Reading Rainbow is an eighty (80) part PBS children's series (15 of which are science programs) that entices children five to eight years old to read good books, thus addressing the national tragedy of more and more young Americans reading less and less. The Emmy award winning series employs television to sell the joy of science and reading to young viewers. This proposal seeks funding for five additional Reading Rainbow programs which will focus on scientific themes. These programs will be added to the previously funded science programs (22) to become part of the on-going series in demonstrating to children how science is integrated into all aspects of our lives. The Reading Rainbow series premiered in the summer of l983 to phenomenal critical and popular acclaim. In the fall of 1990, Reading Rainbow expanded ta a year round, daily schedule-- after having spent seven years as a summer series. According to formal studies, the science shows are of great interest to children and pique children's interest in related science topics and books. The series is no in its tenth season and its popularity has grown among young viewers as well as with parents.
BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY is a half-hour, weekly children's science education series produced in Seattle, Washington by McKenna/Gottlieb Producers Inc. and KCTS Television in association with Rabbit Ears Production. The series is designed to make science assessable and interesting to children in the of forth and fifth grades by relating science at the interests and everyday activities of children and presenting basic concepts from elementary science curricula in a humorous and exciting format. Programs are set in a variety of studio and field locations and utilize special effects and the creative techniques of host Bill Nye, a popular television entertainer and science aficionado. In each program, studio demonstrations/experiments and field segments feature Nye and a diverse cast of children, scientists and celebrity guests. Experiments and demonstrations use inexpensive, safe household items to enable viewers to follow along at home or in the classroom. As part of the promotion and outreach for the series, ancillary materials such as a teacher's guide, parent's guide, activity packages and newsletters will be developed and made available to schools as well as in the home and such informal setting as community centers, libraries, and clubs.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth BrockWilliam NyeJames McKennaErren Gottlieb
Nebraskans for Public Television are producing three programs in the "Reading Rainbow" series that focus on mathematics and developing and implementing a special math outreach effort aimed at parents with a secondary audience of teachers. The programs will take a literature-based approach to mathematics which helps make it possible ". . . for children to have the same authentic experiences with math that they are coming to have with language, social studies, science and the arts." (Read Any good Math Lately? by Whitin and Wilde). The goal of the project is to expand the impact of the "Reading Rainbow" series by: - integrating quality math-oriented books with science and literary selections into the series, and - making quality children's math-oriented books more visible to parents, public librarians, and teachers and to engage children's interest in reading about and exploring math in the real world. The outreach effort will develop a special math effort directed to parents, children, and teachers. A special publication for parents and a teacher guide will be created for the new math-focused programs. The producers will work with the Family Math Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science in training parents and children and will also direct community outreach efforts towards economically and socially disadvantaged families. This effort will engage these families in math related activities through partnerships with community-based organizations and local public television stations involved in PBS's Ready to Learn Project. Partnership organizations include the National Council for Teachers of Math, Girls Inc, The Connecticut Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, EQUALS Family Math Project, and the Weekly Reader Corporation. "Reading Rainbow" partnerships also have been established between three SSI's -- Louisiana, Michigan, and Ohio -- and PBS stations in those states.
Washington Independent Writers is engaged in a planning phase toward publication of Quest?, a 4-page, tabloid sized newspaper about science, technology, and society for children and their families. The target audience is children age 8 to 16, with a focus on the 10-14 year-old age group, along with their parents, teachers, and counselors. A prototype version of the paper has been published locally and distributed through Safeway stores. During the planning phase, the PI and staff will conduct the following activities: Conduct front-end evaluation of the target audience with particular emphasis being given to identifying ways to reach underserved and underrepresented groups; Work with science, technology, and graphics experts to improve the quality of the content and design; Explore traditional and new distribution mechanisms and cooperative arrangements; Create and test interdisciplinary procedures for evaluation; Establish a network of individual, community, corporate, and institutional supporters, including educators, community leaders, scientists, and engineers; Create linkages with schools and school programs; Explore funding sources and sponsorships; Continue building a Board of Advisors.
