A permanent exhibition entitled "Search for Extraterrestrial Life" will engage visitors at the New York Hall of Science in applying the fundamental biology of life on Earth to understanding the search for life elsewhere. The 4,000 sq. ft. exhibition and accompanying programs will engage visitors in learning more about the wide range of conditions that support life on Earth, and how these life requirements shape the search on Mars and other planetary objects for any existing life forms. In addition, the technologies and strategies that scientists are developing to detect any life elsewhere will be highlighted. It is expected that 500,000 visitors each year will participate with the exhibit and its associated programs. Another dissemination plan for the project will be posting fabrication drawings and scripts in readily accessible formats on the Internet. Copies of all computer interactives on electronic media will be available to science-technology centers, museums and other informal learning institutions.
The Children's Museum of Houston, in cooperation with Scholastic Entertainment, the National Weather Service and the American Meteorological Society (AMS), will develop, produce and nationally circulate two (2) copies of a 2,500-sq.ft. interactive exhibit. Using the popular icon of the Magic School Bus, the exhibit will take young children on a journey of discovery to explore the science involved in the Earth's weather. The exhibit, "The Magic School Bus Gets Weather Wise," and accompanying educational materials and programs will be bilingual in Spanish and English and will support national and Texas standards for science and mathematics learning for children aged 5-10. It is estimated that the exhibit and programs will serve 2,000,000 children and adults in 36 national venues over six (6) years. Weather Exploration Stations will precede the exhibit to encourage community engagement prior to the exhibit's arrival at the host venue. AMS scientists, local meteorologists and media weathercasters will assist visitor experiences and help museums with strategies for publicity campaigns and development of local programming. The visiting audiences of children and their families will learn meteorology is a study of weather, there are different types of weather, a variety of tools are used in predicting weather and the water cycle plays a role in weather events. Visitors will read data from maps, graphs, thermometers, anemometers, experiment with variables and model weather conditions using interactive exhibit components.
The Louisville Science Center (LSC) proposes to develop "The World Around Us (WAU)," an 8,000 sq ft exhibition, plus programs and materials designed to increase environmental awareness of citizens, inspiring greater understanding and respect for earth's natural resources. Exhibition components are CenterStage; AtmoSphere: Air that Surrounds Us; TerraSphere: Environments that Support Us; and AquaSphere: Water that Sustains Us. The exhibition integrates hands-on activities and media-based visitor experiences with approximately 1,000 specimens from the LSC collections. The project takes an interdisciplinary thematic approach founded in educational goals and STEM content that is closely linked to national science standards. Target audiences are children in grades 3-8, parents, caregivers and teachers. LSC expects to reach some five million visitors over ten years after opening the exhibition. The project focuses on reaching rural and underserved audiences in Kentucky and Indiana. Its impact will be extended through strong ties to the schools and with ancillary materials. The distance learning capability of the Collections Discovery Gallery will extend the reach of the exhibition beyond the museum walls. In addition, the application of PDAs and handheld GIS technology will add to experience of the field in these areas. Dissemination of "green" fabrication techniques will help other science centers follow similar approaches.
Experience Learning Community plans to open a museum dedicated to science fiction in the summer of 2004. The Science Fiction Experience (SFX) will be an interactive, media-rich museum combining artifacts and information that immerse visitors in science fiction's alternative worlds. They are implementing a planning phase to assure that the museum's exhibits and programming content will illustrate the relationship between science and science fiction. Specific tasks during the planning phase include: 1. Conduct front-end research of the public's perceptions of science fiction vs. science fact. 2. Conduct formative testing of proof-of-concept materials for one of the museum's premiere exhibits, "Mars, Then and Now." 3. Convene leading science and museum educators, scientists, science communications researchers and science fiction practitioners to inform and shape the museum's exhibit concepts and approaches relevant to the public's understanding of science through science fiction. 4. Create and disseminate a document that will inform of the development of exhibits and programs. Advisors to the project include: Greg Bear, best-selling author of more than 30 science fiction books; Gregory Benford, Professor of Plasma Physics and Astrophysics at the University of California at Irvine; David Ellis, President Emeritus of the Museum of Science, Boston; Lawrence Krauss, Chair of the Department of Physics at Case Western Reserve University; and Donna Shirley, for manager of the Mars Exploration Program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and currently Professor at the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.
The American Museum of Natural History and the Environmental Defense Fund will produce a major exhibition on global warming. The prospect of global warming is viewed by many with increasing attention and concern, but conflicting reports have resulted in public confusion about predictions of climate change. Thus, a need exists for education on this timely subject, particularly in the direct and vivid way that only an exhibition provides. Wide-spread awareness of the significance of potential climate change will lead to making informed decisions and taking necessary actions regarding this complex and serious problem. Visitors will learn about the forces that drive climate change, the sources and properties of greenhouse gases, how scientists study climate, and debates on the accuracy of global warming predictions. The exhibition will also focus on potential environmental, social, and economic consequences of global warming and what choices individuals and nations can make to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Visitors will be able to explore these topics in depth and integrate the information with personal experience. The exhibition will present scientific data objectively, clearly distinguishing between what is known and what is predicted. The American Museum and EDF will produce scientific symposia, educational programs, and publications for greater outreach to general visitors, schools and the media. Consultants will monitor and evaluate the content and design, from planning through fabrication and display, to ensure the educational effectiveness of the exhibition.
