The Magnet Lab has a strong commitment to education. Through the Center for Integrating Research & Learning, the lab supports educational programming at all academic levels: K-12, technical, undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral. Please explore the links listed to the left to find out more about the depth of our educational resources for the community, for teachers and for students as well as our unique research offerings. Our programs are designed to excite and educate students, teachers and the general public about science, technology and the world around them. All of our programs are developed in close collaboration with research scientists and educators. Housed at and partly funded by the MagLab, the Center is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the excellent resources, connections, world-class facilities and cutting-edge science the lab has to offer. We also receive generous support from the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida. The Center maintains a rigorous research agenda designed to investigate how Center programs and materials affect teachers and students. Our Mission Statement is to expand scientific literacy and to encourage interest in and the pursuit of scientific studies among educators and students of all ages through connections between the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the National Science Foundation, the community of Tallahassee, the State of Florida and the nation.
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) is implementing a new, 41-month phase and augmentation of a national public service advertising campaign that was launched in 1995. The Math is Power campaign was developed by NACME in partnership with The Advertising Council toward the goal of creating an increase in the number of students who graduate from high school with prerequisite courses to enroll in any rigorous, math- or science-based undergraduate program. The current project is designed to reach all students but is especially targeted to groups currently underrepresented in math and science and will be anchored by highly directed television, radio, print, and outdoor advertising. The new phase will introduce a Math is Power interactive web site. The website will allow NACME to add direct services to the information packets that are sent to students and parents who respond to the public service advertising. It will include: content relevant, age appropriate math challenges, games, problems, and contests; a national registry of math opportunities where students, parents, and teachers can find mathematics resources; an on-line special events chat room; and a best practices bulletin board. NACME will coordinate their outreach efforts with services such as the Community Technology Center Network (CTCnet) in order to facilitate web access for youth and parents in disadvantaged neighborhoods. They also will work directly with 25 cities with the greatest numbers of citizens who fall in the target population. Math and Science education services in these cities will be able to localize much of the material through such means as placing a local tag on the television ads. In addition, the NACME production and distribution capabilities will be substantially expanded to meet the tremendous demand for Math Is Power materials.
Miami University, in conjunction with the National Science Teachers Association, is producing an inquiry-driven science program for use in informal settings. A key component of the program will an Internet component with a web page that complements and supports the existing Dragonfly magazine and the Dragonfly pilot television program that is being produced under a separate grant. The web page follows the same themes as the magazine and provides scientific information, an educational interactive experience, a sidebar of interesting information about topics, and advice about how users can investigate themes further themselves off-line. Other Dragonfly Quest components will include a leader's guide for educators in informal settings, and educator's companion, a Dragonfly Pocket Field Book with challenges to engage youth in investigations in the field, and Dragonfly badges, certificates, and notebooks. Dragonfly Quest clubs will be established at 200 Boys & Girls Clubs (B&GC) of America chapters nationwide. The B&GC are making a major effort to see that their chapters having computer and Internet capabilities available to the participants. Currently, approximately 40% of the 2000 chapters are linked to the Internet. The chapters with computers selected for this project each will all have at least four computers for youth - all capable of running browser software at the level Netscape 3.0. Assessment of the effectiveness of the project will be carried out at all 200 clubs. The evaluation will be conducted at 160 clubs with Internet access and 40 clubs without Internet access to evaluate the added-value component of the web pages relative to the other elements of the Dragonfly Quest package.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christopher MyersPhyllis MarcuccioR. Hays CumminsChris WolfeCarolyn Haynes
The Science Museum of Minnesota, in collaboration with Discovery Place and Science North, is producing a pilot stage for a large format film on the life work of Dr. Jane Goodall; her principal research site, Gombe National park in Tanzania; and her study subject, chimpanzees. The film will be a journey into the world of the wild chimpanzee with Dr. Jane Goodall, the best know living woman scientist among adults in the United States. It will chronicle Goodall's life work as well as the work of other researchers in Gombe. Accompanying educational material will include a companion kiosk exhibit, a leadership institute for museum educators, an online program, and women-in-science classes for children and parents. During this pilot stage, the project team will produce large format test footage in Gombe and will further develop the script for the film. The principal science advisor for the project will be Dr. Anne Pusey, professor and director of the Jane Goodall Institute's Center for Primate Studies at the University of Minnesota. She will serve as a Co-PI along with Mike Day of the Science Museum of Minnesota; Freda Nicholson, CEO of Discovery Place; and Sue Griswold, VP for Programs and Education at Discovery Place. Mike Day also will co-executive produce the film with Jim Marchbank, CEO of Science North.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mike DaySue GriswoldAnne PuseyFreda NicholsonBarbara Flagg
