The Cleveland Museum of Natural History will develop an exhibit that integrates earth sciences and planetary geology. Currently titled "The Hall of Earth and Planetary Exploration" this 8700 sq. ft. exhibit will consist of a series of ten sections, each one focusing on a different theme including "The Big Bang", "Plate Tectonics", "Earthquakes and Volcanoes", "Ores and Mining", and the like. The goals are to instill curiosity about the Earth and planetary sciences and their interrelationships, to invite deeper exploration into scientific information and processes, to improve general science literacy by organizing the information into comprehensible themes, and to present an exhibit that is relevant to the daily lives of the general public. Visitors leaving the exhibit should know about the uniqueness of the earth with its moving continents, liquid water and living beings. They will also have some sense of the new scientific knowledge about the universe and the solar system and have their desire piqued to explore these topics further. The exhibit will have a number of complementary components including brochures, an expanded docent program, scheduled demonstrations and lectures by museum staff, devices for physically disabled, teacher guides and workshops, and traveling kits for schools. The exhibit goals and complementary activities align with Cleveland's Urban Systemic Initiative. The exhibit is scheduled to open late in 1997.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joseph HannibalPaul CliffordJoAnn Coburn
Explorations is an 8,200 sq. ft. permanent exhibition containing about 70 educational components that will stimulate interest in and understanding of the ways that science and technology are extending the ability to examine and understand the Earth, its oceans and the universe. The exhibit design gives equal priority to science content and learning via high-tech device components, interweaving experiences to help the public understand cutting edge technologies, the scientific principles behind them, and how technology is used to advance scientific knowledge. To ensure accessibility to the Hispanic community, graphics and multimedia programs will be presented in English and Spanish. Strategies for addressing the language needs of other non-English speaking visitors are employed. It is expected that the engineering designs and solutions developed for these exhibits will advance the informal science learning profession buy contributing significantly to one of the top challenges faced by science museum exhibit designers today - the interpretation of advanced technological tools and capabilities to a broad museum public with diverse technical literacy skills.
The project is based upon the established Math, Science, and Beyond (MSB) program which consists of a series of evening family science workshops (with curriculum materials developed for classroom settings) in which students and parents explore science and mathematics together through exciting, hands-on activities. Units for each grade level (K-6) focus on physical, earth, and life science. The MSB informal science project will adapt materials and bring the program to informal learning settings - 25 Boys and Girls Clubs of California, and 25 California Department of Parks and Recreation sites. These clubs will receive training, materials, and support to operate Science Clubs (after school MSB sessions), Science Camps (summer, off-track and Spring/Winter Break, week-long MSB sessions), and Science Explorers Family Workshops (1-2 hour sessions for elementary school students and their parents). In addition to the Boys and Girls Clubs, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Science Implementation Network is a key collaborator on the project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mary CavanaghEleanore TopolovacM. SusanJoseph Keating
This is a planning grant to Children's Television Workshop (CTW) to develop further the science content in a proposed television series for 8-12 year olds entitled, The Wheel In Space. This adventure series would be set on an orbiting space station 100 years in the future which, by definition is an enormous scientific and technological enterprise. The planning period would be used to investigate how its complex systems and operations can best be used to illustrate principles and processes science. Specific planning tasks include: Working with consultants in space science and other scientific disciplines as well as with organizations such as NASA and the National Air and Space Museum to explore the science and technology involved in the operation of a space station and to project what living, working, and growing up on a space station might be like a century from now; Writing a content "bible" that will serve as a technical guide to writers of the series; Writing a treatment of the series that outlines story premises that incorporate science topics; Investigating potential components of the project that may enhance the reach and impact of the television series; Examining the advantages and disadvantages of a co-production arrangement with Southern Star, a television production company in Australia interested in participating in the project. The PI's for the project will be Joel Schneider who will serve as Content Director and Jeffrey Nelson who will be Executive Producer. Both have worked on previous science and mathematics media projects at CTW. A principal consultant will be Samuel Gibbon, producer and/or executive producer for Sesame Street, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, and The Voyage of the Mimi.
The National Museum of Natural History is producing 3-D and 2-D versions of a large format film on natural history. With a working title of Wonders of Life, the film will explore the diversity of life on Earth and how this diversity came to be. It will examine the biological, geological, and cultural entities that interact in myriad ways to generate, shape, and sustain the enormous biological and cultural diversity of our planet. The film will be supported by outreach material designed to support further exploration of the topic of diversity in both informal and formal settings. An inexpensive family activity guide to be available at venues that show the film will feature engaging and challenging activities for families with children ages ten through 15. A teacher resource guide, distributed free to teachers attending the film with groups of students, will be developed for use in grades 5 through 8. A classroom activity poster will be developed to serve grades 2 through 5. A Wonders of Life home page will support in-depth study of the film's topics. Larry O'Reilly, Director of The Discovery Center Project at the NMNH, will be PI and Executive Producer for the film. The Senior Scientific Advisory Board will be chaired by Dr. Robert S. Hoffman, Senior Scientist and former Assistant Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution. The board also includes Sir David Attenborough, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Margaret Geller, Ivan Hattingh, and Dr. Thomas Lovejoy. Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer, Curator of Paleobiology and former Associate Director for Science at the NMNH, will lead a core team of scientists who will be directly involved in production. The film will be produced by Christopher Parsons and David Douglas will be Director of Photography.
