The New York Hall of Science requests $829,312 over four years to develop and circulate a traveling version of "Hidden Kindoms - The World of York Hall of Science in April, 1991. The traveling version will consist of: an introductory panel; 16 Easy-View microscopes exhibiting living microbes; units dealing with size, scale and magnification; two interactive computer programs entitled "Understanding AIDS" and "How Your Body Fights Disease"; a video microscope for the Microscopic Life demonstration; units on virusesand bacteria; a mosaic of color transparencies of different microorganisms; one Optech (BYOB) interactive video microscope; three zoetropes illustrating mcrobial movement; and a mini-laboratory room containing all the equipment and materials necessary for maintaining the exhibit and presenting the MICROLAB workshops to students and teachers. The 1,500 square foot exhibit will travel to nine sites over three years. The new York Hall of Science will provide on-site training in estasblishing and maintaining the exhibit, a weekly shipment of microrganisms and supporting materials, an exhibit catalog, an 11-minute video featuring living microbes, pre- and post- visit materisla for schools with suggested activities , and programs for student and teacher workshops. A novel feature of this traveling exhibition will be the opportunity for the host museum to retain, on a cost-share basis, the mini- laboratory with its equipment and four Easy-View microscopes which can become the core of a microbiology program. Biology, Microbiology; Informal Science Education; Elementary, Middle and High School
NOVA'S CENTURY OF DISCOVERY is a series of five prime-time documentary specials to be shown nationally over the Public Broadcasting Service(PBS) during late 1997 or early 1998. Altogether the programs will tell a sweeping story, celebrating the end of a remarkable century of discovery when science advance further than in all previous centuries combined, and when every scientific discipline underwent a revolution. Yet the closing of the 20th century coincides with an ever-widening gap between what scientists know and what most of the public comprehends. To increase public understanding of science, scientists, and scientific methods, the series will provide a dramatic retelling and interpretation of the century's most enduring scientific endeavors. Each two-hour program will probe several related fields of investigation and application: views of the universe and of matter; origins of the planet and of life; health, medicine, and the human body; human nature and behavior; and technology and engineering. A marriage of scholarship and entertainment, NOVA'S CENTURY OF DISCOVERY will be created using all the tools at the command of its award winning production team including archival footage and stills; personal accounts; letters, dairies, and other primary sources; computer animation; and even dramatic re-creations. Indeed, the series will not only make a unique contribution to the public and historical record, but also offer viewers an unprecedented opportunity to view 100 years of scientific pursuits as a unified whole, to recast their perceptions of science and scientists, and to be intrigued, even inspired, by a view of science as a never-ending and very human quest for answers and solutions. A special outreach and promotion campaign will increase audience awareness of the series, particularly among nontraditional PBS viewers. In addition, carefully developed teaching and learning materials will extend the series' reach into formal and informal educational settings, including high school and college classrooms, and community and youth-serving organizations.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Paula ApsellTom FriedmanJon Palfreman
Public Television station WQED/Pittsburgh, in partnership with five medical research and clinical centers, proposes to develop, test and distribute a national biomedical video education program based on "The Universe Within," a planned PBS series. The project is intended to bring scientists and clinicians into closer contact with pre-college students to study human body systems and increase career interest in the life sciences. Designed to improve science education and literacy, the project will also enhance overall appreciation of achievements in biomedicine. Using advanced television, photographic and animation techniques, the project will create a collection of educational tools for use by science and health teachers as well as by scientific investigators and clinicians. These modules will demonstrate how most of the body's primary systems function and how they can be kept healthy. The approach will combine visual and print curriculum materials with the personal presence of medical scientists, thus providing an opportunity for students to develop interest, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This flexible educational package can be updated as important new changes occur in medical science, thus extending the life of costly materials. In addition, through multiple narration tracks, the video elements can be customized for various levels of age and grade instruction.
The New York Hall of Science, working with the Association of Science-Technology Centers Traveling Exhibition Service proposes to develop, test and nationally tour a 500 square foot hands-on exhibition and associated education materials for use by students, teachers, and families on AIDS and the human immune system. The program will be targeted at grades 6 - 12 and their families. It will be developed in year one and then toured in years two and three. One copy of the exhibition will be presented at the New York Hall of Science for the highly AIDS impacted metropolitan area. The other copy of the exhibition will tour to 10 museums nationally. Annual training for the touring sites will ensure that the exhibition and materials can be effectively utilized in conjunction with existing education and science career programs in each city. It is stated that the exhibition and education materials will improve the public understanding of contemporary science and medicine by communicating one essential component of twentieth century biology seldom presented to the public: the fundamentals of microbiology underlying the much-discussed AIDS epidemic. Learning objectives designed for age appropriateness include: (1) to understand the nature of HIV and the difference between testing positive for HIV antibodies and having AIDS; (2) to understand the operation of healthy and infected immune systems; (3) to understand what behaviors result in the spread of HIV and (4) to understand how people can prevent infection. In order to ensure effectiveness in meeting these goals, an independent evaluator will be employed in year one to evaluate each stage of the exhibition in formation and, then, in year two to produce summative evaluation for dissemination to the health and museum education fields.