This planning grant is designed to increase science literacy in Native Americans by developing education materials for families that incorporate both a tribal worldview and western science. The intended impacts include an increased value of scientific awareness, acquisition of scientific principles using intergerational learning and enhanced science literacy. The project deliverables include nine toolboxes that will contain tested STEM activities and two planning booklets. Project partners include the Northwest Indian College and the Mt. Baker School District. Strategic impact will be realized through the development of culturally sensitive strategies that can be used to engage Native audiences.
This planning project by the National Academy of Sciences is the first step toward their establishment of a new initiative on helping the public become more knowledgeable about and engaged with the science of energy and energy choices. The Energy Ambassador program would eventually work around the country with several local civic/business/community leaders to provide them with a solid foundation for understanding the science of energy-related issues and provide them with a solid foundation for understanding the science of energy-related issues and developing possible strategies in their communities for public engagement and decision-making. The planning work is prelude to a pilot study and then to a major roll-out if all indicators suggest that would be successful. The planning work will convene scienctists, policy makers, educators, and media to develop the details for the pilot study, including indentifying three cities where the pilot study could take place and the science ambassadors for these. The activity will be in collaboration with the NAS's Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments and the staff of the Board of Science Education.
This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (NSF 03-509) project will produce a half hour documentary television program and use it to conduct outreach to encourage students and teachers to pursue science and engineering careers through hands-on activities in polymers and plastics, cutting edge scientific experiments, enrichment activities, and effective mentoring. The project is based on her NSF-funded research NSF #0300717 aimed at understanding the structure-property relationships of newly developed biopolymers and their composites. The PI previously developed the Why Plastics? curriculum to provide a high-quality science educational experience to pre-college students. This project will create a half-hour documentary to bring the local success she has had with the program to a broader audience. The documentary will be screened on public television and in other venues such as children's museums in an effort to magnify the effects of the Why Plastics? course. Film footage will also be used for a multimedia Web site for documentary viewers who want to learn more about the subject. Why Plastics? primarily serves youth from elementary and middle schools in which a large number of the students are members of underrepresented groups.
SciGirls was a multimedia project to encourage and empower more girls to pursue STEM careers--the first PBS television series designed specifically for girls 8-13. Episodes were made available for distribution on the newest digital platforms, e.g., Vimeo and iTunes for downloads, free of charge. Strategic partners included the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and The Franklin Institute. The NGCP links SciGirls with its network of 500 community-based science programs for girls. The Franklin Institute coordinated an affiliate network of science museums to implement outreach. The project also wored with the new "Girl Scout Leadership Experience" program.
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, CA, will develop a three-pronged project called "Round and Round" focused on the geometry, science and technology of circles and wheels. All three project products (one permanent and one traveling version of a 2000-sq. ft. exhibition; an array of complementary educational programs for children ages 3-10; and published research on patterns of interactions among families of diverse backgrounds in museum settings) will be developed in cooperation with developmental psychologists from the University of California at Santa Cruz and advisors from Latino and Vietnamese communities in San Jose. "Round and Round" exhibits and programs will offer a trans-cultural, gender-neutral, and multi-disciplinary look at the ingenuity and ubiquity of circles. Together they will provide a comprehensive array of interactive experiences that help children, ages 3-10, and adults explore the mathematics, physics, physical properties and engineering advantages of circles and wheels. The project is expected to serve three million visitors in science and children's museums across the nation within four years of implementation.
The Liberty Science Center, located across the Hudson River from the former World Trade Center, will develop, evaluate and install an 8,000 square foot, five-story permanent exhibition about the architectural design and engineering, physics, and urban-related environmental science of skyscrapers. The exhibit will use a vertical space that includes a view overlooking southern Manhatten, the former World Trade Center, and one of the most famous urban skylines in the world. The exhibition is organized around three basic theme areas and is balanced between the advantages and disadvantages of skyscrapers. Visitors enter the exhibit through SKYSCRAPER WORLD, an advance organizer that sets the stage for the exhibit and identifies possible wayfinding pathways through other areas. BUILDING THE BUILDING (second and third levels) addresses principles in the design and construction of skyscrapers, while HABITAT AND IMPACT (fourth level) describes patterns of adaptation in the ecosystems created by skyscrapers. An outdoor observation deck (fifth level) facing the Manhattan skyline and the former World Trade Center, provides the opportunity for skyline programming. What is a Rooftop, Rooftop Garden, and Skyline Clock, assisted by binocular telescopes for observing detail, are interactive programs that use the skyline as a teaching tool. Taking advantage of the dramatic skyline seen from the Science Center, the project will document changing public attitudes about skyscrapers and analyze patterns of visitor traffic and wayfinding in a five-story exhibition tower. The exhibit is supported by mediated public programs in LSC and by experiences for school audiences, both at LSC and in local schools. Although "Skyscraper" is primarily an informal learning experience, it has significant linkages to formal in-school programs.
