Massachusetts Audubon Society will create a manual intended to be used by other organizations to create educational, reflective, self-guided nature trail experiences designed for individuals who require accessibility accommodations. To promote the new manual, the Society's statewide education projects manager will create guidelines, produce a media presentation, plan and deliver live presentations, and publish articles in relevant professional publications. In addition, the manual will be made available at no charge in print and online formats, so that organizations will have access to guidelines and the most appropriate strategies for creating inclusive interpretive nature trails that provide an independent, outdoor experience for all users.
The Tahoe Environmental Research Center will create an interactive exhibit that merges the results of citizen science with a real-time ecosystem monitoring network to reveal the immediate impacts of watershed processes on Lake Tahoe's nearshore. Citizen scientists will provide real-time "sensor data" from instruments located around the shores of Lake Tahoe and deliver "perceptual data" from mobile devices. Visitors to the research center will then be able to see and experiment with how conditions change over time at different locations around the lake. The exhibit will tie directly to a set of stewardship and action messages that will empower and equip visitors and residents to improve the health of Lake Tahoe's nearshore and become aware of issues in other freshwater ecosystems.
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History will develop traveling natural history science curricula kits for K-12 students. This project will expand the museum's outreach program, featuring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content with a focus on Oklahoma geology, life, and cultural science. The museum will share the educational kits, featuring materials aligning with state educational standards, with teachers across Oklahoma. The museum's digitization of the kits will increase the capacity and number of teachers who have access to the material and enable students to experience high-quality STEM educational opportunities offsite and online.
The Mütter Museum will develop a new interactive online exhibit that explores the important role of medicine in American history through its unique collections. In keeping with the museum's broader medical humanities focus, the online exhibit will be presented thematically in a life cycle sequence. Representative objects will include obstetrical forceps, an iron lung, a surgical kit, William Harvey's book on blood circulation De Motu Cordis, eyeglasses, a tooth extractor, and an embalming kit. The museum will also develop a curriculum that addresses national secondary school education standards in history, science, and health by utilizing narrative stories, specimens, models, medical tools, photographs, and texts from collections. Exploring historic events and their health and medical underpinnings through an interesting narrative lens will engage audiences in critical STEM topics by connecting personal stories to the objects actually used to understand disease and heal people.
The Children's Museum of Denver will create two dynamic and hands-on, STEM (Science, Technology Engineering, and Math) exhibits to engage visitors in learning. The "ENERGY" exhibit will inspire the next generation of energy innovators by allowing children to observe and interact with wind, solar and other fuel resources. The "WATER" exhibit will take children's natural fascination with this life-giving substance and extend it to scientific inquiry into the physical and sensorial properties of water. Through the exhibits, the museum will support the development of 21st century skills, build confidence, and increase the likelihood children will pursue further STEM education and careers.
Brookfield Zoo will develop a model for formal and informal early childhood educators in the Chicago metropolitan area to promote children and family learning (nature play, exploration, and scientific inquiry) within urban environments. In collaboration with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Mary Crane and El Valor Head Start centers in Chicago, Brookfield Zoo will train 80 early childhood educators in its established nature play curriculum; facilitate networking opportunities between participants and organizations; and host a two-day symposium for 150 early childhood educators at the end of the project. This partnership has built-in capacity for expansion within Chicago and throughout the region, and can serve as a replicable model for zoos, nature preserves, and Head Start programs throughout the country to increase opportunities children have to play, explore, and learn in nature as a basis for developing lifelong environmental stewardship.
The Palo Alto Art Center is partnering with the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo to develop a series of four artist residencies, each involving an artist who explores the natural world in his or her artwork, and exhibitions of artwork created during the residencies. The museums will address the challenge of successfully integrating art and science to enhance learning in museum contexts. During each exhibition, public programming will focus on the artwork and its scientific and environmental context, engaging a broad audience in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) based activities. The project will also serve as a model demonstrating the success of education through effective collaboration between an art museum and a science museum.
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) will plan, implement, and evaluate educational programming for its upcoming garden-wide exhibition, "Frida Kahlo's Garden." The programming and interpretation will create an immersive, compelling, interdisciplinary learning experience that merges arts, humanities, and science themes. Programming will celebrate Mexican culture, immersing visitors in the music, dance, food, and fashion that influenced Kahlo and continues to inspire people today. Through the exhibit and programming, visitors will gain insight into the impact of Kahlo's interest in the natural world on her artwork; understand the continuing impact of Mexican nature, nationalism, and intellectual history on arts and culture; and make personal connections between art, nature, and their own lives. The project will also provide a model for other botanical gardens to use to create interdisciplinary exhibitions.
The New England Wild Flower Society will develop an engaging, easily accessible curriculum of introductory online courses in botany, plant ecology, and native plant horticulture, which will be made available to conservation and educational organizations throughout the Northeastern U.S. via a new digital portal. These comprehensive classes in plant science will be available online for diverse lifelong learners and will incorporate classroom, online, and field participation by students; foster connections among students and mentors; and create a rich suite of learning opportunities.
The Greensboro Children's Museum, in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Guilford County Schools, will develop and implement the "Grow It, Cook It, Eat It" project to study the impact of food systems literacy education on the knowledge and behavior of K-2 children in an underserved school. The project will bring food education to a local elementary school where museum educators will work alongside classroom teachers to create and deliver weekly lessons to 60 students based on sustainable gardening practices, kitchen efficacy, attitudes toward fresh, seasonal food, and behavior toward garden work and trying new foods. Participating elementary students will build the beginnings of a skills set that will empower them, and their families,to make smart food choices for a lifetime.
The Wild Center will design and implement an innovative learning experience through new installations on Wild Walk, an elevated walkway that runs through the Adirondack forest. The museum will also design and lead interpretive training for staff, interns and volunteers, and draft and test interpretive programs. Exhibits will include a thirty-foot-high rope net "Spiders Web" suspended above the ground; "Squirrel Run," a series of suspended bridges that lead from the main walk; a two-story Tree House which will house multiple exhibits on wildlife and people-nature relationships; and a model Tree Snag that is 40 feet high and 12 feet in diameter. The museum aims to enhance audiences' understanding of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts through dynamic learning experiences and interactive exhibits offered through an elevated view of the forest. The learning experiences and resources will foster an appreciation of being active in nature and promote the philosophy that spending time outdoors is a valuable part of our lives.
John J. Tyler Arboretum will develop visitor programming that will provide educational opportunities in its Edible Garden Center focused on the benefits of growing and eating fresh fruits and vegetables. The center will include a food gardening exhibit that addresses urban gardening issues such as raised beds, container gardens, rooftop gardening, holistic sustainable gardening practices and technologies, and traditional vegetable gardening techniques. Cooking demonstrations, healthy eating programs, and dedicated gardening activities will allow for hands-on learning about health and sustainability. The garden will also include a play space for children, art performances and art installations to create a visitor experience that is dynamic, educational and forward-thinking.