"Roman City," fourth in a series of PBS specials based on the acclaimed books of David Macaulay, is an hour-long film that traces the planning, engineering, building and habitation of an ancient Roman city at the height of empire. The program continues the unique Macaulay presentation format of a cinemaquality animated dramatic story juxtaposed with live- action documentary segments, hosted by Mr. Macaulay and filmed at actual sites portrayed in the story. Each film roots its dominant structures and technology firmly within the thought and culture of its historical period. The dual presentation style has enabled the previous Macaulay specials to capture a wide range of viewers from young children all the way up to older adults. "Roman City," as well as the previous award-winning Macaulay specials--"Castle," "Cathedral" and "Pyramid"--is specifically aimed at enhancing the scientific, technical and humanistic understanding of both young people and adults outside of the formal educational environment. All indication from the previous programs suggests that this goal has been widely achieved. There is a natural curiosity about other cultures, about things technical and how they interrelate with human needs and aspirations, and we believe our unique format satisfies that curiosity in an entertaining, informative and educational manner. The ancient Romans achieved breakthroughs in planning and the delivery of those elements deemed necessary for the functioning of an increasingly world. Aqueducts, sewers, roads, bridges, amphitheaters and public buildings, even public lavatories, all speak to the technical mastery of the ancient Romans. And if their social aims were not always as "advanced" as their scientific and technological sophistication, then that, too, provides a modern object lesson on the critical and mutually dependent interrelationship of science and civilization.
Rosemarie Reed is producing a one-hour documentary film about the life and accomplishment of Lise Meitner, the Austrian born physicist whose pioneering work in nuclear physics contributed to the discovery of nuclear fission, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Rosemarie Reed Productions, Ltd., is requesting a planning grant of $50,000 to conduct research, secure visuals, develop a treatment, and do preliminary formative evaluation of the treatment for this film. An examination of Meitner's life and work will help correct the inaccuracies and injustices that have distorted the legacy of one of the founders of the modern nuclear age and address the need for the recognition of women in science. The film will also offer stufents insight into the social, political and scientific events of the first half of the twentieth century and will introduce audiences to the work and thought of such key figures as Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr, Max Planck and Otto Hahn. The project will be informed by an advisory board comprised of leading experts in Meitner studies and theoretical physics; formative evaluation will be conducted by Georgia Institute for Technology.
MacGillivray Freeman Films is producing and distributing "Greek Odyssey," a large-format film presenting archaeology as a sophisticated, precise science that utilizes highly advanced technologies to reconstruct the past. The film will examine research in Athens, the Greek islands and beneath the Aegean Sea where archaeologists, geophysicists and conservationists collaborate to solve and record the mysteries of ancient civilizations. Audiences will discover the process and importance of scientific research to our understanding of Greece's past and its extraordinary influence on our world today. Outreach will include a Museum Resource Guide, Family Fun Sheet, Teacher's Guide, Website and a Scientist Speaker Series. Greg MacGillivray will serve as Co-Producer/Director/Director of Photography, Alec Lorimore will be Co-Producer, and Stephen Judson will be the film editor. The Lead Science Advisor is Mark Rose, a member of the Archaeological Institute of America and Managing Editor of Archaeology magazine. Science advisors include: George Bass, Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A & M University; Sandy MacGillivray, Co-Director of Palaikastro excavations on Crete; and Floyd McCoy, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii.
Blue Mountain film Associates Inc., a production company formed by the producers of the large format film, Cosmic Voyage, is requesting a planning grant of $50,000, of a total budget of $130,000 to conduct preliminary work on Biodiversity: Life in the Balance. A 40-minute large-format film will be the centerpiece of this multi-component science education project. 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. The following a among major tasks will be accomplished during the five month planning period: * The project principals, a researcher, and advisors will create a comprehensive project plan to include a large format film; complementary print materials for informal and formal settings; a website; a CD-ROM; a video presentation for museums, schools, and home markets; and a related traveling exhibit. * Work with advisors and other scholars to develop detailed project content. * Write and review a treatment for the film. * Develop the museum exhibit component * Write a detailed script for the film. * Develop draft of outreach plan for advisor review. * Develop promotion plan. The principals in the project will include: Bayley Silleck who will be PI, Director, Co-Producer, and Writer; Jeffrey Marvin, Co-PI and Producer; and Thomas Eisner, who will be a Co-PI and will serve as primary content specialist and chair of the advisory committee. The advisory committee includes: Niles Eldredge, American Museum of Natural History; Jane Lubchenco, Oregon State University; Peter Raven, Missouri botanical Garden; and Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bayley SilleckJeffrey MarvinThomas Eisner
North Carolina State University proposes to produce two one-hour documentaries on language diversity in the southeastern United States, one on a receding traditional variety of English on the Outer Banks of North Carolina tentatively titled Vanishing Voices of the Outer Banks, and one on the emergence of Spanish and Hispanic English in the Mid-Atlantic South tentatively titled The Spanish Voice in the New American South. The project is related to NSF research grant BCS-0542139, Old and New Ethnic Dialect Configuration in the American South," but it also connects with the PI's extensive, ongoing public outreach activities related to linguistic diversity. The project contributes to the public understanding of language diversity in American society and the social role of language in community life.
