Sci•Tech Today is a brief televised science news program designed to enhance public understanding of current science, engineering and technology. The 3-5 minute segments are researched and presented by Museum of Science staff and mediated by a news anchor of New England Cable News (NECN). The segments are cablecast live from the Museum of Science’s Gordon Current Science & Technology stage and NECN's Needham, Massachusetts studios. Twice a month, the segments feature nanoscale science and engineering research. These segments are produced with support from (1) the Center for High-Rate
The Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA), producer of TV411 and the NSF-funded Think Math, will undertake a planning process for the development of a ten part series, TV411 Cook Smart, which will incorporate lessons in math, biochemical and physical processes into a cooking show format. The television series is geared towards low-literate adults and builds on ALMA's prior experience in producing science/math-based programming. The deliverables include a standards-based curriculum outline for the series; outreach and training plans with the project's broadcast partner, Kentucky Educational Television; development of strategic partnerships with community organizations, including Head Start programs and Neighborhood Networks National Consortium; and evaluation strategies to study the impact of the TV411 Cook Smart on adult learners.
WGBH is requesting funds to produce a four-hour NOVA television special with accompanying Web and outreach activities about the pervasive role of materials in our lives. The overarching goals of the project are to: 1) enhance public engagement in and understanding of materials science, including appreciation of its effects on society; 2) promote collaboration among educators, scientists and community-based organizations to reach a broad audience; and 3) create effective methods of expanding informal science learning that can be evaluated for their lasting impact on the field. The mini-series, "STUFF: The Materials that Shape our World," will offer an appreciation of the human and scientific factors that drive innovation in materials science, from ancient breakthroughs to today's explosion of biological and nanomaterials. The four episodes, themed around "Stronger," "Smaller," "Smarter" and "Cleaner" will provide a clear focus on the interdisciplinary nature of materials science and showcase dramatic stories of past inventions and exciting new discoveries. The NOVA team in association with the Materials Research Society (MRS) will produce the series. The "STUFF" series is anticipated to be broadcast on PBS in the fall of 2008. WGBH and MRS will work with local PBS stations to train local scientists in public outreach. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the project components, and Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the series and the outreach efforts.
Radio Lab will produce 20 hour-long interdisciplinary science programs and 30 shorter features to be aired on NPR news magazine programs on a wide range of core STEM topics exploring how research is done as well as what the scientific results mean to the listener. The programs are co-hosted by Robert Krulwich, science reporter for NPR, and Jared Abumrad, WNYC radio producer and music composer. The programs are using a new, unorthodox format with music, live sounds and conversations between the hosts designed to appeal to young adult listeners who previously thought they did not like science. Each episode is crafted around a scientific finding and aims to connect the scientific inquiry to philosophical and universal implications. Program topics will include biology and neuroscience as well as physics, genetics, chemistry, math and engineering. The program carriage goal is to have the hour-long programs airing on 100 stations reaching three to four million listeners by the end of the project. The shorter segments will be distributed by NPR in its regular news magazine programs. Programs will also be podcast on NPR and WNYC's web sites, as well as through iTunes. The project will also train NPR science reporters on this new approach to science news content.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen HorneJad AbumradRobert KrulwichBarbara Flagg
Kikim Media requests $743,316 to produce four half-hour television documentaries and associated outreach programs based on Michael Pollan's best-selling book, The Botany of Desire. The project explores the reciprocal nature of people's relationship with plants. The programs focus on the connections between apples and the human desire for sweetness; tulips and the desire for beauty; marijuana and the desire for intoxication; and corn and our desire for control over nature. The project will increase public understanding of diverse subjects including genetics, evolution, cognition and biochemistry as well as biodiversity, genetic diversity and the consequences of their loss. The project will have a broad impact through a national primetime PBS broadcast, an outreach program targeting adult audiences, and an educational module delivering appropriate content (excluding intoxication) to middle and high school audiences. Knight-Williams Research Communications will conduct the evaluation for The Botany of Desire television broadcast and outreach efforts.
Oregon Public Broadcasting is requesting funds to produce three one-hour nationally broadcast television programs, a project website, community-centered outreach coordinated by AAAS in 7 U.S. cities, a seminar discussion guide and a series of 90-second programs as part of the "Earth &Sky" radio series. The subject and purpose of the project is to attract public interest in nanotechnology by examining the social, ethical, legal and environmental issuers surrounding its application. The television programs will be produced by Fred Friendly Seminars (FFS) and broadcast on PBS. Two science museums, Boston Museum of Science and the South Carolina State Museum, and the University of California, Berkeley, will host the FFS panels. The format of the Seminars is designed to produce thought provoking and nuanced discussions of contemporary issues. Collaborative partners in the project include AAAS, Lawrence Hall of Science and ICAN Productions. The outreach initiative includes outreach to "targeted stakeholders" in 7 US cities, four 90-second radio spots as part of Earth & Sky, a project web site and a Seminar discussion guide. Inverness Research Associates and Edu, Inc. will conduct both formative and summative evaluation of the project components.