The Museum of Science, Boston, in partnership with Arizona State University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Loka Institute, and Scienceforcitizens.net, is conducting a 1.5-day workshop whose goal is to strengthen and expand recent cross-sector network-building activities related to engaging the public in conversations and deliberations about the assessment of the societal implications of science and technology. In attendance are about two-dozen participants representing a wide range of informal science education professionals, STEM researchers, and science policy experts. The workshop is focusing on: (1) techniques for citizen participation in technology assessment, (2) ways in which informal educational organizations are addressing the intersection of STEM with personal and societal decision-making, and (3) models for leveraging work done by others who are exploring public engagement with future technologies. The process will also help generate and coalesce ideas for the 2012 World-Wide Views on Biodiversity program, an international effort to engage the public on the topic of world-wide loss of biodiversity. The workshop outcomes will be evaluated by the Museum's Research and Evaluation Department.
Independent Production Fund is producing a three-part public television series focusing on the latest research in the science of music. The programs will explore how cutting-edge science is revealing new connections between music and the human mind and body, the natural world and the cosmos. The series will follow researchers from a variety of fields including physiology, neuroscience, psychology, biology, physics and education, as they use groundbreaking techniques and technologies to unravel age-old mysteries about music\'s persistence, universality and emotional power. It will show how these researchers are shedding valuable new light on the way brains work. The impact of the programs will be extended through a content-rich companion web site and innovative formal and informal educational-outreach materials to both middle and high school age students, as well as a complementary radio component. Mannes Productions will produce the series; Goodman Research Group will conduct formative evaluation and Rockman et al will conduct summative evaluation.
Cosmic Serpent - Bridging Native and Western Science Learning in Informal Settings is a four-year collaboration between the Indigenous Education Institute and the University of California-Berkeley targeting informal science education professionals. This project is designed to explore the commonalities between western science and native science in the context of informal science education. The intended impacts are to provide informal science education professionals with the skills and tools to gain an understanding of the commonalities between native and western worldviews; create regional networks that bridge native and museum communities; develop science education programs in which learners cross cultural borders between western science and indigenous peoples; and meet the needs of diverse audiences using culturally-responsive approaches to science learning. Participants are introduced to topics in physical, earth, space, and life science, using an interdisciplinary approach. Deliverables include professional development workshops, peer mentoring, museum programs for public audiences, a project website, and media products for use in programs and exhibits. Additionally, regional partnerships between museums and native communities, a legacy document, and a culminating conference jointly hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian and the Association of Science and Technology Centers will promote future sustainability. Strategic impact is realized through participants' increased understanding of native and western science paradigms, museum programs that reflect commonalities in the two approaches, partnerships between museums and native communities, and increased institutional capacity to engage native audiences in science. This project directly impacts 270 informal educators at 96 science centers and tribal/cultural museums nationally while the resulting programs will reach an estimated 200,000 museum visitors.
Carnegie Mellon University is developing an interactive, multimedia planetarium presentation about the human brain. The interdisciplinary project team will build upon and refine the experience gained from its recently completed planetarium show, Journey Into the Living Cell. The context for this work is the need for increased public understanding of the human brain - an organ central to the very concept of humanity. The understanding of the human brain is located at the lively crossroads of research in many disciplines, including psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, computer science and biology. The proposed medium to address this important issue is a 45-minute planetarium show. A broad audience ranging from pre-adolescent to adult will be targeted. Sophisticated and entertaining imaging technologies, including animation and virtual reality, will be used throughout the work. Narration and sound will be tightly integrated into the work. The hemispherical display surface of the planetarium will be fully utilized both visually and sonically. Recent advances in the brain sciences as well as long held understandings about the brain will be presented. Basic brain biology and principles of brain function including cooperativity in brain region activity and brain region specialization will be introduced.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
James McClellandPaul OlesBryan Rogers
The Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History will plan activities related to their proposed exhibit "Texas Pre-History: How Do We Know?" This will be a 10,000 sq. ft. permanent exhibit along with a traveling exhibit and education program menu and will feature a constructivist approach to inquiry-based learning focusing on archaeological and paleontological fieldwork being carried out in Texas today. Research sites prominently featured in the exhibit will be several early Cretaceous dinosaur sites excavated by paleontologists Louis Jacobs, and Dale Winkler, Southern Methodist University, and archaeological sites from early Clovis and Dalton Periods being excavated under the direction of archeologist Reid Ferring, University of North Texas. The exhibits and complementary activities will explore the questions a) what is being learned about the prehistory of Texas b) how do scientists interpret their findings and c) what don't we know? With this planning grant, they will conduct extensive front end studies to identify key questions that visitors will have when they come to the exhibit. Meetings with advisors to develop a conceptual plan for the exhibit and educational materials. During these sessions such questions as the following will be explored. A) "How can the Museum pre-design multiple mysteries and outcomes to satisfy the interest of diverse visitors...", b) can the museum combine paleontology and archaeology without perpetuating the naive notion that dinosaurs and people lived at the same time, c) what materials and policies will be developed to handle the creationism vs evolution that might arise, and d) how will the challenges of circulating the traveling exhibit be addressed? Museum staff will travel to other museums to examine model exhibits, and project staff will work with teachers to develop project-related formal education programs.
