WQED and the Pennsylvania State University have created a new archeology series titled Time Travelers: Rediscovering the Past. This eight part series will present in compelling terms the recent scientific innovations in archeology and how new techniques have added startling insights into past civilizations. The programs are aimed at the general public and will reach an estimated 7,000,000 people. The series is thematically organized around vital issues such as: New Worlds; Great Spirits; Scribes and Subscriptions; The Artisan; Power and Prestige; The Hearth; Realms of the Maya; and Collapse. A major traveling museum exhibition will parallel the series and a trade book will be developed. The Annenberg/CPB project has authorized $2 million towards production and development of instructional materials for use as a college level course. WQED has an outstanding track record in development of television series. They have won over 100 national awards in the past ten years including ten Emmys and a Peabody award. The have a distinguished Advisory Committee to oversee accuracy of content. This series is a well designed, comprehensive and effective presentation of a most "visual" discipline. Reviewers were all enthusiastic about the series and characterized the production as innovative and thoughtful.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jay RayvidWilliam SandersJoanna Baldwin-MalloryDavid Webster
The Florida Museum of Natural History proposes to prepare two versions of a traveling exhibit in the context of the Columbus Quincentennary. The purposes of the exhibit are to show the natural history of the Caribbean at the time when Columbus arrived and to describe the rapid modification of those natural environments for European economic gain. The exhibit will manifest two components, both of which will travel to other museums. One exhibit of approximately 3000 square feet will originate at the Florida Museum of Natural History and then will move to eight other museums around the country. Another exhibit of about 1000 square feet will travel to a different series of smaller museums, libraries and college galleries.
The Science Museum of Minnesota proposes to create a national traveling exhibit on grizzly and black bears. Marked by an interdisciplinary approach that will address scientific, ethical, social, and economic issues, the exhibit will deal with research on bear biology, historical ecology, habitat destruction, declining populations, myths and bear encounters. The project will combine objects and specimens, research findings, interactive displays, film and video, and interpretive programs. Because it will travel to a number of other museums, the exhibit promises to serve a wide audience number at least two million people.
This Communication to Public Audiences proposal from the University of Colorado, Boulder, is based on current NSF-funded research =, HSD 0624344, "The Dynamics of Human-Sea Ice Relationships: Comparing Changing Environments in Alaska, Nunavut and Greenland." A collaboration of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Colorado Museum, the principal investigato and team will develop a small traveling exhibit that hightlights aspects of environmental change in the Arctic as observed by Inuit Elders in Clyde River, Nunatvut, Canada. The exhibit will also include a section that informs the visitor on starting an oral history research project similar to the work of the principal investigator. An oral history take-home guide and material on the Web are being produced
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Shari GearheardElizabeth SheffieldJames Hakala
A new, permanent exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Man will reflect the great scientific strides made in unraveling the mysteries of our uniquely human biology. The exhibit of 7,000 sq. ft. will take visitors on a 65-million year journey through time and even go beyond the present with glimpses of current technologies which will shape the future of human evolution. The exhibit development is being guided by a team of renowned scholars, museum professionals and community members in order to insure that the material is scientifically accurate, current and comprehensive. Evaluation and community input combined with engaging exhibitry will further enhance the informal science learner's experience. The exhibit will be about time, genetics and the environment. Dioramas, casts, artifacts and engaging interactives will convey the storyline. As a result of the development of culture, technology is refined and becomes intertwined with the human evolution. The exhibit will unify and draw together other halls in the museum. Further hands-on discovery will be encouraged in an outdoor archaeological site. Associated programming, which will foster the integration of research and education, will include a lecture series, on-line chats and guidebooks, as well as resources for teachers and students.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will develop Lost Civilizations of the Tarim Basin. This will be a 6000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit that will introduce visitors to the extraordinary archaeological discoveries that have recently been made in the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Due to the arid desert conditions the preservation of sites, artifacts, and human remains is exceptional and the artifacts represent some of the oldest extant items made of perishable materials (wood, paper, silk, and leather.) What has intrigued scientists about these remains is the fact they are Indo-Europeans. These remains have challenged the scholarly world by adding fuel to an already heated debate considering the origins and development of the Indo-European peoples who inhabited the Eurasian landmass for thousands of years. Who were these people, where did they come from, and what was their role in the early development of East/West cultural contact? Not only will visitors be able to see the artifacts and learn about the culture of this extinct group, but they will also learn how archaeologists and collaborating specialists work to unravel the mysteries posed by these remains. The exhibit will be complemented by resources for formal education programs. NHM will develop 1) an on-line presentation that will include "virtual" elements of the archaeology sites and materials, 2) teacher enhancement activities, 3) curriculum materials for older elementary and secondary students, and a menu of non-formal lectures, classes, and a symposium. The museum will also produce a comprehensive, fully illustrated catalogue in both printed and digital formats. The exhibit will have five venues. It is expected to reach between 150,000 and 300,000 people at each venue.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
James OlsonAdam KesslerVincent BeggsDolkun Kamberi
Houston PBS with Windward Media is planning to develop a one-hour documentary for NOVA entitled "Trouvadore, the Last Voyage of an African Slave Trader." The film will chronicle the scientific archaeological excavation of an illegal slave ship that wrecked in the British West Indies in 1841. Planning activities will include archival research and consultation with archaeologists, DNA and curriculum specialists and local descendents of the slave ship. Deliverables will include an advanced treatment for the documentary and script outline. The Trouvadore will be the only slave ship ever recovered that was actually carrying slaves at the time it sank in 1841. The project will show how modern science can help uncover and interpret this event as well as the trans-Atlantic slave trade of which it was part. The PI will work with archaeologists from Ships of Discovery (Corpus Christi, Texas) and the Turks and Caicos National Museum. DNA studies of possible descendents will be carried out in cooperation with the National Human Genome Center at Howard University. Because NOVA has indicated its support for this project, the documentary that results from this grant will have the potential to reach significant audiences. In addition, the products of this planning process will further efforts to produce a web site, a traveling exhibition and ancillary materials. A report summarizing the results of the research during this phase will make the findings available to others as well.
