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resource project Public Programs
A collaboration of staff from the University of California at Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science, School of Education, and the Cooperative Extension Service (4-H) will develop and implement SERIES (Science Experiences and Resources for Informal Education Settings), a state-wide informal science education program for the California State 4-H system. Over a three year period they will adapt existing science curricula and generate new materials for use in informal 4-H settings around the theme of science relevant to societal concerns, with an agricultural technology focus. They will design and test a comprehensive training model using the materials to insure their effective use by volunteer leaders, and develop an extensive cadre of CES staff and volunteer trainers skilled in training volunteer teachers in the use of the curriculum materials. The resulting curriculum and training materials will be published and made available at cost to all 4-H clubs. The project will directly benefit 100 paid and volunteer trainers, 1800 volunteer leaders and 12,600 youth participants, and will indirectly benefit the more than 60,000 youth enrolled in California 4-H programs each year.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Richard Ponzio Laurel Dean Herbert Thier
resource project Exhibitions
This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project is based on NSF-CCLI-EMD, 0341143, Development of a Smart Vibration Platform Experiment. The 24-month-long project is part of a continuing collaboration between the PI at the University of Houston and the staff of the Children's Museum of Houston (CMH). CMH is in the process of developing an exhibition on "smart materials," and has a stepwise exhibit development plan that involves the PI and his engineering students. The project work is adapting a device on the vibration dampening effect of magneto-rheological (MR) fluids from an educational application in an undergraduate mechanical engineering environment to a museum exhibit for ages 8+. MR fluids have the unusual property of being able to transform from the liquid state to a semi-solid state when subjected to magnetic fields. They are being used in the design of buildings in earthquake prone areas. The development team consists of the PI and college seniors in their Senior Capstone Design course, an education program evaluator at the University, and exhibits and program staff from the museum. Deliverables include a smart materials "earthquake dampening" exhibit and a touch-screen activated "video jukebox" unit on the research scientists and students and on the MR fluid. The CMH Kids' Committee is providing input on the exhibits as well.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Gangbing Song
resource project Media and Technology
This is a proposal for a 3 year, $1,297,456 project to be conducted as collaboration among 5 higher education institutions and one school system across the country, with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA serving as the lead institution (other collaborators are from Colorado School of Mines, Ithaca College, Santa Clara University, Duke University, and Virginia Beach School System). The primary goal is to attract and retain students in computer science, especially women and underrepresented minorities (including two EPSCoR states). To this end, the project will use Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among high school students, hence to build understanding of object-based programming. Such an IT focus on media and animation is aligned with national computer science standards. The project will build a network of college and high school faculty, who will offer workshops and provide continuing support during the academic year. In each site, pairs of teachers from each participating school (total = 90) will learn with university faculty via a 3-week summer program in which an introduction to using Alice for teaching will be followed by teacher development of materials for students that will then be used to teach high school students. An experimental start at one site will be followed by implementation at four additional sites and culminated with revised implementation at the sixth site (1-4-1 design).