The Austin Children's Museum will develop Sixteen Candles: Growing Up from 0 - 16. a 1500 sq. ft. interactive traveling exhibition the topic of human development. Visitors will be given the opportunity to learn about the physical, intellectual, and social/emotional changes that are connected with human growth and the branches of science that study human development. Guided by the museum's maxim of exhibit and program development that experience should "build on the familiar and be personally meaningful to varied audiences" this exhibit will have components and activities that highlight similarities and differences between families and children of different cultural and economic backgrounds and family life styles. The exhibit text material will be bilingual, Spanish and English. Complementary educational material will include teacher orientation materials, educator's guide book with pre-and post-visit activities, and various parent -child activities. Museum staff will cooperate with a PBS affiliate and various other community organizations in the development of this exhibit. The exhibit will travel to an additional eight to twelve sites around the country during a three-year period. It will open at the Austin Children's Museum in the spring of 1999.
The Exploratorium will develop a 6000 sq. f.t exhibit Seeing: The Interaction of Physiology, Culture, and Technology . As the first exhibit and program development project of their multiyear initiative "Refocusing on the Floor," this permanent exhibit will consist of approximately 60 new and redesigned exhibits organized into six sections: Seeing Central, Light and Images, Process of Seeing, Seeing Things Differently, Extending Our Vision, and Deconstructing What We See. Visitors will develop their skills at seeing, noticing, and visual thinking, will become more conscious of visual information in daily life, be exposed to current research on vision and visual cognition, be given opportunities to investigate the social and cultural influences on seeing, and be lead to the realization that seeing, interpreting, and understanding visual information are basic to the conduct of science. New partnerships will be developed with community-based organizations that will promote new audiences for the Exploratorium as well as enhance the viewpoints of the participating staff members. The activities will address the National Science Standards in terms of the process skills that are identified and will reintroduce visual thinking skills into the activities linking the exhibit with the formal education's curriculum. Additional workshops and professional dissemination activities will be included in the overall project.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop Window on Catalhoyuk: An Archaeological Work in Progress. The project will include a 4,500 sq. ft. exhibit, a World Wide Web site, an exhibit cookbook for archaeology interactives developed for the exhibit, and a suite of related classroom activities. Catalhoyuk is currently the most important archaeological site in Turkey and among the most significant cultural heritage monuments in the world. It consists of two mounds located on either side of an ancient river channel. The larger mound has Early Neolithic age occupation levels (9000 and 7500 years ago) and represents one of the largest known Neolithic settlements, holding links to the beginnings of agriculture, animal domestication, and the rise of urban complexity. The smaller mound consists of more recent occupations (7500 to 5000 years ago). Together they may record nearly 10,000 years of human occupation. SMM has been a partner, along with the Turkish team, in the Catalhoyuk Research Project since its inception in 1993 and has the responsibility of developing public programs and for bringing the research findings before a worldwide audience. Unlike a traditional approach where the results of archaeological research appear years after the excavations, this project will focus on the process of archaeology giving visitors the opportunity of learning about the workings of contemporary archaeology and the nature of scientific inquiry, along with the important insight into the beginning of Mediterranean civilization. The exhibit will be updated annually for two years to reflect new results of ongoing fieldwork. The project addresses the National Science Education Standards, particularly those related to science as inquiry and to the history and nature of science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Donald PohlmanNatalie RuskOrrin Shane
Blue Mountain Films, in association with the American Museum of Natural History, is producing a multi-component project on biodiversity that will examine closely the risks we face if the web of life on Earth is progressively diminished. The central component of the project will be a large format film that seeks to locate and understand humans' place in, and impact upon, the natural order of life on this planet. The film will be based on what appears to be a critical paradox: while we humans, like all living things, have always been dependent upon natural systems for our survival, our unique cultural development and technological prowess have convinced us that we are somehow "above" nature. As a corollary theme, the Life in the Balance film will examine the urgency of the scientific effort to explore and understand ecosystems and the flora and fauna they contain before their unique genetic information is lost due to human actions. In addition, the film will convey an appreciation of how science actually is done in the field. The film will be augmented by: * The Life in the Balance Bookshelf of material currently being developed by the new National Center at the American Museum of Natural History: * Biodiversity: An Action Guide aimed at encouraging children and their families to explore together topics and issues surrounding biodiversity. * Teacher's Curriculum-Biodiversity Counts designed as a middle school-based activity that encourages students to engage in