This materials development project is the result of a joint effort by Miami University and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). The project will combine the resources of the Univeristy and the publication department of NSTA, to work with schools to produce an innovative science journal for children in grades 3-6, a teacher support manual, a parent support manual, and a supporting computer network that will connect children with scientists and university science students in scientific inquiry. The journal will be the first national journal devoted to research scientists and children with an outlet for publication of scientific investigations conducted by children. Given the strong record of accomplishment of the PI and the publications division of the National Science Teachers Association, the panel feel it is likely that the Dragonfly, Dragonfly Companions. the Dragonfly Net will be a quality product and recommends funding this project at a high priority level. The Program Officer agrees with the panel and recommends funding this proposal.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christopher MyersPhyllis MarcuccioR. Hays CumminsChris WolfeCarolyn Haynes
The Education Development Center, Incorporated, requests $2,081,018 to create informal learning opportunities in science, mathematics, engineering and technology utilizing the study of the ancient African civilization of Nubia as context. Educational activities and resources will be developed based on the extensive ongoing archeological research on historical Nubia. The two main components of the project are a traveling exhibit with related educational materials and a website that will provide the target audience an opportunity to access extensive on-line resources and activities. The project will provide community outreach and professional development for educators in museums, community groups, schools and libraries. The project is designed for thirty-six months' duration. In year one, a network of collaborators in the Boston area will focus on research and development; in year two, project materials will be piloted and evaluated in six cities, and on-line professional development programs will be conducted; and in year three, project materials will be disseminated directly to 60 sites and more broadly via the internet.
Blackside, Inc. is producing a television series and an outreach component about minority scientists. The goals of the six-hour prime-time series, "Breakthrough: People of Color in Science," are to raise the consciousness of the general public that is largely unaware of the significant contribution of scientists of color and to provide role models that will encourage young people to consider science and engineering careers. The programs will feature the work of contemporary African-American, Latino and Native American scientists and engineers who are active in cell biology, astrophysics, applied mathematics and other fields of science. The stories of their scientific achievements will present both women and men, old and young, at different stages of their careers, and will explore the professional, educational and social worlds they live and work in. Viewers will have immediate access to a comprehensive follow-up effort that will connect them with local, regional and national opportunities in informal science education. Blackside will collect information from existing resources and institutions as well using source material from several extensively researched databases geared toward minority students. Using all of this information, Blackside will create a metadatabase that will connect teachers, parents, mentors, and students to a rich variety of educational programs: extracurricular classes, mentoring programs, national science contests, teacher training workshops, and a myriad of on-line services. To ensure immediate access and, where possible, to customize the information to viewers needs, Blackside will disseminate it through a variety of means: an 800-number with a direct fax-back capability, an on-line service, a CD-ROM, and a printed packet delivered by mail. A principal target audience is gatekeepers in students' lives: parents, teachers, and scientists interested in becoming mentors. The target audience also includes students from fourth th rough twelfth grades. Joseph Blatt will serve a PI for this project and co-executive producer for the television series. His previous experience include serving as executive producer of "Scientific American FRONTIERS" and as a producer/director for several NOVA programs. He also has been executive producer for three television series/college credit courses in mathematics. Henry Hampton will be the other co-executive producer. He was the creator and executive producer of the 14-hour, award winning series, "Eyes on the Prize," about America's civil rights movement. The principal educational consultant will be Ceasar McDowell, assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Michael Ambrosino, the original executive producer of NOVA, will be the principal science television consultant.
The Museum of Science and Industry will develop "Genetics: Decoding Life," a 4325 sq. ft. permanent exhibit about the basic principles of genetics, the Human Genome Project, new tools and technology to study life, and the biomedical and biotech applications resulting from genetic information. As a result of interacting with this exhibit, visitors will understand the basic principles of genetics, they will become familiar with the role of genes in the development of life, they will learn something about how and why scientists used genetic tools, and visitors will become aware of applications of these principles and the potential social, ethical, medical and economic outcomes. In addition to the exhibit there will be a number of complementary outreach programs. An electronic web site will be created, software used in the exhibit will be modified into a format suitable for use in schools, computers loaded with genetic programs will be loaned to Chicago public school groups, churches and other community agencies, and the content of the exhibit will be used to enhance special Lamaze and prenatal classes held at the museum. Special consideration will be given to developing the relationship between the project personnel and the staff of the Chicago Systemic Initiative. They will work together to produce a school program about genetics that will be suitable for grades 5 to 8. School materials will include a teacher's guide for the exhibit, a program of classroom activities, and materials to be used before and after a trip to the museum to see the exhibit.
