The Cricket and Katydid Crawl of New York City and Surrounds is a citizen science pilot project in which participants will venture out between dusk and midnight to locations of their choosing throughout the NYC metro area to listen for the calls of crickets and katydids and document their observations. Counts will be immediately text, emailed, or cell phoned in. An extended network of databasers will enter the data online, and maps and anlayses will be generated in near real time. By dawn we hope to have a series of reports generated by observers, artists, mathematicians, and citizens. Following the survey on September 11, 2009 we will document the event and provide advice for those who would like to replicate this event elsewhere. We will be doing this purposely without copyrights and without institutional funding...a wiki approach to a survey.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
USGSAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryAppalachian Mountain ClubProteus GowanusSam Droege
A BioBlitz is a rapid biological survey of a property in which as many species from as many taxonomic groups as possible are counted during a 24-hour period. It is used to provide a snapshot of wildlife in any area, and identify any rare or endangered species there. As a volunteer you would participate in training to learn how to collect data during the BioBlitz, and on the day of the event you work with experts to identify species. By participating in the BioBlitz, you get the opportunity to meet and spend time with people who are interested in the environment, and learn about critters in Wisconsin!
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Beaver Creek Reserve Citizen Science CenterSarah Braun
This article features critiques of the Tusher African Center at the California Academy of Sciences. Marjorie Schwarzer, Chair and Professor of the Department of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University, Margaret Kadoyama, Principal of Margaret Kadoyama Consulting and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University, and Sheila Pressley, Director of Education at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, share their analysis of the exhibition and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marjorie SchwarzerMargaret KadoyamaSheila Pressley
In this article, Sonal Bhatt, Assistant Director of Interpretation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (headquartered at the Bronx Zoo), describes the Zoo's Eco-restroom project, a multi-part experience that embodies their mission of conservation. Bhatt highlights the key features of Eco-restroom area, evaluation results, and lessons learned.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sonal BhattNational Association for Museum Exhibition
In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences project, the University of Colorado at Boulder -- in partnership with the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, and the CU-Boulder Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement -- is building on the work they have done via their NSF research award, A Meta-Design Framework for Participative Software Systems, in which they have been developing participative software systems (PPS) and applications of the framework. Community of Soundscapes will employ newly developed mobile computing and collaborative mapping technology in programs that help users gain greater insights and stake into the shared environment in which they live and visit. Sound Camera, a digital recording device outfitted with GPS mapping software, allows users to collect audio clips of their sonic experiences as they explore their cities, parks and other environments and upload them online onto a digital map through a Web 2.0 application. They can then compose, annotate, and share soundscapes of the places where the sounds were recorded. A Web site will be developed to expand the project's reach to audiences not in the Boulder programs. Professional development training will be provided for collaborators and through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. The educational goals are to promote literacy of PSS and engage the public in personally meaningful activities that benefit environmental education (cognitive goal) and expand environmental awareness (affective goal). The project work and its evaluation processes (by Wells Resources, Inc.) are intended to advance the field of informal science education with respect to PSS and to study how these new technologies might affect shifts in the kinds of experiences various audiences prefer to have.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gerhard FischerElisa GiaccardiGerhard Fischer
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.
This project brings together polar researchers, science centers and broadcast media reporters to tell the story of four polar research expeditions to the general public, teachers and students. The four expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic were chosen based on their relevance to the three primary IPY research emphasis areas defined by NSF. A science writer and a professional photographer/oceanographer reporting on each expedition will do daily webcasts on the "Polar Discovery web site (http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu)" as well as several scheduled real-time phone patches to audiences at the Museum of Science, Boston, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The Field Museum (Chicago), the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Pacific Science Center (Seattle), the Birch Aquarium (San Diego), National Public Radio stations, CBS News and to student "reporters" writing for Scholastic Online. Programs will also be broadcast on University of California TV. A museum exhibit at the WHOI Exhibit Center will highlight polar research. Components of it will either travel to partner museums or be replicated in the partnering museums. Photo archives of the expeditionary material will also be created and made available to interested users.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christopher LinderFrederic HeideJames Kent
Norbert Wu and collaborators will create an extensive library of visual media documenting polar marine ecosystems in Antarctica. The PI will partner with the BBC to film and photograph images of marine life in Antarctica at McMurdo and the PI will also film at Palmer. Some of the video footage will contribute to the BBC Natural History Unit production, Life, to be released in 2010. The video and still imagery will also be used to extend the Underwater Field Guide to McMurdo Sound maintained by Scripps. The series of podcasts will profile women researchers at both McMurdo and Palmer. The Ocean Institute will use material as part of their polar science education curricula, "Girls in Ocean Science." Archived materials will be made available to both scientists and the public, and other interested publishing and broadcasting entities, including a number of existing IPY projects. The visual media produced during this project are designed for national and international distribution to enhance the legacy of the International Polar Year.
