Go Figure is a new multimedia project targeting 3- to 6-year olds, with a secondary audience of parents and caregivers. The intended impact of the project is to support the development of mathematics literacy for the pre-school audience and to help the secondary audience to support young children's informal mathematics education. This award supports pre-production development and evaluation of project elements including the continuing design of characters and locations, creation and test of interstitials, animatic and script, development and testing of scaffolded math game prototypes and piloting real-world extensions. The project will be produced by WGBH, with the support of advisors and a third-party evaluator. The project is being designed for broadcast on public television, with an extensive educational outreach component focused on improving parental attitudes toward math.
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.
The periodic table of chemical elements is an array that is confusing to the uninformed and profoundly simplifying and full of crucial information to the informed. It represents some of the most basic information for the construction of what people see, feel and breathe. Due to the table's complex appearance and the way it is described; many individuals shun its informative base. This proposal is a planning grant application that intends to develop a multi-media presentation, which includes TV, web site, a teachers DVD, and an outreach plan, to bridge this knowledge gap in a user freindly manner. It will make educating minority children one of its priorities. The basic premise for their bridge is that people will better grasp the aspects of the chemical elements if they humanize the elements by discussing them as products of scientists and that scientists are people. The success of this effort is critical. While chemistry affects every aspect of human life, it is one of the least understood sciences. If successful, this project may well pave the way for additional programming.
Twin Cities Public Television is producing the second and third seasons of Dragonfly TV, the science television series targeted at children ages 9 - 12. The series presents children showing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Adult scientists are interspersed among the several groups of children who present research. They present their own research, their discoveries and their love of science. These adult reports are laced with home movies and snapshots of the adults when they were kids, linking childhood experiences to successful careers in science. Outreach for Dragonfly TV consists of a Dragonfly insert in the magazine Explorations, an interactive website where children can share their science investigations and programs at selected Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4H Clubs. Teacher's Guides will be developed by Miami University of Ohio and distributed through the journals of the National Science Teachers Association.
The World Media Foundation is producing and distributing "Emerging Science of Environmental Change." This radio-based project presents new and cutting edge research to the public through National Public Radio broadcasts, Internet radio broadcasts, multi-media web presentations, Internet-based discussion, formal school curricula and public lectures. The goal of the project is to provide the public with a longitudinal view of how those engaged in cutting-edge science formulate theories, structure their inquiries and monitor the ongoing processes, pitfalls, unexpected results and successes of their research. The production team will closely follow the work and processes of one or more research teams over major portions of the 36-month project in order to provide an in-depth understanding of the research process. The project will deliver nine one-hour radio specials and nine additional hours of shorter program segments that will be included in the NPR "Living on Earth" series. The online component of the project will present expanded versions of the audio through its daily web radio service, as well as multi-media web pages with references and discussions linked to the core subjects of the specials. School outreach will be directed primarily at largely urban, under-served middle and high schools. It will use the audio and multi-media web presentations of current research as frames of reference for student instruction in environmental science.
Ways of Knowing, Inc. is producing two one-hour film documentarties for public television on the origin, nature and history of writing. "The Writing Project" (working title) is about the study of writing as a technology. The goal of the films is to explain how writing systems work and to make people aware of the importance of writing in societies. The programs will address what reading and writing is, how writing was invented and how it is used in dozens of different systems around the world. The focus is on the diversity, yet sameness, of writing systems and on the grand variety of its uses. The target audience is the PBS television audience, with follow-up educational viedocassette distribution to schools and colleges to be used as an introduction to linguistics "basic text." The program's outreach will be enhanced by a companion website and book.
National Wildlife productions is developing a large format film, "Predators and Prey," and related educational resources. The film will introduce audiences to cutting-edge scientific research through a topic that already captures their imagination and will use visually exciting scenes to present the science behind predator/prey relations. A preliminary conceptual structure, general approach and potential storyline have already been developed. The planning phase will include the following activities: -Further define the conceptual structure of the film -Conduct preproduction/front-end audience research -Refine the approaches to the film based on feedback from front-end research -Plan educational resources -Conduct a front-end survey of large-format film theaters to evaluate the title, approach and relevance of proposed educational resources. -Draft a film treatment The principals for the project bring a background of filmmaking and science. Christopher Palmer, President and CEO, National Wildlife Productions (NWP), will serve as Executive Producer for the film. Educational resources will be designed by Jim Stofan, Vice President, Education, NWP; and the Chief Science Consultant will be Sterling Miller, Senior Wildlife Biologist, NWP. Treatments and scripts will be written by Mose Richards and evaluation will be conducted by Robert Russell. A committee of scientists and science educators will help guide the project during the planning phase.
The Tech Museum of Innovation is producing a 3,000 square-foot permanent exhibition, complementary online acitivities, and a Design Challenge curriculum to engage visitors in the exploration of Internet techologies. The goals of the project are to enhance the technological literacy of middle school students, provide the general public with tools, experience, and confidence to participate in shaping the future of the internet, and advance the informal science education community through applied research in networked exhibit technology. Two distinct features of the exhibit are: 1) The Smart Museum, a computer network linking gallery and online expereinces, and 2) "dynamic content," a set of strategies for rapid exhibit updates that will mirror the changing Internet for the life of the exhibition. The Design Challenge curriculum will be used at the museum, in outreach to classrooms and community centers, and in training sessions for science educators. The summative research will be shared with the science education community via The Tech's web site as well as professional seminars, publications and conferences.