The Carnegie Science Center (of Carnegie Institute) and Carnegie Mellon University (Center for Light Microscope Imaging and Biotechnology, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, and The Studio for Creative Inquiry) have initiated a collaborative project that portends to change in a dramatic fashion the planetarium theater as a tool for informal science education. After several months of preliminary discussions and, now, the beginning of work, the creative team has been assembled that is defining the vision and executing the program of this exciting project. The vision being formulated is the transformation of The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium into a new visualization environment to achieve an interdisciplinary and interactive group learning experience. We call this new concept the "Group Immersive Visualization Environment (GIVE). GIVE will accomplish much of the impact of virtual reality by combining "three-dimensional" images generated by Evans & Sutherland's Digistar Projection System with real and animated, high-resolution video computer images and multimedia and by providing direct audience-control of program direction via The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium's elaborate 156-seat, electronic response system. While we anticipate the eventual production of a series of programs in a variety of subject fields, the first to utilize GIVE will be "Journey to the Center of the Cell," a 35-minute presentation. The treatment will convey an experience of self-discovery and natural wonder as audiences transport themselves through striking visualizations of the living cell. Production and evaluation of "Journey to the Center of the Cell" and the development of the Group Immersive Visualization Environment will occur under the auspices of staff of The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium, key personnel from Carnegie Mellon University, evaluator Harris H. Shettel, and an Advisory Panel consisting of key planetarium and eductional professionals. Program production packages, incorporating compatible components of "Journey to the Center of the Cell," will be produced, marketed and distributed to public and school planetariums; and a Teacher Resource Kit containing supplementary educational materials in the form of video tapes, CD-ROMS and computer disks wil extend the program's reach into the classroom. Special relationships and viewing times will be offered at The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium targeting Pittsburgh inner city schools and regional districts containing large percentages of underserved and minority students.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paul OlesD. Lansing TaylorMartin Ratcliffe
The Self Reliance Foundation in association with the Hispanic Radio Network over a five year period will produce and distribute a variety of daily Spanish-language radio programs on science education topics and follow-up outreach services to network listeners on science education and career opportunities. The applicants will add two science related episodes each week to Buscando La Belleza, the four-minute daily radio series for families that focuses on social issues, work issues, women's rights, and educational and career opportunities. It is carried on 100 stations with a weekly cumulative audience of 2,567,000 listeners. The new episodes will include: 52 role model interviews with Hispanic men and women who have careers in science, mathematics, and technology from technical positions not requiring a college degree to Ph.D.'s engaged in cutting edge research; 26 family involvement episodes with suggestions for parents to build their confidence in helping their children with homework, doing simple science activities with their children at home, encouraging their older children in their studies, and working with schools and community organizations; and 26 academic and career resource/success stories highlighting Hispanic students who have been successful in their pursuit of careers in science, mathematics, and technology. The second series included under the grant is Salvemos Nuestro Planeta, a two-and-a-half minute series that focuses on environmental issues. It currently is carried on 89 radio stations twice a week with a total weekly cumulative audience of 2,494,300. The producers will expand the series to seven original episodes per week with five episodes focusing on science, mathematics, and technology themes: general science literacy, environmental management and technology, computers and information technology, environmental activities for youth, and SMET career opportunities. Outreach will consist of a national Spanish language toll free phone number that will refer listeners to resources related to opportunities for scholarships in science and engineering, activities and resources for parents and children in science education, etc., and in some cases, connect callers to the subject of that days interview. The PI will be Roberto Salazar who has been chief assistant to Vicente Llamas at the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities. He has been involved in numerous science education project for Hispanics and has a background in radio. The Executive Producer will be Jeff Kline. Major science consultants will be Vicente Llamas, Director of the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities, and Estrella Triana, Hispanic Science Education Director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Roberto SalazarGilbert SanchezRobert Russell
NACME will produce a three year public service advertising campaign designed to shape the educational choices children make in junior high and high school with respect to mathematics and science. The ads, featuring actor/director Spike Lee, will aim to increase the number of children in grades three through eight who understand the relevance and value of mathematics and science to life in the adult world. The campaign also will be directed towards parents with the goal of helping them recognize the importance of learning mathematics and science to their children's future. The components of the project will be: For each of the three years of the project, development and distribution of one 60, one 30, and one 10 second television spot; For each of the three years of the project, development and distribution of three 60, three 30, and three 10 second radio spots; Annual development of print ads and marketing materials to be delivered to selected consumer magazines, educator's publications, in-school magazines, newspaper "kid pages," comic book companies, and bus shelter and transit card carriers; Annual development and distribution of 100,000 full-color student brochures to reinforce the concepts outlined in the campaign; Annual development and distribution of 100,000 brochures for parents to engage them in their children's science and mathematics education; Establishment of a toll-free 800 number for students to call to request information. Each caller will be sent both the student and the parent brochure; Development of promotional materials including buttons, games, science experiments, math puzzles, T-shirts, etc.; Annual public relations campaigns including press conferences, media tours, in-school demonstrations, and personal appearances; Annual evaluation of the project including monthly reports of fulfillment of requests received via the 800 number. Development, production, and distribution of the campaign will be the responsibility of a task force consisting of: Ronni Denes, NACME's vice president for communications and public affairs; George Campbell Jr., President of NACME; Lea E. Williams, executive vice President of NACME and formerly served as vice president, educational services, of the United Negro College Fund; Catherine Morrison, director of research; and Ismael Diaz, director of precollege programs. The ad agency for the NACME/Ad Council campaign is Tracy-Locke. Rob Britton, manager of Advertising and Direct Marketing for American Airlines will serve as campaign director.