The museum of Science proposes to travel a 3,000 square foot exhibit entitled "Bogs". The exhibit will introduce a poorly understood habitat, acidic wetlands, in an interdisciplinary way. the peculiar physical features of bogs has led to a popular view of them as fearful and unhealthy places. This view has led in turn, to their destruction. To show the value of bogs, the exhibit will display their unique natural history. In addition, the exhibit will explore the relationship between people and bogs in modern and pre-historic times. in Europe and in North America. The exhibit will debut at the Museum of Science, and then tour to other museums in North America.
John Carroll University, Cleveland's International Women's Air and Space Museum and Cleveland Public Schools are partnering in a three-year project to provide a cross-age, collaborative exhibit development experience to increase young peoples' science understanding and interest in science and teaching careers. The program exposes 120+ high school and undergraduate women to the skills of educational program planning and implementation. Content includes science, technology, engineering and math related to flight, and the history and role of women in flight related careers. The project proposes a highly supportive learning environment with museum, science and education experts working alongside students at secondary and undergraduate levels to design exhibits that will meet the interest and needs of the museum, and the young children and families from Cleveland schools who visit. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, the evaluation will measure change in participant career interests, content understanding and perception of science, technology, engineering and math subjects, and skill development in presenting these concepts to public audience members. Public and professional audience experiences will also be evaluated. More than nine hundred local elementary school age children, their families and 15,000 general public audience members will participate in student-designed, museum-based exhibits and programs. Deliverables include a model for university/museum partnerships in providing exhibit development and science learning experiences, three team-developed permanent exhibits about flight and women in science, a set of biographies about women and flight in DVD format and three annual museum based community events. The model program will be informed by national advisors from museum/university partners across the United States who will attend workshops in connection with the projects public presentations in years one and two. These meetings will both provide opportunities to reflect on the program progress and to develop new strategies in the evolution of the program design. Workshop participants will develop plans to implement similar programs in their home locations, impacting another layer of public audiences. The transferability of the model to these new sites will be measured in year three of the proposal. An additional 25,000 participants are expected to be impacted in the five years following the grant period. Beyond the implementation sites, the model's impact will be disseminated by the PI and participants in the program through peer reviewed journals and presentations at national conferences.
The Brooklyn Historical Society is planning a new exhibit that will focus on the development of penicillin in Brooklyn. In order to get information about potential visitors' knowledge of and interest in the topic, a survey of 40 people was conducted. The exhibit team's desire was to find out how much people know about penicillin; what they want to know about it, and what their misconceptions might be.
In this article, contracts attorney Bruce A. Falk offers a practical guide to circumventing the legalities of soliciting content from third-parties (i.e. audience participation). Falk provides a brief history of copyright and contract law and useful examples and models of contracts, in response to the growing trend of museums integrating user-generated content into their spaces and programs.
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Bruce A. FalkNational Association for Museum Exhibition
This article features three critiques of the exhibition "MN150" at the Minnesota History Center, part of the celebration of the Sesquicentennial of the State of Minnesota. Roger Barrett, Exhibit Designer at the Science Museum of Minnesota, Liza Pryor, Project Leader in the Exhibits Department at the Science Museum of Minnesota, and Jeanne Vergeront, Principal of Vergeront Museum Planning, each provide an assessment of the exhibition.
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Roger BarrettLiza PryerJeanne W. Vergeront