Thinking SMART is a comprehensive five-year program that will encourage young women to pursue careers in science, mathematics and technology. The project focuses on girls ages 12-18, and will especially target those who are underserved and underrepresented in the sciences, including girls from diverse backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Key elements include four science/engineering module options, a two-tiered mentoring component, training, resource materials, online activities and an awards program. The modules (Material Girls, Eco Girls, Galactic Girls, Net Girls), focus on engineering, ecology, physics and computer science respectively, and will be aligned with national standards. The modules are implemented during the school year and include weekly programming, a summer camp and a spring "Women in Science and Engineering" conference organized by girls. Weekly meetings are augmented by online activities, in which girls interact with other participants and mentors, publish reports and obtain career information. Additionally, participants who complete all four modules are eligible to become paid mentors for younger participants. Five publications will be produced to support the program, including manuals for mentors (both adults and youth), module activities, a parent guide and a guide for implementation sites on community partnerships. Thinking SMART materials will be developed and piloted tested at eight sites in conjunction with Girls, Inc. affiliates in Nashua, NH, Worcester, MA, Oakridge, TN and Shelbyville, IN, with input from the Society of Women Engineers. Extensive training will also be provided for pilot programs and future dissemination. Finally the E3 Awards Program will motivate implementation sites to create high quality local programs. It is anticipated that more than 1,500 Girls, Inc. affiliates will adopt "Thinking SMART."
DATE:
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brenda StegallJanet StantonHeather Johnston NicholsonShalonda MurrayJoe Martinez
This award supports a workshop to be held in conjunction with the 2010 World Maker Faire being hosted at the New York Hall of Science. The purpose of the workshop is to bring together the Maker community with formal and informal science and mathematics learning experts. The Maker movement is a recent phenomenon promoted by the Maker Media division of O'Reilly Media. There are currently three U.S. and one International Maker Faires, with attendance of about 30,000 each. The Faires consist of exhibits characterized as technology-rich and innovative and developed either by the exhibitor (Do-It-Yourself or DIY) or increasingly, as collaborative exhibits (Do-It-With-Others or DIWO). Participants visiting the Faires interact directly with the developer(s) and exhibits to learn the technology and engineering skills associated with designing and building their own products. The New York Hall of Science workshop will be co-chaired by Tom Kalil, Associate Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, and Dale Dougherty, Founder of the Maker Faires. It will have approximately 50 participants drawn from academe, business, non-profits, and state, local and federal government. Workshop attendees will observe and participate in the Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science the day before the workshop. On the second day, attendees will then address the following questions: 1) How can the innovations of the Maker movement inform science and mathematics education?; 2) What collaborations between policy makers, education and learning science researchers, and the Maker Movement can best spur innovation in science and mathematics education?; 3) What funding opportunities are possible between the Maker community and the private, philanthropic, and government sectors for the support of transformative science and mathematics education and learning research? The workshop will result in a multimedia report that will propose answers to these questions. The report will inform the education and learning science research communities about opportunities for innovations in education and learning. The workshop is designed to broadly inform both policy and practice in STEM Education. The Maker/DIY/DIWO movement is focused on design and engineering. These processes are important in STEM disciplines. In particular, the movement has motivated thousands of individuals to voluntarily participate in building technology-based projects in a manner similar to the open source software movement. If this motivation can be broadly harnessed, it could transform STEM education through new knowledge of STEM learning science and education research. The broader impact of this workshop is situated in the large numbers of individuals already engaged in Maker/DIY/DIWO projects. If more STEM content can be married to these projects, then the impact to science learning and teaching could be substantial. Since many of the Maker Faire participants come from rural communities, there is an implicit promise that incorporating more STEM content into Faire projects could have the effect of broadening participation to an underrepresented community.
