The Franklin Institute proposes to establish the Science Learning Network (SLN), a unique online collaborative of science museums, industry and schools to support the teaching and learning of science, mathematics and technology (SMT) in grades K-8. The SLN will integrate the educational resources offered by science/technology centers with the power of telecomputing networking to provide powerful new support for teacher development and science learning. By December 1997 the SLN will develop and evaluate the following: UniVERSE - an online SMT database and software package which will provide interactive capabilities to actively and intelligently assist K-8 classroom teachers in their Internet explorations, much like an electronic "librarian." Online Museum Collaborative - a national consortium of science museums (The Franklin Institute, the Exploratorium, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Museum of Science - Boston, and Science Museum of Minnesota) that will pool their resources and expertise to create online assets and provide ongoing professional development on telecomputing networking for precollege SMT teachers. Online Demonstration Schools - a network of K-8 schools, working in collaboration with consortium museums and Unisys Corporation volunteers as demonstration sites for online teaching and learning in SMT. Over the course of three years, the SLN will provide direct support to 180 teachers and 3,000 K-8 students in the online demonstration schools. Through existing teacher networks, each museum will offer professional development for an additional 200 teachers each year. The Urban Systemic Initiatives in Philadelphia and Miami offer the potential for broader, systemic impact in those cities. By the end of the grant period, the SLN will provide field- tested models of a new kind of online SMT community through the collaboration of science museums with industry and schools. The sustainable impact of the SLN will be assured by UniVERSE's status as a publicly accessible database and software package and the development of the national consortium of online museums, whose network resources will be made available on an ongoing basis to educators. The three-year formative development of the online demonstration schools will contribute vital data to precollegiate school reform in SMT, showing how schools build capacity to become members of the online community and demonstrating how teaching and learning are enhanced by online resources. Unisys Corporation has pledged its support to this project and will provide matching funds for up to 40% of the total NSF award.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BaumannWayne RansomPaul Helfrich
This proposal calls for development, over five years, of a national, interactive, telecommunications-supported Network of 85 or more affiliated neighborhood technology learning centers in inner cities and other impoverished areas, for the purpose of attracting, and then nurturing underserved peoples' active involvement with math, science, and technology. Network affiliates will provide informal opportunities for disadvantaged minority young people and their families and friends to get access to, and learn to use, the most powerful tool for personal empowerment yet known, to engage in explorations designed to increase awareness of their ability to do math and science and of the potential for careers in these areas, and, through telecommunications, to involve themselves with distant peer groups in collaborative investigations. Such opportunities present attractive and cost-effective alternatives to the dead ends that street life, drugs, incarceration, and/or welfare offer. Success in achieving these goals depends, however, on the availability of continuing programmatic and staff development assistance, and on the ability of Network members to engage, not as disparate entities, but as a mutually supportive community, in this momentous task. Proposed Network services include (in addition to telecommunications linkages) the identification, development, and dissemination of technology-mediated math and science activities appropriate to community education, consultative planning and technical assistance, staff development workshops, the development of a resource database, and an annual all-affiliates meeting -- all these to be accompanied by systematized self-assessment procedures. Also included is the development of a Network infrastructure to support continued existence of the Network beyond the grant period.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Antonia StoneLaura Jeffers
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA., acting as administrative coordinator for the Issues Laboratory Collaborative (ILC), requests NSF support for five science museums over a three year period to investigate the effectiveness of museum-based programs about controversial issues in science and technology; to develop, test, refine, and disseminate ten educational programs on science issues; and to establish a permanent Science Issues Network that will disseminate materials and methods to all U.S. science museums engaged in issues programs. This project has been formulated for re-submission to the National Science Foundation with guidance from a distinguished panel of scientists who will assist in program development. Approximately two million people will be directly served by ILC programs and exhibits during the three-year period.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Roree Iris-WilliamsMinda BorunAnn Mintz
The Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC) will plan a multi-year initiative to build the capacity of science to facilitate the implementation of school/science center partnerships. ASTC'S intention is to organize a network a 'learning communities' in five prominent interest areas, identified by the field, to help science museums focus more effectively on school science education, and develop close collaboration with schools to influence systemic change. During the planning phase, ASTC will: Organize and convene a national advisory committee Develop a position paper to inform and engage the field for school/science center collaboration. Identify leadership institutions and their partners among school systems, and form a core group of facilities and personnel for the leaning communities. Investigate needs in existing practices and develop an appropriate range of resources, services, and activities. Determine priorities for phased implementation of learning communities and related program activities. Conduct research to identify useful techniques and approaches for program documentation, research, and evaluation.
