National Parks are full of interesting and unusual STEM features which often intrigue visitors whose questions are answered by park personnel. In addition to the natural features, there are often researchers in the parks gathering data and conducting experiments. Park personnel are not apprised of these studies yet are often questioned about them. This collaborative project's goals are to derive a mechanism to educate the park personnel so they can respond to the visitor's inquiries. Collaborators include the National Park Service (NPS), TERC, Winston-Salem State University, and the park personnel at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The plan is to work through the park interpreters who are employees of NPS and often are the voice for explaining the park's natural features. For this project, the interpreters and researchers will collaborate on the explanations of the science and TERC will work with the interpreters on interacting or educating the public visitors on the research. This is a pilot study to determine how best to bridge the scientists and their research to the park visitors. Evaluation on all elements in this study will be done by Char Associates and the Institute for Mathematics and Science Education at New Mexico State University. The results of this study are to determine the issues in explaining the research to the park interpreters and thence to the park visitors. If successful, it is anticipated that a model will be developed in collaboration with the NPS for use in other National Parks.
Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway), a unit of the National Park Service, and Brooklyn College are creating a citizen science field observation program called "Sentinels of Shoreline Change."The project will develop collaborative learning communities around monitoring the resilience of Jamaica Bay, an urban estuary. Participants will provide scientists and resource managers with measures of the bay's resilience to human activities and climate change. The project focuses on 7-12 grade pre-service and in-service teachers, and Brooklyn College undergraduate students, while fostering collaboration between faculty, rangers and staff from the partner institutions and the general public. Gateway is responsible for managing the vast array of cultural and natural resources in Jamaica Bay for the public benefit. They have a history of teacher professional development and collaborations with formal education partners that emphasize authentic science research within the park. Brooklyn College is an urban, public liberal arts college with a diverse student population. It has competitive NCATE certified science teacher education programs; a strong collaborative working relationship between the Earth and environmental sciences and science education departments; and a history of successful place-based science education projects. Science Education for New Engagements and Civic Responsibilities (SENCER) is the funding source for this project which is subcontracted under an NSF grant.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brooklyn College, CUNYJennifer AdamsBrett BrancoDan Meharg
This paper discusses the whole evaluation process and draws from a new communications evaluation program which covers live communication programs as well as exhibitions at Parks Canada, Quebec Region. This paper address the client's role and the evaluator's conduct: addressing a request, choosing a consultant, giving support, and applying results.
In this paper, researchers from Colorado State University (CSU) discuss rising concern of public land managers, ranchers, and the general public about public lands grazing and the conflicts that arise between industry and recreation-seeking citizens. The authors present findings from a research project conducted under a cooperative agreement between the College of Natural Resources at CSU, the Grand Mesa/Uncompaghre National Forest, and the Rocky Mountain Forest Experiment Station. The first phase of this research was a visitor perception study conducted on the Big Cimarron Allotment in
The Climate Interpretation Coalition is maturing beyond a set of discrete institutions to become a collective voice for communicating climate change and the ocean. As the three‐year funded NOAA program and the empowerment evaluation end, the question of how to build ongoing communities of support arises. The findings are based upon an interview‐based exploration of individuals who participated in the 2012 Baltimore summit and who represent a broad spectrum of engagement (highly engaged with creating the coalition through to limited engagement in a single summit). The interviews were nested
The Department of Geological Sciences at Rutgers, in collaboration with the Liberty Science Center, the New York State Museum, Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Appalachian Trail Conference, and ABS-Capital Cities, Inc., has a planning grant to develop a universal model that will encourage science education in conjunction with outdoor recreational activities in wilderness parks near urban centers. The initial effort will focus on the Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks and the Sterling Forest lands, all near New York City. Current plans for the full project include development of: 1) an illustrated guidebook describing the features chosen as "exhibits" at the sites, 2) a map showing locations of the "exhibits", 3) plaques marking the features of the exhibits, 4) proposals for new trails to access outstanding botanical and geological features, 5) a web site with virtual reality filed trips of the sites chosen, 6) museum displays and media programs at Liberty Science Center, the New York State Museum, and other sites, 7) regular field trips from Liberty Science Center, New York State Museum, and Bear Mountain Trailside Museum, 8) workshops for high school teachers, and 9) special project to get more public use of the park resources. During the planning stage the project will gather data on public interest, determine the most effective means of dissemination, identify and contact other organizations and scientist that could contribute to the full project, and develop a coordination plan and schedule for this complex project. Small examples and/or written descriptions of the web-site, the guidebook stops, museum displays, and field trips will also be produced in the planning phase.
