Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears project employs a variety of informal learning experiences to present the physics of sound and the new science of soundscape ecology. The interdisciplinary science of soundscape ecology analyzes sounds over time in different ecosystems around the world. The major components of the Global Soundscapes project are an educator-led interactive giant-screen theater show, group activities, and websites. All components are designed with both sighted and visually impaired students in mind. Multimedia
The idea to link European citizenship and science education is surely new and uncommon in Poland, but we think, as SEDEC project, that can enrich both the panorama of science popularization outside and inside school system. I checked carefully curricula for every stage of school education looking for the topics concerning the developing of the European citizenship. I found that they are usually connected to the history, geography and some activities developing of the knowledge about generally defined citizenship. The spare topics connected directly to the science are present especially in
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center has just started working on WILD BLUE: Using Fulldome Technology to Illustrate Aeronautics Principles, targeting school audiences from grades 3-8 as part NASA's CP4SMP+ program. Morehead will partner with NASA Langley Research Center as content advisors and Sky-Skan, Inc as content distributors. WILD BLUE's primary goal is to strengthen STEM education in the United States. WILD BLUE plans national distribution of a NASA-inspired media portfolio that supports formal and informal STEM education. The media portfolio targets grades 3-8, addresses National Science Education Standards, and includes two key deliverables: (1) a fulldome planetarium show that showcases aeronautics history and concepts, NASA's role in aeronautics research and related STEM careers (2) web-based curriculum materials that integrate current NASA curriculum materials, including Museum in a Box and Summer of Innovation activities. All WILD BLUE deliverables include NASA content -- the history, primary research and future plans of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD); imagery illustrating aeronautics concepts; information about STEM careers with NASA; and commentary from ARMD personnel. This four-year project ensures scientific accuracy, educational value and engaging presentation through an advisory board and an external evaluation process. WILD BLUE expects outcomes that include advancing NASA Strategic Goal 6 (participation, innovation, contribution) and NASA Education Goals, facilitating knowledge of NASA's role in aeronautics research, and expanding participation by underserved students in formal and informal science education.
Curious Scientific Investigators (CSI): Flight Adventures immerses children and families in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. Launched in February 2012, the project supports NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD), focusing on “innovative ideas to convey the fundamentals of flight, flight technology, and NASA’s role in aeronautics.” The project’s audience includes youth ages 6-18 and the Museum’s more than 1 million annual visitors of all ages. The project’s lead agency, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (Museum), developed and implemented the project in Indianapolis in partnership with the Academy of Model Aeronautics and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The project’s goals focus on inspiring children and families to develop an interest in STEM concepts and learn about NASA’s role in science and aeronautics research and the evolution of flight, and on engaging and educating them through inquiry-based programs that facilitate understanding of STEM concepts and knowledge and NASA’s contributions to flight. Centered on an original Multimedia Planetarium Show on flight, Flight Adventures, the Museum designed several components, all of which complement the show and the messages it conveys. Among these components are an exhibit area composed of a movable wind tunnel, a display of models, low- and high-tech interactives; a Unit of Study; a TV show, Wings Over Indiana; a website; and a variety of educational and family programs.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jennifer Pace-RobinsonGordon Schimmel
The Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears Project uses the new science of soundscape ecology to design a variety of informal science learning experiences that engage participants through acoustic discovery Soundscape ecology is an interdisciplinary science that studies how humans relate to place through sound and how humans influence the environment through the alteration of natural sound composition. The project includes: (1) an interface to the NSF-funded Global Sustainable Soundscapes Network, which includes 12 universities around the world; (2) sound-based learning experiences targeting middle-school students (grades 5-8), visually impaired and urban students, and the general public; and (3) professional development for informal science educators. Project educational components include: the first interactive, sound-based digital theater experience; hands-on Your Ecosystem Listening Labs (YELLS), a 1-2 day program for school classes and out-of school groups; a soundscape database that will assist researchers in developing a soundscape Big Database; and iListen, a virtual online portal for learning and discovery about soundscape. The project team includes Purdue-based researchers involved in soundscape and other ecological research; Foxfire Interactive, an award-winning educational media company; science museum partners with digital theaters; the National Audubon Society and its national network of field stations; the Perkins School for the Blind; and Multimedia Research (as the external evaluator).
This planning grant is designed to engage urban and rural families in science learning while piloting curriculum development and implementation that incorporates both Native and Western epistemologies. Physical, earth, and space science content is juxtaposed with indigenous culture, stories, language and epistemology in after-school programs and teacher training. Project partners include the Dakota Science Center, Fort Berthold Community College, and Sitting Bull College. The Native American tribes represented in this initiative involve partnerships between the Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara. The primary project deliverables include a culturally responsive Beyond Earth Moon Module, teacher training workshops, and a project website. The curriculum module introduces students to the moon's appearance, phases, and positions in the sky using the Night Sky Planetarium Experience Station during programs at the Boys and Girls Club (Ft. Berthold Community College), Night Lights Afterschool program (Sitting Bull Community College), and Valley Middle School (UND and Dakota Science Center). Students also explore core concepts underlying the moon's phases and eclipses using the interactive Nature Experience Station before engaging in the culminating Mission Challenge activity in which they apply their knowledge to problem solving situations and projects. Fifteen pre-service and in-service teachers participate in professional development workshops, while approximately 300 urban and rural Native youth and family members participate in community programs. A mixed-methods evaluation examines the impact of Western and Native science on the learning of youth and families and their understanding of core concepts of science in a culturally responsive environment. The formative evaluation addresses collaboration, development, and implementation of the project using surveys and interviews to document participant progress and obtain input. The summative evaluation examines learning outcomes and partnerships through interviews and observations. Presentations at national conferences, journal publications, and outreach to teachers in the North Dakota Public School System are elements of the project's comprehensive dissemination plan. The project findings may reveal impacts on participants' interest and understanding of connections between Native and Western science, while also assessing the potential for model replication in similar locales around the country.