Washington State University, the University of Puget Sound, the University of Washington, a consortium of three museums, and a state-wide charter school system that assists home-school teachers in the Northwest are collaborating to develop new strategies to educate and inform the public about evolution through interactive museum exhibits. Background information and baseline knowledge will be garnered through focus group discussions and surveys. Information will be sought from parents and students in home-school environments and teachers of faith-based groups. The planning work is the prelude to development of the actual exhibition and is needed to inform the PIs how most effectively to help the public best learn key concepts of evolution. The same groups that supply the baseline information and knowledge of concepts will be used to judge museum development in an iterative manner. A second objective in this endeavor is to catalyze collaboration among regional museums. Participants in the project will be staff from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Conner Museum in Pullman, Washington, Slater Museum of Natural History in Tacoma, Washington, Nebraska State Museum, and Idaho Distance Education Academy. An advisory committee includes evolutionary scientists, philosophers of science, and members of the clergy. This project will derive baseline perspectives on evolution from the unique home-school and faith-based communities, piloted interactive exhibits describing contemporary evolution stories, comparative knowledge on whether these participating groups provide useful strategies in the exhibit development, and whether contemporary content exhibits are better at explanations of evolution than the more traditional examples.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Larry HuffordMichael WebsterRichard OlmsteadAmy RykenCarol AnelliPeter Wimberger
Red Hills Studios proposes to design and develop BioArcade, a suite of online biology games for youth ages 9 to 13. Unique to the field of educational games is the specialized and innovative modding feature that Red Hills Studio will develop. Modding will allow learners to create their own customized versions of BioArcade games for dissemination to other learners. BioArcade games are intended to encourage extended game play and motivation for learning key biology concepts through exciting interactive game modules developed by a leading group of game developers and science content experts. The underlying educational and scientific framework for BioArcade will be developed collaboratively with Co-PI, Dr. Janis Cannon-Bowers at the University of Central Florida and Roger Bybee at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), along with the projects Scientific and Design Advisory Boards. The project will rigorously evaluate modding as a potential new approach in game design. The modding innovation will be studied in a three-condition randomized controlled trial to determine its effectiveness in promoting deep exploration of scientific concepts and increased knowledge gain. Results of the study will be disseminated to the informal learning community through peer-reviewed educational journals, papers, and presentations at science education and game conferences. Extensive formative and summative evaluations, conducted by Knight Williams Research Communications, will provide valuable insight and assessment of the game design approach for science content learning in informal venues. BioArcade will be widely disseminated daily to millions of young learners online through PBSKids: www.pbskids.org/
Hidden Universe is a multi-faceted project built around production of a 2D/3D giant screen film. The goal is to inspire, engage, and excite viewers about the mysterious worlds hidden around us and the science and technology that reveal them. The film will illuminate natural wonders that are invisible to the naked eye, such as objects and processes that are too slow, too fast, and too small to be seen without advanced technologies. It will include nanoscience and microbiology research and developing wavelength technologies such as ultrafast lasers. The project will employ cutting-edge technology to bring arresting footage of micro- and nanobiology to the giant screen to offer audiences (1) deeper understanding of natural phenomena that comes through observation and (2) greater appreciation of modern technology that makes such observation possible. The film story will focus on demonstrating science as inquiry and underscore the crucial link between scientific inquiry and technological advances. The film project will be enhanced with educational outreach materials, professional development opportunities for educators, and an interactive website. Hidden Universe will be produced by the large format team at National Geographic's Cinema Ventures group and its production partner Blacklight Films. The project brings to the table the extensive resources of the National Geographic Society. In addition, the project will partner with a select group of scientific research centers (Chester Carlson Center for Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Nanobiotechnology Center at Cornell) and leaders in informal education (Boston Museum of Science and Girl Scouts) to extend the reach and impact of the project. The project will add to its list of partners by working with the D.C. Public Schools and Teach for America to find new ways to intersect with teachers and students in underserved areas. The project will employ Multimedia Research and Knight-Williams Research Communications to conduct the project\'s formative and summative evaluations, respectively.