The University of Texas at Austin requests $399,341 to expand the current Universo translations of StarDate into Spanish to more culturally relevant programs for a growing Hispanic audience. Plans include creation of longer programs with a different format for Hispanic Heritage Month for 1998-2000 and creation of complimentary collateral materials for distribution to 200 Spanish- language radio stations. Programs will also be distributed to 1,650 classrooms. A teacher's guide for using Universo in the classroom will be developed in English with activities available in both English and Spanish. A parent's guide to Universo/StarDate will also be produced to encourage parents to get involved in skywatching activities.
The Space Science Institute is developing a 5,000 s.f. hands-on traveling exhibitions called MarsQuest that will be the centerpiece of a wide-ranging planetary science education program. The exhibition will feature engaging, aesthetically designed, hands-on displays that offer experiences with science concepts relevant to Mars exploration, and will address the common misconceptions about Mars and its relationship to Earth. The most exciting aspect of the exhibition is its up-to-date connection to the progress and discoveries of 8-10 spacecraft that will be launched by NASA from 1996-2005. The exhibition will be supported by educational programs, including comprehensive teacher workshops, public programs on Mars themes, a 30-minute planetarium show emphasizing exploration and discovery, visits to schools and the dissemination of comprehensive field- tested educational materials developed by Arizona State University, the Planetary Society, NASA, the Pacific Science Center, and others. All educational materials will be aligned with the National Science Education Standards and will be available on the World Wide Web.
During this planning grant, the Film Arts Foundation will draft a script and develop prototype examples of animation for a one-hour television program that will provide viewers with insight into the large-scale organization of the Universe. These materials will be developed and tested in collaboration with advisors. The program will present, in a manner accessible to the lay public, the work that the PI, Brent Tully, and other astronomers have done on mapping the universe and will present current knowledge about the formation of this structure. The principals in the planning phase will be Brent Tully, scientific director; Thomas Lucas, producer/director; Jonathan Grupper, writer; and Edward Shaya, computer animator. They will work with a twelve-member advisory committee of astronomers working at research universities, informal educators from four major planetaria, and science educators.
The Earth & Sky radio series reaches over 2.8 million individuals in the United States each week. This grant, which will diminish each year over a four-year period, will enable the project to accomplish the following goals: * Continue production and distribution of the Earth & Sky radio series * Distribute a bi-annual booklet for teachers, Earth In the Classroom * Establish a partnership between the Earth & Sky Young Producers Contest and National Science and Technology Week. * Increase the visual content of Earth & Sky Online * Launch an * Earth & Sky Classroom Project to provide teachers and students with a guided "Internet Experience" simulated on a CD and, therefore, not requiring an Internet connection. * Produce and test a 156 segment "trial run" of a Kids' Earth & Sky radio series designed for the emerging Radio Disney network. Earth & Sky is produced and hosted by Deborah Byrd and Joel Block. They work with a team of producer/writers and interact on a regular basis with members of a team of over 90 science advisors.
WGBH Educational Foundation will explore new ways to accurately depict in a large format film the eruption of a volcano that occurred in 79 AD. One means is to use footage of Montserrat, a similar volcano that currently is erupting. In order to do this, however, they must film the volcano in the immediate future while it is still erupting and the block and ash flow is still clearly visible. Once this is completed, WGBH will conduct various testing to address such questions as the following: * Can original footage shot in large format film be used to dramatize events of the past? * Can original footage of the ash eruptions on Montserrat be used in a composite with live action footage of Vesuvius today? * Can original footage of the plumes be used in a composite with a miniature model of Vesuvius? * Can the original footage be enhanced with computer graphics, or will it need to be "degraded" to create an historical sense?
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific requests $1,317,701 over three years to implement its California pilot project to six sites around the country. Each site will establish local, self- sustaining coalitions linking science centers, astronomical institutions, school districts, and community groups. These coalitions will, with training and support from the national Project ASTRO staff, identify, link, and support the astronomer/teacher partners in their area to use the excitement of astronomy to improve the teaching and learning of science in elementary and middle school. A second strand of the project will use the Project ASTRO materials and techniques to train astronomers and teachers at national meetings outside the six sites to set up individual ASTRO partnerships on their own. Materials to be produced include a: Project ASTRO Coalition Manual; Training Manual; update to the Resource Notebook for the Teaching of Astronomy. Target audiences are students in grades 4-9.
"Atmospheric Explorations: Participatory, Computer-Based Simulations of the Weather" is a collaborative project of Augsburg College and the Science Museum of Minnesota. The purpose of the project is to enhance the interest and skills of museum visitors and students in science by providing a highly interactive exhibit environmental that allows the users considerable freedom in exploring topics in meteorology relevant to their everydays lives. The exhibits will be designed to accommodate a gender- and racially-diverse audience of national scope.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William JaspersonDavid VenneJ. Newlin