MarsQuest Online is an exploration-based website designed to complement the innovative MarsQuest traveling exhibit launched by the Space Science Institute (SSI) in 1997. "MarsQuest Online" will enhance and extend the exhibit, which is currently on a six-year, 18-city tour. TERC, working in collaboration with the Space Science Institute and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will create a virtual version of the exhibit using software such as Java, Quicktime VR and JPL's sophisticated MarsNet Viewer system. Users will be immersed in an integrated, interactive environment complete with the tools and resources to carry out investigations and enhance inquiry-based learning. "MarsQuest" will expand users' understanding of the history of Mars, scientific exploration, the climate and related earth science concepts, while enabling them to follow the exploration of various landers and orbiters, and access NASA scientists. A diverse collection of Guided Inquiry experiences will foster the ability of users to develop inquiry and analysis skills, while offering options for novice, intermediate and advanced learners. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation plan will examine how the website and exhibit compare in promoting the understanding of science, broadening public interest in space exploration, and motivating further learning. The site will be promoted for use by schools as a tool for teaching earth science and space exploration. It is estimated that 300,000 people will visit "MarsQuest Online" annually.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Daniel BarstowPaul DusenberyPaul AndresChris Randall
Jim Metzner Productions Inc, in collaboration with ETCOM and National Geographic, is requesting support for the production of "Pulse of the Planet/Pulso del Planeta" radio programs and an educational website that present current research questions, techniques, and findings in earth system science. The goal of the project is to introduce Earth as a dynamic, complex, global system and to convey basic concepts of systems and the elements of scale, change and interconnection on our planet. "Pulse of the Planet" reaches over one million listeners daily on over 300 public and commercial stations worldwide. The 300 new programs produced in English will be adapted and co-produced in Spanish by ETCOM for broadcast with its 106 radio affiliates. Each radio segment will be supported and extended on the National Geographic Online website with news commissioned to accompany the radio programs. The NGO feature will also include an audio program archive, links to NationalGeographic.com guides, related stories, photo galleries, maps and links for additional listener research. Learning Experience Design Research will conduct formative and summative evaluation services in English and Spanish.
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.
This project is processing still photographs and time-lapse photography of Alaska's Columbia Glacier and making them available to science media and the public through a web site. Collaborators include research scientist W. Tad Pfeffer, National Geographic photographer James Balog, and Mark McCaffrey, a member of the Outreach Committee for the International Polar Year. The images and web site information are highlighting the contribution of glaciers with fast dynamic response to the rise of global sea level and to climate change. The project is conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of the web site at informing the science media and the public.
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardMichael TempletonFrances NankinBarbara Flagg
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.
The Earth & Sky radio series reaches over 2.8 million individuals in the United States each week. This grant, which will diminish each year over a four-year period, will enable the project to accomplish the following goals: * Continue production and distribution of the Earth & Sky radio series * Distribute a bi-annual booklet for teachers, Earth In the Classroom * Establish a partnership between the Earth & Sky Young Producers Contest and National Science and Technology Week. * Increase the visual content of Earth & Sky Online * Launch an * Earth & Sky Classroom Project to provide teachers and students with a guided "Internet Experience" simulated on a CD and, therefore, not requiring an Internet connection. * Produce and test a 156 segment "trial run" of a Kids' Earth & Sky radio series designed for the emerging Radio Disney network. Earth & Sky is produced and hosted by Deborah Byrd and Joel Block. They work with a team of producer/writers and interact on a regular basis with members of a team of over 90 science advisors.