The National Zoological Park, a component of the Smithsonian Institution, proposes transforming three traditional zoo exhibit buildings into centers for informal science learning. Based on current knowledge about learning, the proposed project will feature interactive elements as well as the greater use of human interpreters to help visitors examine animals, handle objects and play games. The project is to be a collaborative effort by the National Zoological Park, the Dallas Zoo and Zoo Atlanta, with the National Zoo developing the materials and making and shipping copies to Dallas and Atlanta as centers for tryout and evaluation, with the results of the studies going to other zoos in way of encouraging them of the importance of interactive science education.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Judith WhiteJames MurphyDale MarcelliniJeffrey Swanagan
Acting on behalf of a group of academic, educational and public-service organizations the University of California-Santa Barbara proposes to improve aquatic science education in informal settings that include youth-service organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, YMCA, YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs and 4-H. The specific emphasis will be on the close interdependence between humans and the aquatic environment and on the need for enlightened social action in defense of that environment. The thrusts of the project will be to establish the California Aquatic Science Education Consortium; to develop multiple copes of sets of instructional materials on topic of aquatic science appropriate for informal educational settings; and to develop a program for training a cadre of trainers who in turn will train volunteers in the use of the materials. The program has a significant potential for broader national application.
The Exploratorium seeks support for a program designed to help approximately twelve new or expanding U.S. museums acquire quality, educationally provern interactive exhibits. Over a thirty-six month period, two groups of museums will work with the Exploratorium to select and produce an individualized set of exhibits. The museums will dedicate staff to participate in the exhibit production process, as well as in the development of exhibit-based educational programs. The production cost of the exhibits will be shared on a fifty/fifty basis, with NSF's portion being matched by funds raised independently by the participating museums. Participant museums will be able to acquire stimulating and proven exhibits at half cost, and make use of the Exploratorium's exhibit construction shops, staff and other resources in developing educational programs and materials that complement their chosen exhibit set. It is expected that each participants will receive between fourteen and twenty-four exhibits. The program will repeat, to include another six institutions, in the second eighteen months. Participants will select exhibits in an initial one week visit to the Exploratorium and then return for a minimum four-week period to assist in producing their exhibits. Participation staff, through their involvement with construction, will become conversant with their exhibits' technical and operational aspects. The program will give participants true hands-on training. In addition to individualized assistance, each participant museum will receive publications about exhibit construction and use, as well as a booklet that includes technical, maintenance, and educational information about their own exhibits.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joe AnselRobert SemperThomas HumphreyRon HipschmanMartha Brown
The Family Science Learning Project is comprised of a research study and subsequent program development designed to fundamentally improve family science learning in museums. The endeavor will be carried out in the Philadelphia area by PISEC, a partnership of The Academy of Natural Sciences, The Franklin Institute, the Thomas H. Kean New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden and the Philadelphia Zoo, joined for this project by the University of the Arts. To achieve the goal of fostering science literacy by encouraging families to engage in successful learning strategies while visiting science museums, PISEC has identified the following objectives for the project: - To increase understanding of the processes and potential of science museum-based family learning. - To apply this understanding to the development and implementation of effective program and exhibit enhancements in four science museums. - To involve existing staff so that evaluation and research become an ongoing component of program and exhibit development in the participating museums. - To utilize a multi-institution team approach designed to maximize impact, be cost-effective and be replicable in other regions across the country. The project has three phases. First, a research study using ethnographic data collection and focus groups will be conducted at the participating museums. This study will lead to the formulation of a set of criteria for successful family science learning and hypotheses about what is needed to facilitate this behavior. Second, utilizing these findings, the four institutions will develop four distinct programs and/or exhibit enhancements designed to foster positive family learning experiences. Formative evaluation and inter-museum collaborative will be integral parts of this process. Finally, the summative findings of the individual efforts will be compared to look for constants in successful programming across the sites. Results will be assembled in a handbook which will be widely disseminated to the field. In carrying out this study, the project will fill in the body of existing museum-based family learning research. The knowledge gained will give science museum professionals a new set of tools which can be used to increase the frequency of positive learning experiences in their facilities, and to broaden the diversity of visiting families as well. Because the subject matter under investigation represents a wide range of scientific disciplines, the results of the projects should prove applicable to many different types of informal science learning environments, including science centers, natural history museums, zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens. The collaborative nature of the project will serve as a model for similar partnerships among cultural institutions and universities in other large metropolitan areas.