WGBH Educational Foundation is producing a four-hour documentary special, "Fire," to be broadcast as a NOVA special. The series will present the story of fire as an important but often overlooked key to understanding the natural world and our shared environmental history. Humans have used fire in virtually every aspect of our existence: for heat and light, as a tool and a source of power, for the private rituals of spiritual life and the monumental reshaping of entire landscapes. Fire acts as a significant agent of change in our world today, and the interaction of fire and humans is now acknowledged as a significant part of global climate change research and of biodiversity and ecosystem health studies. Fire will examine these and other powerful and fundamental scientific questions related to fire being explored today. The project will integrate fire history with an understanding of the scientific principles of fire chemistry and behavior, and it will link that knowledge with ecology, agriculture, forestry and resource management. An integrated outreach campaign will accompany the television series. It will be built around a resource kit, offered in both print and CD-ROM formats, with activities and other resources for families and youth organizations at the late elementary and early middle school level. There also will be special web pages within NOVA's award-winning web site that will include the "Fire" resource kit materials. The PI and Series Producer will be Judith Vecchione whose credits include the NSF-supported series on women scientists today, "Discovering Women." Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOVA, will be Executive-in-Charge. The Film Director will be Kirk Wolfinger whose prior NOVA productions include "Submarine!," "Titanic's Lost Sister," "Daredevils of the Sky," and "To the Moon." The Series Senior Advisor is Stephen J. Pyne, Professor of History at Arizona State University. Dr. Pyne is an environmental historian and author of the five-book "Cycle of Fire" suite. Other advisors include: Norman L. Christensen, Dean of the Nicholas School of Environment at Duke University; Johann Georg Goldammer, Senior Scientist and leader of the Fire Ecology and Biomass Burning Research Groups of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry; Robert Huggins, Servicewide Education Coordinator for the National Park Service; Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago; Marcella Russell, Regional Liaison for the Massachusetts Parent Involvement Project; and Brian Stocks, Senior Fire Research Scientist at the Canadian Forest Service.
Night Fire Films is producing a one-hour show for PBS titled "Breaking the Maya Code," based on the book by Dr. Michael D. Coe. "Breaking the Maya Code" will explore the history of the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic script. The 400-year scientific detective story, climaxing in the past thirty years, will be told through footage shot at key locations in Central America, Europe and the United States, together with dramatizations, animation and graphics; archival materials; and interviews with major participants in the decipherment. An outreach campaign, including an extensive web site, will enhance the television viewing experience as well as promote further STEM learning. The program will be produced and directed by David Lebrun; Nicolas Noxon serves as Executive Producer. Michael Coe will serve the project as Principal Advisor, along with an extensive board of advisors of ethnographers, epigraphers, archaeologists, historians, iconographers and others. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the program; Knight-Williams Research will conduct summative evaluation of the project. The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted $550,000 toward this project.
Earth Game is a five-day simulation, modeled on the war games the military have staged for a hundred years. An international group of scientists, diplomats and political experts will react to a simulated environmental crisis caused by global climate change. The period of play is 1995 to 2010. The proceedings will be videotaped and edited into four hours of television programming for international broadcast to a general audience in the spring of 1992. Earth Game is a project of WQED with the Smithsonian Institution, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Adrian Malone Productions, and the U.S. Naval War College. The objectives are: 1.) to stimulate greater public and governmental interest in the subject of climate change; 2.) to foster greater understanding of what we do and don't know about the causes of climate change, and 3.) to develop a greater appreciation of the dilemmas posed by the need for political action in the fact of the threats and uncertainties surrounding climate change. Senior Smithsonian scientists, Naval War College game design experts, the distinguished television producer Adrian Malone, and a small group of advisers are planning the event, which is scheduled to take place in Newport, Rhode Island in November 1991 at the historic facilities of the Naval War College.