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TEAM MEMBERS: Susan Rodger
resource project Public Programs
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Minda Borun Jane Horwitz James McGonigle Kathleen Wagner Julie Johnson
resource project Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Temple University's Center for Reimagining Children's Learning and Education, the University of Delaware, and Johns Hopkins University are collaborating with the Children's Museum of Manhattan and several other children's museums, science centers, and researchers around the U.S. to conduct a two-day workshop to review and expand the research base on the role of play in children's learning of STEM. The workshop is associated with a larger, multi-faceted initiative called the Ultimate Block Party (UBP), whose mission is to make a case for and conduct activities on the science of learning and the importance of play in children's lives and their development of 21st century skills. Associated with the workshop, UBP activities in 2010 include a major event on October 3 in Central Park, New York City, whose purpose is to provide families with engaging activities that emphasize how the science of learning supports the critical role of playful learning in children's education. The workshop participants will include both researchers and practitioners who will share knowledge about children's learning in informal settings and strategize on how to maximize the kind of scientific learning that takes place in free-choice learning environments. A particular emphasis will be on sparking curiosity about STEM by children from all socio-economic and ethnic groups. On the second day, participants will also contribute to the event in Central Park by observing and commenting on the event, its impact on attendees, and possible improvements for future events in New York and around the country. The process includes an evaluation of the workshop and the production of a workshop report. Dissemination will be both to academic research and informal science education communities.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Kathy Hirsh-Pasek Robert Golinkoff
resource project Public Programs
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 Nettleton Mary Stebbins Annette Salsbery Elizabeth Kneale
resource project Public Programs
The Franklin Institute and the Girl Scouts of the USA will develop, implement, and evaluate "Girls at the Center," a family outreach program that will foster girl-centered, learning within the context of the family. Partnerships will be promoted between local science and technology centers and Girl Scout Councils. It is a multi- component program that will increase girls' and their families' understanding of and interest in basic science principles and processes. Consisting of a series of family-oriented activities that coincide with the school year, science/technology centers will serve as the hosts. These museum-based activities will be supplemented by home-based activities. The activities will follow the constructivist theory of education and will cover a broad menu of scientific disciplines including ecology, energy, and human physiology as well as science careers opportunities. They will be linked to the requirements for the Girl Scout recognition (badges) program. It is building on the success of a previously NSF funded project "National Science Partnerships for Girls Scout Councils and Museum" and is expected to reach 75,050 girls and 112,575 adults in 25 sites across the US during the funding period. It will be institutionalized and will continue to operate in those sites as well as expand to other sites after the NSF-funded period.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Dale McCreedy Harriet Mosatche
resource project Public Programs
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Dale McCreedy Sharon Hussey
resource project Media and Technology
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Jerald Reynolds Beverly Sanford
resource project Exhibitions
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. Hilke Raylene Decatur Rodica Simion Peter Yancone
resource project Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom) was designed to provide an attractive, open access route for all high school students to the realm of relevant and useful chemical phenomena. What began as a dream a few years ago is now a well-developed high school program brought about by the concerted efforts of high school teachers, college and university professors, and industrial chemists and financed by the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society. This three-year project is designed as a partnership to support the dissemination of the Chemcom curriculum. Specially selected teachers will be educated so that they can become resource teachers who will conduct ChemCom inservice workshops throughout the country. These resource teachers are expected to represent as many as 150 school systems and will reach as many as 2,000 teachers with their inservice programs. The project also includes a series of networking activities entitled "An Evening with ChemCom, the establishment of a computer network, and the production of a newsletter. The evaluation will focus on the effectiveness of this particular model for implementing curriculum change. The total cost sharing (ACS, Publisher, School Systems) is expected to be almost five times the NSF request.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Sylvia Ware I. Dwaine Eubanks
resource project Exhibitions
The Science Museum of Minnesota will develop "After the Dinosaurs", an exhibit that will feature a detailed reconstruction of the ecology of a Paleocene subtropical environment that existed in the North Plains of North America (58 million years ago). Information presented in the exhibit will come from a 25 year research project carried out by SMM curator Bruce R. Erickson and his colleagues at Wannagan Creek Quarry in northwestern North Dakota. This research has yielded one of the most complete assemblages of Paleocene megafossils in North America. Both the increased knowledge gained from this research and process of the research will be highlighted in this exhibit. Visitors will learn that the world's landscape has changed considerably over time, the analysis of fossils helps scientists reconstruct the past, knowledge of former ecosystems help us to understand current ecosystems, and everyone can be a scientific investigator when we attempt to understand our environment in a systematic way. Two versions of the exhibit will be prepared: a 4000 sq. ft. permanent version that will be installed in the new SMM river front building and will open in late 2000. There will also be a 2500 sq. ft. traveling version that will begin its national tour in 2002. Complementary programming will include an on-line interactive teacher guide and student project curriculum, a teachers' institute, and a variety of youth programming including specially developed interpreter training materials. The exhibit will be accessible to people with disabilities.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Andrew Redline Bruce Erickson