This poster, which was presented at the Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference on October 22, 2017, compares and contrasts evaluation findings across components of the Beyond Spaceship Earth project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The project focuses on educating families and students about life and work aboard the International Space Station and generating interest in STEM topics and careers. Project components reviewed include an exhibit, a space object theater, and workshop-style programs focused on engineering and robotics for both families and school
The Boston Schools Environmental Initiative (BSEI) program worked with several Boston Public schools to foster “hands-on, minds-on” science and environmental awareness. The overall finding from this evaluation, conducted over four academic years, was that the longer a school participated in the BSEI program, the more the culture and operations of the school changed in the direction of the intended BSEI outcomes. BSEI is a program of Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center (BNC), which places a teacher naturalist part time in each school, and provides ongoing professional development and project
As an outreach program, Barb Finkleman of All American Cablevision of Columbus, OH arranged a field trip to the public access video studio in the basement of the Main Branch of the Columbus Public Library system in 1980 so that inner city children could see and meet music video producer Marshall Barnes and view his creation, The Last Communication through an arrangement with Cowtown Records and Videoworks and the Columbus Public Library. The children, all elementary school aged, listened to Marshall explain his work and the role of a video producer, as well as how a studio works. They then viewed The Last Communication, a 30 minute video animated space rock symphony that had been described by some as "Saturday morning cartoons for children on Mars". Of special note, the children were mesmerized and at one point, spontaneously began singing with the music in one section, prompting surprise from both Marshall and Barb but confirming Marshall's suspicions that children will respond to abstract stimulus within certain psychological parameters that can be exhibited aurally and visually. It was the beginning of the concrete data that years later would result in his science of technocogninetics.
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Marshall BarnesAll American CablevisionCowtown Records and VideoworksColumbus Public Library