The Coalition for Watershed Education, consisting of the Land Access Information Association, Great Lakes Children's Museum, Interlochen Public Radio and Northwestern Michigan College Great Lakes Studies Institute will implement a comprehensive science education project for youth and adults. The major components include: Watershed Discovery field experiences, Soundscapes radio broadcasts, Waterscapes exhibits, a project website, and the expanded Great Lakes Coalition for Watershed Education. Watershed Discovery is a field-based experience for youth ages 11-17. Teams of 6-10 youth will work with mentors who specialize in GPS, GIS, geology and geography to research and collect data on the Great Lakes watershed. These students will also use their new knowledge to produce radio segments as part of the Soundscapes component. Youth teams will be trained to interview sources, gather information and write scripts for use on the local National Public Radio affiliate. The Great Lakes Children's Museum will design a permanent, interactive watershed of 1,500 square feet, as well as a traveling exhibit of 500 square feet for visitors ages 7-12. Other deliverables include "A Community Guide to Watershed-based Science Education" (available in print and CD-ROM), a one-day regional dissemination conference, and an interactive website. Strategic impact will be realized through the development of a novel model for watershed education, its subsequent replication and summative evaluation outcomes. It is estimated that over 40,000 children will be reached by this community-wide initiative.
The California Environmental Legacy Project is a new kind of educational media project. Through an integrated package of programs and media resources, it seeks to build public understanding about about environmental change and the deep and inextricable connections we have with the natural world. The Project has three interwoven media programs: "Becoming California," is a two-hour public television documentary that takes a fresh look at our past, present and future relationship with California's changing environment. Produced for a national public television audience, the target for broadcast is summer 2014. The Changing Places Initiative is a package of regional films created for selected state and national parks in California. Produced as standalone and companion programs to the broadcast program, the films are planned for release in park visitor centers beginning in summer 2014. A companion website aims to increase public understanding of environmental change by integrating the project's video program into an engaging and interactive user interface that offers streaming video, educational resources and social networking tools. Audience Research is a key element of the project that guides development of its media and provides feedback on its overall effectiveness. Project partners include California State Parks, the National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey. KQED-TV in San Francisco is serving as its presenting station for PBS broadcast. The Project is led by team of distinguished scientists, leading educators and award-winning media professionals.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
James BaxterKit TylerJeffrey WhiteDavid Scheerer
The Meadowlands Environmental Center, reaching 60,000 members of the public annually, will develop test and implement the "Marsh Access" program." This project will identify and test appropriate assistive technologies and programmatic approaches engaging 5,000 adults from specific disability groups in outdoor field-based experiences in order to better support their engagement, to foster their interest in science and to improve their scientific literacy. One hundred professionals will participate in conferences and professional development around the implementation of these programmatic approaches and will create plans to implement similar programming in outdoor settings across the nation. Utilizing an accessible outdoor garden and trail in the marshes of the New Jersey Meadowlands, Ramapo College in partnership with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, Spectrum for Living and the Adler Aphasia Center will identify and prototype kiosks and educational programming. Evaluation and program development will focus on identifying specific tools and approaches for engaging people with visual, hearing, mobility, mental/cognitive and age related disabilities. Data will be collected through observations, surveys and focus groups during a field testing process with groups of individuals from partner agencies over the three years of the program. Deliverables include two programmatic modules focusing on the science, natural history and ecology of the meadowlands, two multi media kiosks at points along the outdoor trail, a set of assistive technologies for use by public audiences in both facilitated and non facilitated experiences, and a set of program materials available to the public outlining the process and findings of the program.
This planning project seeks to study new ways to tap into family vacation agendas as opportunities for increased learning. It will assess and prototype a variety of program development activities related to outdoor and indoor experiences for families on vacation to the Grand Strand coastal region of South Carolina, and potentially to other such vacation spots around the country. Such experiences are intended to facilitate family learning about coastal ecosystems. The planning work is a collaborative effort among professionals in university and museum organizations along with the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Garden Mosaics program will develop and test a model in which youth conduct research on community and home gardens in urban settings. Youth ages 11-18 will be recruited to participate in gardening activities in conjunction with elders from their communities. Students learn the science content associated with organismal biology, community ecology, ecosystems and the physical environment, as well as culturally-related food growing practices. Participants then take part in guided research; using methods such as transect walks, mapping, ecosystem models and soil tests, to document food-growing practices of immigrant minority and traditional gardeners. Expanded research investigations will be open to students who want to continue their explorations using the Internet and other resources. Students contribute to new and existing databases of ethnic and heritage gardening practices in the United States. Materials to be developed include an Educator's Manual, a Youth Handbook and a Garden Mosaics website. During the pilot phase a national leadership team will be established to test the program and materials at 10 sites in different cities across the U.S. including San Antonio, Baltimore, Boston, Sacramento, New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. It is anticipated that the dissemination of this model will reach more than 750 educators and 13,000 youth.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne KrasnyAlan BerkowitzGretchen Ferenz
This proposal will develop and disseminate locally developed STEM-rich audio programs for the traveling public, in particular vacationing families, using emerging traveler information technologies, traveling festival kits, and an interactive website. The project is linked to the 220-mile Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway that traverses a dramatic landscape, rich in natural resources and unique contributions to scientific research. Collaborators include the Eastern Sierra Institute for Collaborative Education and the University of California at Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michael CollopyBarbara AndoJacque Ewing-TaylorSusan Szewczak Clark