts and investigation in the context of the study of diseases and health conditions that disproportionately affect minority populations. The topics are: Fourth Grade: Unit 1: Nutrition: Balance and Imbalance (Obesity); Unit 2. Traumatic Brain Injuries; Unit 3. Infectious Diseases and Immunity; Unit 4. Environmental Toxics: Poisoning Prevention. Fifth Grade: Unit 1. Nutrition: Diabetes; Unit 2. Asthma and Lung Disease; Unit 3. Heart Disease; and Unit 4. Sickle Cell Anemia and Genetics. Each unit consists of five one hour lessons. The curriculum was piloted during Phase I, both in the classroom and in an after school science club, at two elementary schools serving predominantly minority children in Oakland, California. Now we propose to: (1) disseminate the curriculum via science clubs to ten elementary schools in Oakland and Berkeley; (2) offer a series of educator workshops to enhance the skills of teachers and after school personnel to teach scientific investigation and to incorporate the latest findings in biomedical science across the curriculum; and 3) hold family science festivals at each participating school to introduce parents to the topics of the science clubs. The festivals will include hands-on activities, talks by CHORI researchers, and focused discussions with healthcare providers on issues relating to minority health. This project involves clinical as well as basic science investigators, healthcare providers, teachers and health educators, high school and college students, and faculty from San Francisco State University and the University of California at Berkeley. The ultimate goals are to make science interesting and relevant to children who come from ethnically diverse, low income environments; to help them meet state and national objectives for learning in health, science, and scientific inquiry; to help them and their parents understand the relationship between science and health; and to foster their interest in science, so that they may consider future careers related to biomedical science. All project activities will be assessed through formative and summative evaluation. The science clubs will remain in place at the ten participating schools after Phase II funding ends, and the curriculum and evaluation tools will be posted on the internet, and thereby available to others.