The 4-H organization of Virginia is developing a Marine and Aquatic Education Program with a strong field study component for youngsters ages five through nine. They plan to reach these young people through local and community 4-H clubs and in summer camps. One part of the program is aimed at the handicapped and development of strategies to meet their special needs. Other components of the program include volunteer training of high school students and adult leaders and a series of publications with emphasis on "hands-on" activities. There is a strong national dissemination plan and, through a national survey, the Virginia 4-H have determined that 27 state 4-H organizations are interested in adapting program. The 4-H organization is the largest youth organization in the United States with a membership of 4.3 million young people. They have a strong network, both urban and rural, with minorities representing 22% of the membership, 53% are female and 63% are under 11 years of age. The Virginia 4-H mirrors the national picture but with a slightly more rural membership. This project provides an opportunity to strengthen science learning outside of the formal education system by supporting a test project in marine education. Over the next three years the project will be tested with 38,500 youngsters and 500 adults. The program will then be expanded to all 115,467 Virginia members as well as a strong outreach effort to the national membership. This project is directed at two important goals for the Informal Science Education Program: strengthening out-of-school science programs for young people and the handicapped. The marine science area is one of high interest and significance both locally and nationally. The staff are experienced and committed and the program is cost effective at a little over $3.00 per person.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barry FoxWilliam ChristySusan GilleyMichael CliffordJoseph Hoffenberger
The Museum of Science in Boston proposes a major modification of its permanent New England Wildlife Zones exhibition hall in order to improve its effectiveness with visitors with impaired sight, hearing, or mobility. They will document and share with other museums the successful methods and techniques used in the exhibition development process is an effort to improve barrier free access in the country's more than 600 science and natural history museums. The museum has completed a preliminary needs assessment with the assistance of handicapped consultants, developed alternative design solutions to problems of limited accessibility and effectiveness for the hall's existing dioramas, and organized a design team that includes senior museum exhibition and education staff and a handicapped scientist and educator as Co-PI. The Massachusetts College of Art's Adaptive Environments Center will provide assistance in design for the handicapped and evaluation will be under the direction of George Hein, head of Lesley College's Program Evaluatlion and Research Group. Following an extensive design and evaluation process, new exhibit units will be constructed as educational adjuncts to the existing hall of dioramas, and the impact of the changes will be assessed, as part of a dissemination plan that will include popular and professional papers and a "how to" work book distributed to science museum exhibit designers with the assistance of the Association of Science Technology Centers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This is a challenging project with the opportunity for a significant impact on handicapped individuals who are often excluded from the motivational and informational resources of science and natural history museums by unnecessary design limitations. The Museum of Science's commitment is strong, the project staff are highly qualified, and there is active participation by handicapped individuals in the project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Larry BellCharles HowarthBetty Davidson
The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History is moving from a long established site to a new 175,000 square foot facility in a rehabilitated downtown railway station. The opening permanent exhibition, "Cincinnati: The Pleistocene Legacy," will comprise 20,000 square feet of natural history exhibits that present in depth the geologic, climatic, and biological phenomena of the Ice Age in Ohio. In addition to large scale, dramatic "walk-through exhibits" and dioramas and substantial use of collections, a large number of interactive exhibit components will illustrate different features of the Pleistocene period. NSF support be concentrated on these interactive components and on work to insure effective handicapped access for the entire exhibit. This highly regarded project will cost $2.8 million, matching NSF funds seven times over. It will generate an annual audience of 875,000 visitors including more than 120,000 school group visitations.