This 12-month planning phase will prepare the Exploratorium to develop a major collection of exhibits and activities on human thought and behavior. Because of the abundance of dramatic, new scientific research in human cognition and how this topic can be explored in an informal setting by the public, the institution will perform a one-year research and planning project. The team will investigate work by other science centers through site visits, conduct audience research on their needs in learning about cognitive science, consult with advisors, develop and test exhibit prototypes and evaluate the process.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis will develop a 6,000-sq. ft. traveling exhibition about bones, helping children and adults learn about the science of bones, maintenance of healthy bone structures and the cultural and artistic uses of bones. Also, the exhibition will help inform upper elementary and middle school audiences of career possibilities in science, further an understanding of bones as revealed through modern technology and promote understanding of the skeletal system. A Web site, teacher workshops, kits and other materials and events will support learning through this exhibition.
The Exploratorium will develop an exhibit focusing on three areas of mental activity that process perceptions and enable human action: attention, emotion and judgment. Developers will create 32 new interactive exhibits and rebuild six to eight old ones to be part of the museum's permanent collection. The Exploratorium will develop a new area in the museum dedicated to exploring the processes of the human mind and brain, experiment with new ways of creating meaningful mind experiences for visitors and help establish a sense of collective experimentation among science centers in neuroscience and psychology exhibits and programming.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michael PearceRichard BrownKathleen McLean
The St. Louis Science Center plans to design and develop a 2400-square-foot permanent exhibit dealing with the fields of cellular and molecular biology, including biotechnology and genetic engineering. The primary goal of the exhibit is to affect the attitudes of millions of visitors, with the secondary goal being to serve as a model for other science museums and science centers.
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.
The Nanomedicine Explorer kiosk at the Museum of Science, Boston provides opportunities to learn about nanomedicine, nanotechnology, cancer biology, new research in cancer diagnosis and therapy, and the process of medical research from bench to bedside. This report is the formative evaluation of the prototype of this kiosk, presenting the results of visitor observations, exit surveys, and interviews. The findings of these data served to provide the Nanomedicine Explorer production team a basis from which to make improvements to the program, which was released as Version 1.0 in May of 2009
This report details formative testing of several Introduction to Nanomedicine prototypes including an early version of Treating Disease. These activities were conducted in February 2007.
Four nanomedicine prototypes were testing in May and June of 2006. The results from this evaluation helped with the development of the final exhibit of Treating Disease.
This report summarizes the formative testing of multiple Nanomedicine prototypes as well as a comparison of visitors who experience both the Nanomedicine prototypes and the Introduction to Nanotechnology prototypes.
This report summarizes a summative evaluation of Amazing Feats of Aging, an exhibition developed by staff at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon. Patricia McNamara, an independent evaluator, designed this study to document the exhibition's impact on visitors at two locations: its permanent installation at OMSI itself and at the installation of the exhibit's traveling version at the Lafayette Museum of Natural History (LMNH) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Data collection strategies included visitor interviews, self-administered questionnaires and unobtrusive
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Patricia McNamaraOregon Museum of Science and Industry
The Maryland Science Center has received a SEPA grant to develop an exhibition, intern program and web site focusing on cell biology and stem cell research. The working title of the exhibition is Cellular Universe. The exhibit is intended to serve the following audiences: Families with children age nine and older; School groups (grades four and up); Adults; 9th grade underserved high school students in three local schools and/or community centers. Topics the exhibit will treat include: Structure and function of cells; Stem cells and their potential, the controversy surrounding stem cell
Advances in genomics are rapidly increasing our understanding of not only the human body, disease and health-related issues but how humans and other species interact and respond to changing environments. Genomics represents a scientific frontier that connects with individuals and families at the most personal level, with the potential to shape the future of human healthcare. However, advances in genomics and their implications for personalized medicine are far out-pacing public awareness and knowledge. The Connecticut Science Center and the University of Connecticut partnered under a National Science Foundation funded collaboration between Dr. Rachel O'Neill, UCONN, and Dr. Hank Gruner, Connecticut Science Center, and the National Center for Science & Civic Engagement to engage the public in developing a conceptual understanding of genomics.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Connecticut Science CenterRachel O'NeillHank Gruner