The Museum will develop an interactive traveling exhibition entitled "Our Weakening Web: The Study of Extinction" that will explore the process of extinction and examine the current role humanity is playing in that process. Is humanity accelerating the rate of extinction by modifying the global environment? The goals of the exhibit are 1) that visitors discover that extinction is a natural process, 2) that visitors explore the many ways humanity is modifying the world,s environment, and 3) that visitors understand how their actions are related to the world's environmental problems and how they can make changes in their lifestyles to help protect the environment. Three size versions (8000 sq. ft., 4000 sq. ft., and 1800 sq. ft.) of the exhibit will be created in order to maximize the number of museums that are able to accommodate the exhibit. After its opening in Cincinnati in 1994, it will travel to approximately twenty-eight museums during the next three to four years. Each venue will have the exhibit for about four months. Complementary activities will be developed and manuals describing these as well as sample materials will accompany each exhibit. These activities will include a teacher's guide, local resource guide, on- floor demonstrations, short theater presentations, and an adult lecture series. Sample press kits and copies of all promotional materials will be included in the exhibit package as well.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Susan SchultzChristopher BedelSandra Shipley
The Massachusetts General Hospital is developing a large format film that will take an interdisciplinary look at brain science and raise questions about the nature and biological basis of consciousness. For the past two decades, the field of cognitive neuroscience has begun to explore and understand some of the most complex brain functions and, for the first time, research is pointing to answers to such questions as, "What makes intelligence possible?" and "What makes consciousness possible?" This film will examine the basic functions of the brain and explore some of the cutting-edge research that is reaching into the realms of intelligence and consciousness. The large format film will be supported by outreach components that will include an educator's guide, a family pamphlet, a poster and a website. Science content for the series will be developed by Anne Buckingham Young, Chief of the Department of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital; Dennis Selkow, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School; and Gary L. Gottlieb, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. They will work closely with advisors with expertise in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, philosophy and biology. The project will be under the direction of JoAnna Baldwin-Mallory, Director of the Office of New Ventures at Partners HealthCare System. The film will be directed and produced by Peter Georgi who is currently producing and directing the NSF supported large format film, The Human Body, with the BBC. Front-end and formative evaluation will be conducted by Ralph Adler of RMC Research. As they have developed the conceptualization and preliminary plans for the film, the staff has identified several issues that would benefit from further, more in-depth planning. These activities that would be conducted during the planning stage include: Convening the scientific advisors and production staff to develop the science content further and to design an approach for presenting substantive content that is appropriate for the large format film medium; Conducting front-end evaluation of popular understandings of and interest in brain science; Carrying out formative testing of preliminary script ideas; Investigating the potential for supplementing the already planned outreach materials with additional components such as a guide specifically designed for classroom teachers, an activity guide for students, a CD-ROM and short radio spots that present stories from the front lines of brain research; Developing a film script, print and web components; Establishing partnerships in research and academic communities and with science centers and natural history museums.
Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc., is producing a series of twelve radio features for National Public newsmagazines about the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The purpose of this series is to examine the relationships between science and culture as they converge and diverge over issues concerning the Ganga: through (a) examination of the ecology of the river in two key areas; and (b) study of the relationships between scientific and religious attitudes applied to the environmental issues raised in both reaches of the river. The radio series is complemented by a Web site and extensive educational outreach through 11 state Geographic Alliances, an AP Environmental Science module and a pilot Virtual River program developed and tested in collaboration with the Museum of Science in Boston.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Julian Crandall HollickKelly AlleyVinod TareRK SinhaGraham Chapman
EINSTEIN is a series of three prime time television programs to be shown nationally on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The series will present a scientific biography of Albert Einstein. The series will treat the life of Albert Einstein on several levels. The central narative thread will trace the development and impact of Einstein's work in physics. The three programs will examine Einstein's impact beyond physics -- as a muse for the arts; a dissident voice in politics; a moral sensibility; ultimately as the greatest public symbol of scientific accomplishment. With original texts (including newly identified documents from the Einstein archives), historical footage, interviews, documentary sequences, the most sophisticated computer animation available, and other techniques as appropriate, EINSTEIN will present to its audience a unique picture of the role of Albert Einstein in the making of the modern world. Beyond its broadcast in 1992, the series also will receive wide educational distribution in secondary schools and colleges and a large foreign audience.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paula ApsellThomas LevensonBarbara Flagg