The Museum of Science in Boston is proposing to work with eight other science centers to investigate how science centers might collaborate to enhance the public understanding of research. The purpose of the planning effort is to identify and elaborate on promising approaches to increase the public understanding of the nature of scientific research, the process of technological innovation, and the interaction between science and technology and societal issues. Planning will be conducted in the context of three topics (tentative): global climate change, alternative energy sources, and genetically modified foods. Questions to be explored include: what it would take for each science center to offer exhibits and presentations on all three topics, how can the exhibits be kept current, what is the best mechanism for keeping science centers informed about current research, what would motivate visitors to return in order to follow a single line of research, how can visitors best continue their connection with the science centers after their visits, what will science centers change in the way they develop exhibits and programs in order to present current science and technology, what costs and logistical factors will need to be taken into consideration, will "one size fit all" or will different designs be needed for different science centers, and how might the exhibits and programs be designed to encourage the incorporation of local resources. The project will be coordinated with other media that are developing efforts to convey on-going science to the public. Evan Hadingham, Science Editor for NOVA at WGBH, will bring the perspective of television production; Rob Semper from the Exploratorium will represent the Internet; and Bruce Lowenstein, Editor of Public Understanding of Science, will represent print. The science centers participating in the planning effort include: Museum of Science, Boston New York Hall of Science Science Museum of Minnesota Arizona Science Center Tech Museum of Innovation California Science Center The Exploratorium Pacific Science Center American Museum of Natural History
The Educational Film Center will complete production of a science, engineering, and technology careers exhibit and informal science education project for use in science museums, libraries, schools, and community locations. The twelve additional interactive and linear career profiles to be produced under this grant will bring the total number of careers available in a fully interactive mode to thirty-two. Users will be able to explore each of these careers with first person video profiles of people in science and engineering and animated/reality video simulations of work experiences in these fields. The exhibit also with provide guidance to help users make decisions about education and career choices and will include a database of information about approximately 200 additional science and math-based professions. The project also will undertake the development and testing of eight permanent model Family Outreach Science Career Education Centers in eight cities. These centers will be based on and will expand upon the experience the project had in their earlier model Parent Outreach Science Career Program. Utilization support will be provided through special target leader guides, presentations and workshops at national and regional meetings of user organizations and groups, and a SETQuest bulletin board and e-mail network for the exchange of user science career programming. This project is a collaborative effort among four organizations: The Educational Film Center (EFC) is responsible for management of the project and for the development of production of the software and the documentary video profiles; COMAP is responsible for selecting and hiring content consultants, for formative and summative evaluation, and will jointly market and distribute the material with EFC; The New York Hall of Science is responsible for the exhibit kiosk and graphics, the design and development of the workbook and museum installation print components of the project, and will serve as principal test site for the exhibit; and the AAAS is coordinating the design, implementation, and testing of parent outreach program. All of the organizations will be involved in presentations and dissemination of project information to the informal and formal education communities.
WGBH is conducting preliminary work on an untested and novel idea for a new multimedia project, EGames. The target audience for the project is children ages 9-12. The project envisions a 13-part television series which combines the appeal of a game show with the drama of real-world challenges to engender enthusiasm and promote understanding of engineering in kids nationwide. The television programs will be complemented with materials and training for engineers to mount EGames events in public venues and run workshops in schools, afterschool programs and libraries, and an extensive companion website. During the research phase, WGBH will convene a Content Advisory Board which would include professional engineers, curriculum developers, classroom teachers, professors of engineering and informal educators, and a Funding Advisory Board. They will also write the series curriculum, design the game, develop outreach, Web, and evaluation plans, and develop and test a sample engineering challenge with a group of contestants to work out logistic and production questions. This will inform the next stage of project development. Note: This project led to the series "FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman."
Using a five-month planning grant, the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) will develop a comprehensive 10-year, educational initiative to address the needs of the optical science and engineering communities. A series of workshops will be held at professional meetings of SPIE and the Optical Society of America (OSA) to assess regional needs and resources. Workshop recommendations will be used to create a plan to enhance the scientific and technological literacy of the public and raise the level of awareness about career options in this exciting and expanding field. The meetings will incorporate a diverse array of stakeholders including optical engineering and science professionals, formal and informal educators, as well as representatives from industry and underrepresented groups in science and engineering. Strategic emphasis will be placed on informal science education and efforts to recruit and retain minorities and women in optical engineering and related sciences. The resulting education blueprint will be disseminated to the field in electronic and print media, and subsequently implemented by SPIE and OSA.