Unicorn Projects, Inc. is producing and distributing a project on the origins of life and its connections to the origin of the universe. The project will present the challenges facing scientists working to unlock universal mysteries and the often painstaking but ultimately rewarding process of the scientific endeavor. It will be designed to reach the lay audience by linking what seem to be abstract and complicated ideas -- like how the universe was born, or how stars evolve -- to issues at the heart of everyday life raised by such simple questions as "Where did we come from?" The components of the project will include: * Four, one-hour television programs for prime time broadcast * An informal science outreach component targeted to middle school-age children and families * Activity kits and training guides adaptable for both informal and formal education * A World Wide WEB site The Co-Executive Producers for the series will be Thomas Levenson and Larry Klein. Levenson has been on the staff of NOVA at WGBH and was producer for the NOVA program on Einstein. Klein has been the producer for numerous science films including "Matters of Life and Death" in the Science Odyssey series. The co-producer for the series and science editor for the project will be Alan Dressler, an astronomer and cosmologist whose principal area of research is the formation and evolution of galaxies. Advisors to the series include: Colleen Cavanaugh, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University; George V. Coyne, Director of the Vatican Observatory; Douglas Erwin, Research Paleobiologist and Curator at the National Museum of Natural History; Sandra Faber, Professor of Astronomy and University Professor at the UCO/Lick Observatory, UC, Santa Cruz; John P. Grotzinger, Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Matt Mountain, Director of the Gemini 8M Telescopes project; and Ethan J. Schreier, Astronomer and Associate Director for Operations at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Outreach material will be developed by staff at the Pacific Science Center and implementation will be handled by the AAAS.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Thomas LevensonLarry KleinBarbara Flagg
The Exploratorium requests $1,389,665 to develop "Live @ the Exploratorium: Origins." The Exploratorium will conduct a three-year pilot project to develop an experimental series of Webcasts, related Web-based resources, and museum activities . The project will use new communications technologies to create an ongoing link between Internet and museum audiences and current scientific research efforts at observatories around the world where scientists are investigating the origins of matter, the universe, the Earth, and life itself. The Exploratorium will establish a remote connection to six science research locations investigating particle physics, cosmology, polar research, earthquake research, astrobiology and genetics. During each live Webcast museum visitors and Internet visitors will be able to interact with scientists at the remote observatories.
This project will develop a comprehensive Space Weather Outreach program to reach students, educators, and other members of the public, and share with them the discoveries from this scientific discipline. The Space Science Institute will capitalize on its prior successes and the success of other education programs to develop a comprehensive and integrated program that has the following five components: (1) the Space Weather Center website that includes online educational games; (2) Small Exhibits for Libraries, Shopping Malls, and Science Centers; (3) After-School Programs; (4) Professional Development Workshops for Educators, and (5) an innovative Evaluation and Education Research project. Its overarching goal is to inspire, engage, and educate a broad spectrum of the public and make strategic and innovative connections between informal and K-12 education communities. Partners include UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory; the American Library Association; Macerich: a mall developer with nationwide impact; and the Math, Engineering, Science Achievement program. The project brings together a creative collaboration between exhibit designers, graphic artists, formal/informal educators, and research scientists. The project spans a full spectrum of science communication strategies (formal, informal, and public outreach). The evaluation part of the project will examine how well the project elements work together and a pilot research study will explore the efficacy of online digital games for communicating complex space weather content. Results will be published and the findings presented at professional meetings and online. The three-year project is expected to impact well over two million people, including exhibit and website visitors and outreach visitors at various venues such as libraries and malls.
The scientific community is challenged by the need to reach out to students who have traditionally not been attracted to engineering and the sciences. This project would provide a link between the University of Michigan and the teachers and students of secondary education in the State of Michigan with an initial emphasis on southeast Michigan, through the creation of a range of computer services which will provide interactive access to current weather and climate change information. Taking advantage of a unique computer network capacity within the State of Michigan named MichNet which provides local phone ports in virtually every major city in the state, and the resources available to the university community via the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) UNIDATA program, this project would provide secondary schools with access to a state-of-the-art interactive weather information system. The real-time data available via the system, supplemented by interactive computer modules designed in collaboration with earth science teachers, will provide animated background information on a range of climate and weather related topics. While the principal objective of this project will be to provide educationally stimulating interactive computer systems and electronic weather and climate modules for application in inner city Detroit and its environs, the unique nature of the available computer networking will allow virtually every school system in the state to have access. Subsequently successful completion of this project could eventually make the same systems available to other cities and states.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.