From the fall of 2000 through the fall of 2004, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) received funding from the National Science Foundation to create a math-based exhibit for school-aged children and their families. The end result was Moneyville, a colorful and inviting traveling exhibition offered in two configurations - the original full-size 6000-square-foot version and a reduced version designed to accommodate smaller venues, such as children's museums and discovery centers. Both exhibitions were designed to teach visitors about "making economic choices with the power of
Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, lightning, tornadoes, and other natural phenomena occur regularly as an on-going part of the natural environment of our planet. There is a clear need to increase public awareness and knowledge of these natural forces and their impact on human existence. Educating the public about effective, and often simple, strategies for protection, mitigation, and recovery based on the latest scientific knowledge, and encouraging them to personally take action, is critical to reducing human suffering, loss of life, and destruction of property from these deadly
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Bruce W. HallMuseum of Science and Industry
The Space Science Institute will refurbish its 5,000 square foot traveling exhibition, "MarsQuest: Exploring the Red Planet" (ESI-9705377), enhancing the exhibition with new components that incorporate recent data from ongoing Mars missions, and extending its national tour for an additional three years. Enhancements include exhibits on Mars' weather, exobiology and the addition of a photo-realistic rotating Mars globe. Additional improvements include models of the NASA Mars exploration rover and an online kiosk to make additional information available to visitors after they leave the exhibition. MarsQuest is fully booked and there is a waiting list for a second three-year tour. The proposed refurbishment and enhancements will occur at the end of the current tour in 2003, with the new tour beginning early 2004.
The California Academy of Sciences will produce "Water is Life," a 30,383 square-foot permanent exhibit with educational programming. The exhibit is designed to engage the public with the living world of water, to foster environmental stewardship and increase science literacy. Three habitat components -- Philippine Coral Reef, California Coast and Global Rainforests -- are conceptually and experientially linked through "Water Planet," which explores water's physical properties and how they impact living organisms and lead to aquatic diversity. Each component also reinforces the importance of conserving aquatic resources. Educational programming takes "Water is Life" to local schools and community events and onto the World Wide Web, as well as provides venues for formative evaluation of exhibit design elements. The development of lending kits, plus supporting manuals and workshops, will extend the reach of "Water is Life" regionally and nationally. Similarly, instruction manuals and workshops for creating desktop, living reefs will have national impact. The compelling draw of live organisms, hands-on activities, and exhibit enrichment through educational programming provide accessibility to a large, diverse audience. The exhibit will reach over one million annual visitors, and a larger audience will experience distributed educational programs.
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Margaret BurkeLinda KulikChristopher AndrewsTerrence GoslinerRobert Jenkins
Chabot Space and Science Center is developing an exhibit of Chinese astronomical artifacts and organizing a United States tour of the exhibit. "Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China" consists of 31 exhibit pieces, including seven large astronomical instruments, chronographs, stone carvings and star maps. Many of these artifacts have never before left China. In order to increase the awareness and understanding of students, teachers and the public about Imperial China's rich astronomical achievements, Chabot will develop a variety of interpretive materials and programs that address interests and learning styles, present scientifically and historically accurate information, and serve both informal and formal educational audiences. These materials will include a planetarium show, an audio tour, special signage, multimedia animations/interactive kiosks, a web site, student activities, community events, a science drama program, activities for the general public and a variety of printed materials. Many components will be developed in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
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Alexandra BarnettCynthia AshleyMichael Reynolds
The Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museum will develop an integrated framework of exhibits on the science and technology of canals and inland waterways at the National Canal Museum (NCM) in Easton, PA., which will serve as a model for interdisciplinary public education and exhibit programs at other canal history organizations in more than 28 states, primarily east of the Mississippi River. Representatives from major waterway and industrial history sites and museums across the nation will work with NCM staff and a national advisory panel of leading informal science educators to develop, design and disseminate a series of interactive science exhibits that can travel or be replicated in museums, parks and organizations that interpret inland waterways and related industrial sites
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Edward MooneyRobert RuddKelly Austin
The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida, will develop a permanent exhibition and associated educational programs on natural hazards, phenomena that become "natural disasters" when they interact with the human community and its built environment. The exhibition, 9000 square feet in size, will address the science of these phenomena, the science and technology of forecasting and mitigation strategies and techniques. The exhibition features floods, hurricanes, wildfires, lightning, hail, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanoes. The exhibition begins with an overview and a focus on the dynamic earth. It then presents a streetscape of buildings devastated by the phenomena and eight interactive areas dealing with each of the hazards. The concluding sections include a demonstration stage and a series of elements that focus on communications, community preparedness and response and forecasting. Ancillary materials include: a family exhibition guide, teacher preparation materials, classroom materials on forecasting, a distance learning program and a brochure for the public (to be developed by IBHS). Central to the project is MOSI's partnership and campus neighbor, Institute for Business and Home Safety, a nonprofit arm of the insurance industry with a mandate to educating Americans about natural disasters and ways to mitigate loss and suffering. Other partners include FEMA, USGS, Red Cross, NFPA, local schools and community based organizations. The Institute for Learning Innovation will conduct the evaluation, supplemented by action research investigations by the University of South Florida. A local high school emphasizing design and art will participate in the exhibition development process.