The Maryland Science Center is planning a nationwide, traveling exhibit that would examine the scientific investigations and findings related to how and why the Titanic sank. During this planning phase for the project, two of the Maryland Science Center staff would participate in an upcoming scientific expedition to study the Titanic. They will be able to closely follow the work of the Marine Forensics Panel of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers in order to understand more thoroughly the scientific processes and principles involved. The museum staff also will refine the design of the exhibit and test prototype exhibit components, themes, styles, and presentation of science.
The New York Hall of Science is in the process of designing and constructing a 50,000 sq. ft. facility addition. This project, which could also be called project BUILD: Building Underway-Informal Learning Design, will take advantage of the inherent teaching and learning opportunities in science and engineering found in an authentic, real-time setting. A portable exhibit unit, fashioned after a construction-site fence with peepholes, will highlight aspects of technology, math, engineering, and materials sciences found in the building trades and architecture. Each peephole will display an artifact, text, image or interactive for the visitor and have specific learning outcomes defined during the development of the exhibit. Associated programing, in the form of Explainer demostrations, workshops, lectures, building trades career days, design, and hard hat tours will be created for three distinct audiences -- families, adolescents 11-14 (middle-school) and young adults 15-18 (high school). The exhibit and programs will evolve and amend themselves in tandem with the changeable timetables and nature of construction. Finally, a guidebook written on "how to" replicate these learning experiences, construct the exhibit fence for other venues, and partner with architects and tradespeople will be available to the wider museum and informal learning community.
The Maryland Science Center requests $1,586,279 to develop "Titanic Science." The Maryland Science Center will develop an 8,000-square foot interactive traveling exhibition focusing on recent scientific and forensic investigations surrounding the Titanic tragedy of 1912. A planning grant from NSF enabled key personnel to participate in the five-week 1998 scientific expedition to the Titanic wreck site and interact with professional scientists. This expedition will target the general public and provide educational services for students in grades 6-9. The exhibition will travel to 15 host sites and be seen by over 2.5 million visitors. To help parents and educators make the most of this exhibition, a Titanic Explorers Kit and teachers guides will be developed.
The Education Development Center, Incorporated, requests $2,081,018 to create informal learning opportunities in science, mathematics, engineering and technology utilizing the study of the ancient African civilization of Nubia as context. Educational activities and resources will be developed based on the extensive ongoing archeological research on historical Nubia. The two main components of the project are a traveling exhibit with related educational materials and a website that will provide the target audience an opportunity to access extensive on-line resources and activities. The project will provide community outreach and professional development for educators in museums, community groups, schools and libraries. The project is designed for thirty-six months' duration. In year one, a network of collaborators in the Boston area will focus on research and development; in year two, project materials will be piloted and evaluated in six cities, and on-line professional development programs will be conducted; and in year three, project materials will be disseminated directly to 60 sites and more broadly via the internet.
This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project is based on NSF-CCLI-EMD, 0341143, Development of a Smart Vibration Platform Experiment. The 24-month-long project is part of a continuing collaboration between the PI at the University of Houston and the staff of the Children's Museum of Houston (CMH). CMH is in the process of developing an exhibition on "smart materials," and has a stepwise exhibit development plan that involves the PI and his engineering students. The project work is adapting a device on the vibration dampening effect of magneto-rheological (MR) fluids from an educational application in an undergraduate mechanical engineering environment to a museum exhibit for ages 8+. MR fluids have the unusual property of being able to transform from the liquid state to a semi-solid state when subjected to magnetic fields. They are being used in the design of buildings in earthquake prone areas. The development team consists of the PI and college seniors in their Senior Capstone Design course, an education program evaluator at the University, and exhibits and program staff from the museum. Deliverables include a smart materials "earthquake dampening" exhibit and a touch-screen activated "video jukebox" unit on the research scientists and students and on the MR fluid. The CMH Kids' Committee is providing input on the exhibits as well.
"How Things Fly" is a major new exhibit gallery being produced by the National Air and Space Museum and is scheduled to open in 1995. The goal of this permanent exhibition is to convey, to the broadest possible audience, the essential principles by which aircraft and spacecraft fly. "How Things Fly" represents an important departure from other exhibitions at the Museum in both content and execution. Instead of relying on static displays of historical artifacts, "How Things Fly" will use interactive devices and live demonstrations designedto spark curiosity, invite visitor participation, and provide children and adults with the opportunity to discover for themselves answers to some of their fundamental questions about flight. "How Things Fly" will be the first major exhibiton at the Museum devoted entirely to hands-on learning. It will incorporate some of the best interactive exhibitry ideas from othermuseums, improve upon them where possible, and include a substantial number of original exhibits. While intended to help visitors more fully appreciate the Museum's collection, the cooperative efforts, such as publications, a traveling exhibition, and educational outreach programs, will extend the exhibition's impact across the nation.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara BrennanSteven SoterChristopher StetserDavid RomanowskiJoann Hinkel
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is requesting $370,728 to create a traveling exhibit entitled "How Things Work, which will familiarize students and the general public with the science and engineering behind 15-20 "gadgets" which play vital roles in their everyday lives. A number of the exhibit elements will be based on the work of Dr. Richard Crane. Ancillary materials will be developed for classroom teachers as part of school outreach. An Exhibition Resource Guide will be developed for use by other museum venues, as well as teachers, students and others.
