The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.
Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum and the Beijing Planetarium, is planning a planetarium show and complementary materials for preschool-age children and their families, teachers and other caregivers. The planetarium show will be designed for use in the United States and China and will have the following goals: -- promoting positive attitudes among young children towards science; -- providing age-appropriate information about astronomy in an engaging, entertaining format; and -- fostering am understanding of one another among children in the two countries. During the planning phase, there will be three face-to-face meetings among the principals: at the Beijing Planetarium, at Sesame Workshop in New York, and at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The purpose of these meetings will be to determine: -- What is the appropriate educational content for the show and complementary materials and what does research with children say about it? -- How does this type of project best reach preschool audiences? -- Is there a need or opportunity for producing alternative language or dialect versions of either the English or Mandarin versions of the show and complementary materials? -- What issues or problems affect the design of the show and complementary materials? -- What are the implementation issues? Particular attention will be given to exploring how the project might include cross-cultural information in the show and complementary materials, and how the cross-over characters (Da Naio appearing in the English version; Big Bird in the Mandarin version) might be included in the design.
Strange Days on Planet Earth combines a 4-part television series and outreach program produced by Sea Studios Foundation (SSF) for National Geographic Television and Film and Vulcan Productions, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project comprises three primary components: a broadcast series, website, and a national consortium of informal learning institutions. The project team expects that through consistent messaging and content, these components, when integrated, collectively offer the public enriched opportunities to
Strange Days on Planet Earth combines a 4-part television series and outreach program produced by Sea Studios Foundation (SSF) for National Geographic Television and Film and Vulcan Productions, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project comprises three primary components: a broadcast series, website, and a national consortium of informal learning institutions. The project team expects that through consistent messaging and content, these components, when integrated, collectively offer the public enriched opportunities to
As part of the Summative Evaluation of the DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science series, between July 2005 and November 2006, RMC Research conducted a study of the collaboration between the DragonflyTV (DFTV) production staff and its science center and museum partners. Central to the innovative DFTV series, the collaboration involved museum professionals in the production process and presented science museums and centers as sites of learning and of fun on national television. It also offered professionals in the two industries a ground-breaking opportunity to learn about another format for
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice ApleyTwin Cities Public Television
Strange Days on Planet Earth combines a 4-part television series and outreach program produced by Sea Studios Foundation (SSF) for National Geographic Television and Film and Vulcan Productions, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project comprises three primary components: a broadcast series, website, and a national consortium of informal learning institutions. The project team expects that through consistent messaging and content, these components, when integrated, will collectively offer the public enriched opportunities
To effectively guide future museum-based segments in Twin Cities Public Television's DragonflyTV: Going Places in Science series, Multimedia Research implemented a formative evaluation with 19 museum educators, exhibit directors and public relations staff. After viewing segments, museum staff responded to an online questionnaire focusing on the value and credibility of the segments, how the segments represent the museum community, and interest in participating in the series.
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Barbara FlaggTwin Cities Public Television
In March 2007, RMC Research Corporation completed work on a study of children's responses to a selection of DragonflyTV (DFTV) video segments as one part of the Summative Evaluation of the DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science TV series1. This report presents findings from the Children's Viewing Study, which includes two distinct goals. The first goal addresses the qualities and characteristics of science television which contribute to effective educational television experiences for children. This study offered the first in an iterative process aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice Apley, Ph.D.Wendy J. GrahamJenny ScalaTwin Cities Public Television
SciGirls is a national outreach program of DragonflyTV supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Program for Gender Equity. SciGirls empowers PBS outreach professionals and science museum educators, often partnering with local youth organizations, educators and parents, to deliver hands-on science encouragement and career guidance to girls in their communities. SciGirls is based on existing standards-based DragonflyTV outreach resources, which teach scientific inquiry.
Starting in January 2006 ROCKMAN ET AL conducted a twelve-week study of the use of the PBS science series, DragonflyTV, in twenty middle grade science classrooms. DragonflyTV is a PBS science series that models science inquiry by presenting real children conducting inquiry investigations into their own science questions. The goal of the TV series is to illuminate the inquiry process and inspire viewers to conduct their own investigations. The participating teachers were provided with DVDs of 36 DragonflyTV programs, an index with the National Science Education Standards correlations, and
The Chedd-Angier Production Company is requesting support for the long-standing, highly acclaimed PBS series, "Scientific American Frontiers," now in its 13th season. Alan Alda hosts the program. NSF funds will leverage existing PBS support and expand the series from five to six programs and increase the scope and depth of the science covered in each program. Topics in the new season cover a broad range of disciplines including cutting edge scientific efforts in cosmology, anthropology, global warming, brain research, obesity and weight loss, and hydrogen fuel cell research. The funds will also be used to expand the "Frontiers" web site and raise the visibility of the program by enhancing the promotional campaign. These efforts will aim to improve the value of the series to science teachers as well as to the general audience. Formative evaluation will be undertaken by Multimedia Research; summative evaluation, by Knight-Williams Research Communications.
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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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alexandra BarnettCynthia AshleyMichael Reynolds