The following comprise the CONCLUSIONS of SRA's evaluation: POLAR-PALOOZA toured the United States at a time when the topic of climate change and global warming appeared relatively low on a list of Americans' concerns (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 2006), with the economy, war, and health care taking precedence. Nevertheless, POLAR-PALOOZA was a powerful format for engaging the public and teachers with science, while also being a rewarding and worthwhile experience for the traveling scientists. PPZA was an ambitious and complex undertaking designed to bring what is
EDX Exhibits approached Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to test prototypes for exhibits being developed for a new welcome center at the Big Cypress National Preserve. The formative evaluation, which took place during the summer, followed a front-end evaluation conducted during the spring. All data was collected at the Oasis Visitor Center at the Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida. Having conducted a front-end evaluation that explored Big Cypress visitors' perceptions of and familiarity with ideas that would be explored in the exhibits, RK&A identified concepts that were most
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.EDX ExhibitsBig Cypress National Preserve Visitor Center
Sugar from the Sun was managed by the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance (GPCA) and funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation. For this project, a 6,400 square foot living exhibition was built at Garfield Park Conservatory. This exhibition, comprised of five sections, depicted plants' production of sugar from water, air, and sunlight. The exhibition also featured a printed Exhibit Guide and hands-on activities. This study used a naturalistic inquiry methodology. The research question for this study was, As visitors engage with the immersive environments and interpretive messages in
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Eric GyllenhaalGarfield Park Conservatory Alliance
In 2005, Independent Broadcasting Associates (IBA) received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a series of radio programs for National Public Radio that features the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The radio programs, which are in the process of being produced, will describe the 650 million people who are supported by the river, as well as its cultural and religious significance. The programs will also describe the political and/or economic environment of the river and its surrounding areas. Each of these topics will encourage listeners to divorce themselves from U
GRG conducted summative evaluation of Ganga, a NSF-funded six-segment series of NPR radio programs about the culture and ecology of the river Ganga in India and Bangladesh and its companion Website. Through a web-based survey, GRG assessed the study participants' knowledge gain from and the satisfaction with the series and the Website. The appendix of this report includes the online survey used in the study.
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Irene GoodmanIndependent Broadcasting Associates, Inc.
Science Under Sail: Russia's Great Voyages to America 1728-1867 opened in May 2000 at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art (AMHA) for a five-month run. Developed by Curator Barbara Sweetland Smith and designed by Presentation Design Group, Science Under Sail was a 5,340-square-foot exhibition consisting of 44 elements, including text and graphic panels, cases with artifacts and specimens, audio stations, ship models, dioramas, and interactive elements. Overhead banners separated the exhibition into five sections: Why did they sail? Where did they go? How did they get there? What did they
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Beverly SerrellAnchorage Museum of History and Art
Evidence from the data collected on the Midwest Wild Weather Project indicates that the teachers are very excited about its potential for increasing their students' science literacy and understanding of the scientific process, as well as increasing their knowledge of the weather and exciting them about science in general. Students are very focused, enthusiastic and excited when interacting with the exhibits and universally pleased with their exploration and explainer experiences. MWW is also effectively reaching the intended underserved and underrepresented students across the nine sites are
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Gregory AloiaSciTech Hands On Museum
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), with major funding from the National Science Foundation, developed the Animal Secrets exhibition for children ages 3-8 and their families. The exhibition seeks to provide families with an opportunity to discover nature from an animal's point of view as they explore immersive, naturalistic environments including a meadow, stream, woodland, cave, and naturalists' tent. The exhibit's "big idea" is for visitors to develop a sense of wonder about nature by exploring the secret world of animals. Evaluation instruments and surveys are included in the
Evaluates students' knowledge of three fields of science (earth, physical, and life), three elements of knowing and doing science (conceptual understanding, scientific investigation, and practical reasoning), and two overarching domains in science (the nature of science and themes-systems, models, and patterns-present in science).
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Nancy L. AllenJames E. CarlsonChristine A. Zelenak
Measures children's global attitudes and knowledge about environmental issues, such as animals, energy, pollution, recycling, water, and general issues.
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Frank C. LeemingWilliam O. DwyerBruce A. Bracken
The tool was created by 4H Nebraska to measure students’ (7-10th graders ) learning and attitudes towards science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The tool also assesses students’ attitude about GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and GIS (Geographical Imaging Systems).
Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, lightning, tornadoes, and other natural phenomena occur regularly as an on-going part of the natural environment of our planet. There is a clear need to increase public awareness and knowledge of these natural forces and their impact on human existence. Educating the public about effective, and often simple, strategies for protection, mitigation, and recovery based on the latest scientific knowledge, and encouraging them to personally take action, is critical to reducing human suffering, loss of life, and destruction of property from these deadly
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Bruce W. HallMuseum of Science and Industry