EINSTEIN is a series of three prime time television programs to be shown nationally on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The series will present a scientific biography of Albert Einstein. The series will treat the life of Albert Einstein on several levels. The central narative thread will trace the development and impact of Einstein's work in physics. The three programs will examine Einstein's impact beyond physics -- as a muse for the arts; a dissident voice in politics; a moral sensibility; ultimately as the greatest public symbol of scientific accomplishment. With original texts (including newly identified documents from the Einstein archives), historical footage, interviews, documentary sequences, the most sophisticated computer animation available, and other techniques as appropriate, EINSTEIN will present to its audience a unique picture of the role of Albert Einstein in the making of the modern world. Beyond its broadcast in 1992, the series also will receive wide educational distribution in secondary schools and colleges and a large foreign audience.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paula ApsellThomas LevensonBarbara Flagg
"3-2-1 Contact," the nationally broadcast award winning children's public television science series, has been reaching children aged 8-12 with daily half hour science programming since 1980 with support from both the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education. In seven seasons of production, CTW has produced 225 regular and two special shows, generating an estimated 633 million viewings by the target audience and more than 1.66 billion viewings by viewers of all ages. With completion of primary show production, the series will begin repeat broadcasts in the fall of 1989 drawn from the library of existing programs. This final award will support continued broadcast of the series and insure the widest possible distribution and utilization of "3-2-1 Contact." CTW will implement a Transition Plan to sustain series broadcast, establish series access as a VCR based science resource, and insure permanent access for teachers, schools, and out of school resources to the "3-2-1 Contact" program library. Broadcast activities will include supporting a portion of the costs of residuals for rebroadcast for a five year period, production of five "3-2-1 Contact EXTRAS" -- single topic half hour specials with high visibility -- and encouraging increased off air taping of the series by teachers. Support for school use of the series will be strengthened with the development and distribution of topic indexing software and teacher guides, the creation of short "3-2-1 Contact" segments specifically tailored to the classroom needs of teachers and a series blockfeed to schools to create a permanent archive of shows. Community outreach partnerships will be strengthened and home video opportunities explored as well. This five year award will allow millions of American children the continued opportunity to view science programming after school on a regular basis, and will assist their teachers in making effective use of "3-2-1 Contact" program materials in classroom settings.
The Numbers Alive project will model the use of number sense and provide opportunities for its practice through the production of ten half-hour television programs for students, one program for parents and care-givers, and print materials in support of both types of programs. The targeted student audience is fifth and sixth graders. The print materials supplement the televised programs. The series emphasizes number concepts and problem solving strategies in support of the NCTM Standards.
ZOOM! is the Emmy Award-winning series for 8 to 11 year olds that ran on PBS for six years in the 1970's. WGBH, where the series was produced, is hoping to update the series and produce new programs for national broadcast. This planning grant will enable WGBH to make planning for math and science education an integral part of the piloting phase the station is about to enter. Specific activities to be conducted with the NSF support include such things as: Holding a series of science and math brainstorming sessions; Revamping the series advisory committee by adding more people with expertise in math, science, and elementary education; Hiring a science and mathematics content director; Consulting with outreach partners to develop ways to extend the series' impact beyond the television audience; Refining the science and mathematics goals; Developing methods to integrate science and math into the programs; Producing sample math/science segments, using different approaches; Testing the sample segments for audience effectiveness.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brigid SullivanAlison BassettCandace JulyanKate Taylor
The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) is requesting $50,000 to investigate and report on education activities linking science centers with schools. The research will examine the nature and levels of service currently provided by science centers, and produce a report that describes the current status with an emphasis on understandings that provide insight for program planning. The study will gather information from both museums and schools and museums where collaborative efforts are not occurring to investigate the barriers that have discouraged linkages.