The Discovery Center is a "hands-on" science museum with a mission to provide the public with a basic science literacy. The proposed HOFPP project is an outreach program that will take an informal science education activity to disadvantaged parents and children in the facilities of four (first year) collaborating "parents": The Urban League, the Spanish Action League, the North American Indian Club and Girls Inc. of Central NY. The purpose of the program is to encourage and enable parents of disadvantaged school children to play an active role in their child child's education. Phase I of the program is implemented as a series of ten weekly classes in which parents and children will work together on hands-on science activities; Phase 2 follows with a science club program. Graduates will be informally channeled into an inner-city magnet school for science and math. Past Discovery Center outreach programs have already demonstrated ability to attract disadvantaged parents. The proposed program will touch 1,000 disadvantaged persons during the initial three-year period. During the third year the HOFPP project will be transported and implemented at a Science museum in another New York State community. A three year cost-shared NSF project is proposed that will be later sustained by The Discovery Center operating budget with local donations. A professional outside evaluation will be performed to measure program success. Program reports, materials and consultation will be propagated to other interested organizations to gain maximum impact.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Rachel NettletonMary StebbinsAnnette SalsberyElizabeth Kneale
The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA, in collaboration with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, the largest voluntary organization for girls in the world, requests NSF support for the National Science Partnership for Girl Scout Councils and Science Museums. This three-year project establishes partnerships between seven Girl Scout councils and six science-technology museums in six regions across the nation to promote science interest and knowledge in young American women. The project provides hands-on science activity kits and training workshops for Girl Scout leaders that assist them in conducting science activities with their troops. The science activities are directly linked to the existing Girl Scout badge program and help Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts (ages 8-11) fulfill science-related badge requirements. Each council/museum partnership will develop a specific program that involves the local underserved populations in Girl Scout science activities. during the three years of federal support, the National Science Partnership will develop a specific program that involves the local underserved populations in Girl Scout science activities. During the three years of federal support, the National Science Partnership will directly serve 11,500 leaders and 138,000 Girl Scouts. Extensive project dissemination will encourage the involvement of new partnerships and the institutionalization of the National Science Partnership by GSUSA, councils, science museums, and other formal education organizations so that the project has the potential to reach the more than 2.3 million Girl Scouts and 780,000 leaders across the United States.
The Magic School Bus Museum Collaborative, requests through Discovery Places, Inc., NSF support for six science museums and Scholastic Productions, Inc., to develop science education materials that capitalize on the interest and excitement in the forthcoming Magic School Bus television series and the Magic School Bus books. Over a three year period the collaborative will provide basic science education activities and demonstrations through museum educational programming. The collaborative will provide tools and support for teachers to use the Magic School Bus themes in their science curriculum and provide hands-on science classroom experiences using mobile museum exhibits. Working with the National Urban League, ASPIRA, the AAAS Black Church Project, and other youth serving organizations, the collaborative will encourage multi-ethnic participation in these museum programs. The numbers of children and their families who will be reached by the Magic School Bus Museum Collaborative are significant. The components of the project are a planetarium program (100 copies), two 1200 square feet traveling exhibits, and activity and programming guide, table-top exhibits and program, and 2 teacher enhancement workshops. Collectively, these components can reach conservatively over 5 million museum visitors in the first year. Coupled with the new television series, the Magic School Bus can have a tremendous impact on the education of young people in the sciences.
Mathematics can be exciting. It can be fun. The modern world surrounds us with examples of its beauty. Too often, however, these examples go unnoticed or unexplored. This is one reason so few young Americans think of mathematics as a potential career path: they do not realize how much mathematics is a part of their lives, or how much they use it -- often without knowing it| The Maryland Science Center and the mathematics faculty of the George Washington University have teamed up to create The Language of Patterns, a mathematics exhibit that examines mathematics in modern life. Through engaging interactive exhibit stations, The Language of Patterns invites visitors of all ages to discover the intricacy and wonder of modern mathematics. Eschewing highly technical terminology, the exhibit focuses instead on fun and exploration. Mounted by the Maryland Science Center in its Baltimore facility and in a traveling version that will be available to science and technology museums across the county, this exhibit represents a unique collaboration between academic and museum exhibition design experts. More important, The Language of Patterns is an opportunity for visitors to rethink their relationship with modern mathematics, one of man's most significant -- and misunderstood -- achievements.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
D.D. HilkeRaylene DecaturRodica SimionPeter Yancone