This project will provide for a national tour of a 5,000 square-foot exhibit about the great Inca archaeological site of Machu Picchu, and will give a national public audience the opportunity to view one-of-a-kind and seldom exhibited Inca artifacts, while also learning about archaeological science through engaging interactive exhibits and displays. The exhibit demonstrates how understanding the past through science has made it possible to determine the purpose, activities and the nature of daily life on a royal Inca estate. Laboratory research is at the core of the visitor experience, which will include osteology, paleopathology, astronomy, stable carbon isotope analysis, faunal analysis of animal bones, compositional and structural analysis of metals and ecological analysis of the flora and fauna of the Machu Picchu National Researve in Peru. Project funding will also create a Website including a virtual exhibit tour, a self-guided tour of Machu Picchu and web-based archaeological science curriculum for classroom use. The larger project also includes an international scholarly symposium entitled "The Archaeology of Inca Cuzco." The exhibit will open at the Yale Peabody Museum in January, 2003, and after six months, will travel to Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Denver, Washington, DC and Chicago, before it returns to New Haven for long-term installation at the Peabody. The project will reach an audience estimated at well over 2,000,000 visitors, school children, and Website users.
Massachusetts General Hospital, representing Partners HealthCare System, Inc., is producing a large format film on the brain that is designed to increase the popular understanding of brain biology and recent advances in neuroscience. Framed within the larger question of the unique abilities of the human mind, the project will take an interdisciplinary look at brain science and raise questions about the nature and biological basis of diverse aspects of human experience including consciousness. By following a rider in the Tour de France, the film will illustrate how the brain functions in both normal and stressful situations. Major sequences will explore vision, memory and emotion. Slightly shorter sequences will delve into imagination and creativity, language, dreams and pain. Brief "interludes" will allow the film to reflect on the brain as it is represented in a range of human capabilities. Finally, the film turns it attention to consciousness, self-awareness and the totality of experiencing life as a human. Outreach components of the project include: A weeklong national symposium for museum educators, teachers, and community organizations from all regions of the country. Follow up regional "Brain Workshops" designed to provide more focused project support. "The Brain: Exploratory Trips Into the Final Frontier" -- An Educator/Student Activity Guide Fun Facts Family Guide to "The Brain" An Educational Lobby Kiosk "Head Trip: A Voyage Through the Young Human Mind" -- An illustrated instructional brochure A Brain Website The film will be directed by Bayley Silleck whose prior large format films include "Cosmic Voyage" and "Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance." The lead scientific advisors are Dr. Dennis Selkow, Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Anne Young, Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. There also will be a seven-member advisory committee composed of neuroscientists, psychologists and philosophers.
The Mathematical Science Research Institute is developing and producing a 15-minute pilot for a regular mathematics slot in a new PBS magazine format program that is being developed. Keith Devlin will be responsible for the mathematics content as well as appearing as the on-camera host. The segments will be based on Devlin's popular radio "Math Guy" segments that have been appearing on NPR's Weekend Edition. The topic for the pilot is the Clay Millennium Problems. The pilot is being produced by Jon Palfreman, an award-winning science documentary producer. Evaluation of the pilot will be conducted by Rockman et. al. If successful, a future segment would explore a range of mathematics topics including mathematics education, epidemiology, scientific visualization, uses and misuses of statistics, how the brain acquires and processes mathematics, and the mathematics of voting.
The James Agee Film Project is conducting planning to facilitate the integration of insights from a wide range of scientific disciplines into a filmscript for a four-part television series on the environmental and social history of the Appalachian region. "Appalachia: A Story of Mountains and People" will be the first film to weave the findings of the natural and social sciences into a story that examines the impact of landscape on culture and of human culture upon landscape. The planning phase will include the following activities: The film producers/writers will work with a science content director to develop an outline of the themes and general organization of the film. The project staff will meet with scientists in small groups to brainstorm ways to integrate ideas and content into the script. The science content director and the producer/writers will draft a script using input from the small groups. A large group meeting of the science advisors will review the script focusing on the overarching themes and to refine ideas. The script will be revised based on the recommendations from the meeting. The project director will review the scripts with rural school districts and get reactions and suggestions to guide the development of outreach projects and materials to support use of the film in formal educational settings. Review of the script and outreach plans will be conducted with two general audience focus groups, one in Appalachia and one outside the region. The principals for the project bring a background of filmmaking and science. Ross Spears, the producer/director/writer, has produced a number of award-winning films. The co-producer/writer is Jamie Ross. She is a free-lance writer and consultant with expertise in ecology, history, literature and culture of Appalachia and the American South. George Constantz, the content director, is a biologist, naturalist, ecologist, educator, watershed administrator and science writer/editor. The 15-person advisory committee includes members whose expertise includes: archaeology, anthropology, economics, geology, geography, sociology, ecology and evolutionary biology. A professional science writer also is a member of the committee.