RISES (Re-energize and Invigorate Student Engagement through Science) is a coordinated suite of resources including 42 interactive English and Spanish STEM videos produced by Children's Museum Houston in coordination with the science curriculum department at Houston ISD. The videos are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, and each come with a bilingual Activity Guide and Parent Prompt sheet, which includes guiding questions and other extension activities.
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resourceresearchMuseum and Science Center Exhibits
Re-Living Paleontology conducted usability and comparison studies on immersion and interactivity in augmented reality (AR) and visitors' engagement and understanding of science. Two "Tar AR" experiences were designed and studied.
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Benjamin D. NyeWilliam SwartoutDavid NelsonGale M. SinatraEmily LindseyMolly Porter
The Northwest Passage Project explored the changing Arctic through an innovative expedition aboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden to conduct groundbreaking ocean science research, while it actively engaged 22 undergraduate and graduate students from the project’s five Minority Serving Institution (MSI) partners and 2 early career Inuit researchers in the research at sea. Over 35 hours of training in Arctic research techniques, polar science, and science communication was provided to these participants, who were engaged in the Northwest Passage expedition and worked with the onboard science team
This paper reports about an informal learning experience – Something Very Fishy (SVF) – which is focused on ocean conservation and climate change. Results from 49 elementary school student workbooks indicated that experiencing SVF improved their understanding of ocean conservation, increased their interest in pursuing science careers, but did not affect their actions towards conservation. Survey results from 40 undergraduate students who helped run SVF indicated that the more efficacious they felt about communicating marine science and the more identified they felt with the scientific
Something Very Fishy Musical Theatre STEAM Exhibit is a collaborative project pairing a ocean-themed musical theatre production with a hands-on marine science exhibit in an informal community setting. The program is designed to increase the awareness of ocean conservation issues in children grades K-5. The storyline of the musical follows the lives of Sandy Carson (marine biologist), Mr. Stu Pidder (fishermen) and a cast of marine animal puppets (Sunny, Boss and Octavia) as they navigate one disaster after another in the ocean that comes to impact their lives and livelihoods. The story is told as a bedtime story between two narrators, mother and child, home sick with a fever. As the story unfolds the rising ocean temperatures and rising fever in the child tell the story of our how the health of the ocean is inextricably linked to our own health. The theatrical production ends when the characters hatch a community-based solution to work together to save the ocean by starting an eco-tourism venture. Then the audience members then begin a imaginary eco-tour of the Florida Keys around the performing arts center where they meet artists, fishermen, park rangers, scientists, engineers, and veterinarians working to save our oceans and the marine life within. To assess the impact of our program, the children complete a pre-post survey in the form of a personal meaning map drawing of what it looks like under the ocean along with a STEM, arts, non-STEM career survey including professions they met in the show and on the virtual eco-tour. Children who participate in the program demonstrate a significant increase in understanding how humans both impact and help solve the issues facing the oceans and their connection to our changing climate and show an increased interest in STEM careers related to ocean conservation.
This handout was prepared for the Climate Change Showcase at the 2019 ASTC Conference in Toronto, Ontario. It highlights resources available on InformalScience.org related to the topic of climate change.
AMNH will use NOAA weather satellite data to annotate 72 high definition (HD) video time-series global cloud cover visualizations using thermal infrared brightness temperature data acquired by five geostationary satellites and joined into global mosaics at half-hourly intervals. The HD visualizations will be used in informal and formal education activities and will be made available on the Web. These media pieces will be used for informal education activities at AMNH and 28 other informal science institutions (ISI) around the United States . The target population of visitors to subscribing ISIs is currently ten million and is projected to be over 15 million by the end of the grant. The HD visualizations will be used in formal settings, as well. Fifteen schools throughout New York City with large numbers of new English Language Learners will be targeted and professional development for teachers of ELL students will be provided through programs at AMNH as well. AMNH s effort focuses on weather and climate patterns that will be visible in the cloud-data visualizations. All viewers of the media will learn about general circulation patterns and changes in phase of water associated with the hydrologic cycle.
This project will establish a new spherical display system exhibit. The Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center (Newport, Oregon) will acquire and install a 3 ft. Magic Planet as part of a larger interactive data visualization exhibit. Pacific Northwest regional data sets will complement NOAA global data to serve as a model education program. Specific focus areas include coastal climates, hypoxia/dead zones, algal blooms, and/or aquatic invasive species. The Principle Investigator for this project have unique expertise in K-12 education, teacher professional development, curriculum development and evaluation, particularly in free-choice learning environments.
C-RISE will create a replicable, customizable model for supporting citizen engagement with scientific data and reasoning to increase community resiliency under conditions of sea level rise and storm surge. Working with NOAA partners, we will design, pilot, and deliver interactive digital learning experiences that use the best available NOAA data and tools to engage participants in the interdependence of humans and the environment, the cycles of observation and experiment that advance science knowledge, and predicted changes for sea level and storm frequency. These scientific concepts and principles will be brought to human scale through real-world planning challenges developed with our city and government partners in Portland and South Portland, Maine. Over the course of the project, thousands of citizens from nearby neighborhoods and middle school students from across Maine’s sixteen counties, will engage with scientific data and forecasts specific to Portland Harbor—Maine’s largest seaport and the second largest oil port on the east coast. Interactive learning experiences for both audiences will be delivered through GMRI’s Cohen Center for Interactive Learning—a state-of-the-art exhibit space—in the context of facilitated conversations designed to emphasize how scientific reasoning is an essential tool for addressing real and pressing community and environmental issues. The learning experiences will also be available through a public web portal, giving all area residents access to the data and forecasts. The C-RISE web portal will be available to other coastal communities with guidance for loading locally relevant NOAA data into the learning experience. An accompanying guide will support community leaders and educators to embed the interactive learning experiences effectively into community conversations around resiliency. This project is aligned with NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan 2015-2035 by forwarding environmental literacy and using emerging technologies.
From 2013-2016, Pacific Science Center, implemented the Exploring Earth Systems Sciences (EESS) project with the purpose of developing and delivering scripted demonstrations utilizing the Science On a Sphere (SOS) technology in order to promote understanding of and increase interest in Earth systems sciences. Specifically, the grant allowed the Science Interpretation team to research and write 20-minute presentations, targeted towards visitors aged 11 and older, about nine unique topics such as: climate change, weather, seasons, or the Polar Regions. Staff were then provided training in
A public event series, “Ecohumanities for Cities in Crisis,” will bring humanities scholars and the public together in Miami, FL to discuss the tension between humans and nature over hundreds of years. Miami is on the verge of an environmental crisis from a warming planet and rising seas. As the region grapples with policy and science issues, humanities scholars have a unique role to play. The project will frame humanistic discussion about urban environments, risk, and resilience. The centerpiece is a public forum in March 2016 which includes a plenary of scholars from diverse humanities disciplines, a walking tour, and a panel on diversity and justice in environmental advocacy. There will be five subsequent public programs through the Fall 2016, an on online archive of all events, professional development activities for high school teachers, a graduate public environmental history course, and a curated museum exhibit.