The Science Museum of Minnesota will develop "Buildings: A Traveling Exhibit and Permanent Installation with Education and Outreach Programs". This is a multifaceted project that includes a 5,000 sq. ft. exhibit that will explore the science, technology, and human perception of buildings. The exhibit will tell three stories: 1) buildings must obey physical laws to stay up, 2) buildings are complex operating systems, and 3) buildings reflect and shape the societies that create them. The exhibit will initially be developed as a traveling exhibit that will circulate among the member institutions of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (8 institutions) and then it will be reinstalled in the new SMM $77 million building. Additional partners collaborating on this project include the National Building Museum, the Society of Building Science Educators, Habitat for Humanity International, The ReUse Center, the Vital Signs Program and the Center for City Building Education. Special attention will be given to reaching girls and women and the physically challenged. A broad menu of public programming is planned and school-linked materials will be developed.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is a progressive science and technology center. Its philosophy toward science education is to make it enticing, enjoyable and motivating. It accomplishes this by means of "hands-on", interactive exhibits and programs designed to provide a non- threatening learning environment, for which we are recognized nationally. OMSI recognizes the important national need to assist the public in understanding and being comfortable with advances in, and methodology of applied science. It proposes to design and build a large exhibit that promotes problem solving using engineering principles. The exhibit will pose problems, offer basic information for the solution and provide a variety of tools and building materials from which the visitor can choose. The visitor then devises one or several possible solutions, and constructs a prototype to be tested in one of three large scale testing laboratories. The engineering fields addressed are aeronautical, mechanical and civil. Our visitors will come away from the exhibit with an increased appreciation for the way engineering is done and how solutions affect their lives. OMSI is requesting $577,324 from the National Science Foundation as well as $427,539 from the Port of Portland to design and build this exhibit. The Port of Portland is interested in demonstrating how its commercial activities relate to engineering. OMSI plans to disseminate information about the exhibit to educators and other museums on a national level.
The Pratt Museum, a natural history museum in Southcentral Alaska, proposes to bring before the public an exhibition on oil pollution. Using the historic disaster of the March 1989 grounding of the Exxon Valdez, the museum presents a dramatic, grassroots story of the desperate struggle to protect the environment and preserve traditional lifestyles. The exhibit's purpose is to increase public awareness of national and global issues pertaining to the development, transportation, and use of petroleum. The 1,500 square foot presentation shows what an oil spill is like through photographs, maps, graphics, and three- dimensional participatory elements. The exhibit is scheduled to open at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in early 1991, beginning a three-year tour of 12 museums that will reach between 1.5 and 2 million viewers. The NSF contribution will support the circulation of the exhibit and the development of interactive components to enhance both the permanent and traveling presentations. Computerized graphic displays and an educational chest of learning tools will enhance the basic exhibit through multi- sensory activities designed for hands-on gallery use, increasing accessibility for children and disabled visitors. This cooperative project invloves private foundations, individuals, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Over a three year period, the Museum of Science, Boston will develop a national traveling exhibition and associated programs that will support the goals and standards for technological literacy that were recently articulated in reports by the National Academy of Engineering and the International Technology Education Association. Intellectual Merit. The exhibit will take advantage of the widely known characters and images of future technology from the Star Wars movies to attract visitors and to engage them in learning about potential technologies that may impact our lives. It incorporates new and adapted interactive devices that will involve visitors in inquiry-based learning about technologies related to frictionless land vehicles, robotic mobility mechanisms, and habitats for living underwater and in space. Broader Impact. The exhibition will reach a large national audience by traveling to the members of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative as well as other institutions. Use of popular culture, science fiction and futuristic technology will help attract those who may not be traditional science center visitors. Educational impact will be extended through programming for the public and school groups, including materials for institutions that do not host the exhibition, along with a website.
The Pittsburgh Children's Museum (PCM) is developing a 2,700 sq ft traveling exhibition, "How People Make Things," in collaboration with Family Communications, the producers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." The exhibition will use the factory visit segments from this popular television program, the longest running on PBS, as a jumping off point for engaging children in the processes by which familiar objects are manufactured. PCM is building on its prior success with "Design It!," an after-school program funded by a prior NSF grant. This project extends that work to expose children to the hidden science and technology that form the basis for manufacturing. The exhibition will include the Neighborhood Factory orientation area and sections on Making Things: Designing Things, Forming Things (Additive, Subtractive, Deformational), and Assembling Things. Project collaborators include members of the Carnegie Mellon University Industrial and Engineering Design program and the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center UPCLOSE. Broader Impact: The exhibition is projected to reach at least 750,000 visitors in nine museum venues through its nationwide tour; the target audience is families with children ages 3 to 10. Promotion and dissemination will be enhanced by the connection with PBS, which continues to air the "Mister Roger's Neighborhood" program. Partnerships with the AFL-CIO, Catalyst Communications, and Society of Manufacturing Engineers will extend the outreach effort. Special efforts will be made to target girls and underserved audiences.