scientific exploration and discover the diversity of species in their own neighborhoods. * Book of Essays designed as a resource book for high school students and their teachers. * Teacher/Educator's Guide consisting of hands-on science activities that can be used independently of the film and as preparation for viewing and/or following screenings of the film. * Life in the Balance "Interactive" Poster with a four-color acetate overlay of pictures which, wen pulled away, reveals a seco nd sheet with science information. * Fun Facts Brochure with biodiversity facts and questions presented in a simple, fun fashion, such as quizzes and games. * Life in the Balance Website feature family activities, an extinction conference section, and a bio-bulletin. * Life in the Balance National Training Institute, a 10 day workshop brining together teams of science educators from community organizations, schools, and science centers and museums. The PI and producer/director/writer of the film will be Bayley Silleck who served in these same roles for the Cosmic Voyage film. The Co-PI and producer will be Jeffrey Marvin. The principal scientist will be Thomas Eisner, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University. This production team will work closely with an advisory committee that includes Jane Lubchenco, Peter H. Raven, Edward O. Wilson, Andrew Peter Dobson, Myles Gordon, Mary Elizabeth Murray-Wilson, and Lee Schmitt.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bayley SilleckJeffrey MarvinThomas Eisner
The Museum of Science, Boston will develop an exhibit about Aging. It will be a 6000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit that will open in Boston during April, 2000 coinciding with the United Nations' International Year of Older Persons. The exhibit will provide visitors with an engaging and interactive environment in which to explore scientific, personal, and social aspects of aging. This exhibit will put a spotlight on the remarkable change that has been occurring as a result of in the increased survival rates for people of all ages contributing, among other things, to an increase in the number of older adults. This exhibit will be organized around four themes that will engage visitors in the exploration of the basic scientific research and impact of this change in demographics. The themes are: 1) the biological research that is seeking to understand how and why all living things age, 2) the impact of the physiological and psychological effects of the aging process of humans, 3) the influence of personal, social, and cultural factors on an individual's aging process and 4) the demographic, economic and public policy aspects of aging. There will be a number of complementary programs developed which will be packaged in a tool kit format that will permit museums borrowing the exhibit to develop those components that are allowed by their resources. These programs include a museum theater production that will invite visitors to think about aging in the context of their own society/culture; a world-wide-web resource to assist teachers and other community educators; and a series of multigenerational one-day programs to encourage interactions between different generations within a family or participating group. The exhibit will provide an opportunity for linkage with the needs of the formal education community. Its content addresses important parts of the formal science education curriculum as identified in the National Science Education Standards, Science for All Americans, and Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
The California Science Center will develop an exhibition, "Abracadabra: The Science of Illusion." This will be a 6000-sq.ft. traveling exhibit. The theme, the science behind magic, will help visitors understand that magic is based on the complex interplay between sensation, perception, physical science and math concepts, culture, and the art of performance. The goal of the exhibition is to use the public's fascination with magic as a bridge to learning basic science in the area of optics, electromagnetics, simple mechanics, math, physiology and psychology. The exhibit will include seven thematic sections and an enclosed theater for live and taped performances. The exhibition will open at the California Science Center in October, 2000 and then will travel to the six science centers that participate in the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative. It is estimated about 4 million people will view the exhibition during its national tour.
The Hudson River Museum (HRM) will develop Hudson Riverama: An Interactive, Long-term Exhibition for Families and School Children. This will be a 2000 sq. ft. exhibit and will take the form of a trip along the Hudson River. Part I, "The Journey," will introduce seven distinct river environments from Lake Tear in the Clouds to the New York Harbor. Part II, "River People," will present human occupations and activities that are related to the river such as a shad fisherman, a municipal planner, a sewage treatment worker, and an environmental educator. The exhibit will present four fundamental, interrelated environmental concepts: ecosystems, habitats, adaptation, and human impact on the environment. Learners will immerse themselves in a habitat by "becoming" Hudson River animals and by role playing field guides, urban planners, etc. National science standards will provide a framework for the exhibit and complementary educational activities. The complementary materials will include pre- and post-visit materials for use by teachers and their students. These will include visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic activities that will connect the science education requirements with the exhibit. Information about the exhibit will be broadly disseminated and it is expected that other similar museums will emulate this approach. The exhibit is scheduled to open in January, 2001.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Philip VerreCatherine Shiga-Gattullo