WGBH Educational Foundation is producing Season I of Zoom, a daily half-hour television series for children aged 8 to 11. Zoom, which is based on the highly successful 1970's series of the same name, features a cast of seven children who engage in activities and examine ideas submitted by youth who watch the show. The new Zoom will have an enhanced educational concentration, an emphasis on science and math activities and projects, and a comprehensive outreach campaign. A major focus of the series will be to develop "Habits of Mind" which promote the capacity to think about the same ideas and evidence in multiple ways; collect, organize, and recognize patterns in data; identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations; and develop skills of estimation, judgment, and data literacy. Season I will have three over-arching science and math-based themes: Structures, Things That Go, and Living Things. Each program will include two or three science and math segments, as well as encouragement to try these activities at home. From time to time, the cast will provide a "challenge" for viewers by asking them to conduct an activity as home and send in their results for presentation on a later show. Field-produced segments will feature children engaged in science or math projects that they have found particularly fascinating and have done on their own. The series also will revisit projects or "challenges" over the course of a season to demonstrate that science is an on-going, evolving endeavor and that new information may change old assumptions. Zoom outreach activities will include a Zoom science guide for educators, a World Wide Web Site, museum Zoom rooms, community partnerships with three national organizations that work with underserved children. In addition, every viewer who writes, calls an 800 number, or sends an e-mail will receive a free four-page newsletter with directions needed to complete activities from the series and to tackle challenge s that the cast issues to the audience. Kate Taylor will be Executive Producer for the project. She has been co-executive producer for Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and for Degrassi Junior High. The Science and Math Director will be Candace Julyan, Senior Project Director at TERC. The Director of Outreach will be Beth Kirsch who oversees the development and implementation of national outreach campaigns for WGBH. The staff will work closely with a group of consultants and advisors with expertise in such areas as science and mathematics, informal science, outreach, and evaluation.
The project conducts action research to learn more about how different groups use technology in meaningful ways, develops approaches that significantly increase access for underrepresented groups, and proposes ways in which technology might be modified or redesigned to engage, address, and represent diverse populations. The project targets children and young people from groups underrepresented with technology, informal and formal educators, community groups and organizations, researchers, policymakers and funders, industry, and the public. Products include: a report on the state of access of underrepresented groups to technology; case studies; guides to increasing community access to technology; guidelines about how to be critical viewers, users, and makers of technology; report on the issues involved in producing diverse and equitable technology design; exemplars and ideas for diversifying technology design; suggestions for software publishers and industry; commissioned papers on issues of access and design for particular underrepresented groups; an agenda for action; and interactive World Wide Web site; and a popular press book that synthesizes the knowledge gained through this project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
ellen wahlYolanda GeorgeEric JollyLaura JeffersAndres Henriquez
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will develop Lost Civilizations of the Tarim Basin. This will be a 6000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit that will introduce visitors to the extraordinary archaeological discoveries that have recently been made in the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Due to the arid desert conditions the preservation of sites, artifacts, and human remains is exceptional and the artifacts represent some of the oldest extant items made of perishable materials (wood, paper, silk, and leather.) What has intrigued scientists about these remains is the fact they are Indo-Europeans. These remains have challenged the scholarly world by adding fuel to an already heated debate considering the origins and development of the Indo-European peoples who inhabited the Eurasian landmass for thousands of years. Who were these people, where did they come from, and what was their role in the early development of East/West cultural contact? Not only will visitors be able to see the artifacts and learn about the culture of this extinct group, but they will also learn how archaeologists and collaborating specialists work to unravel the mysteries posed by these remains. The exhibit will be complemented by resources for formal education programs. NHM will develop 1) an on-line presentation that will include "virtual" elements of the archaeology sites and materials, 2) teacher enhancement activities, 3) curriculum materials for older elementary and secondary students, and a menu of non-formal lectures, classes, and a symposium. The museum will also produce a comprehensive, fully illustrated catalogue in both printed and digital formats. The exhibit will have five venues. It is expected to reach between 150,000 and 300,000 people at each venue.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
James OlsonAdam KesslerVincent BeggsDolkun Kamberi
Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET, NY) is developing a multi-media environmental education project for youth aged 8 to 12. Wild World focuses on American children's everyday urban and suburban surroundings - city streets, parks, backyards, vacant lots, the woods, and similar environments easily and often accessible to the audience. The project will educate young people about environmental and natural science topics and issues in an entertaining, engaging way, and will encourage them to become more aware of their immediate environment. Important goals are to showcase people who are passionate about their work with, and in, natural surroundings, and to show that our world is intriguing and well worth investigating. The science content will reflect the recommendations of the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Major components of the project include: * A thirteen part series of half-hour television programs entitled Wild TV -- this exciting and occasionally irreverent series is designed to attract viewers indifferent to traditional nature documentary program. The format is also intended to appeal to young people with little pre-disposition to science or nature. * Wild Comix -- a comic book-styled educational print piece for young people that includes activities that kids can try at home, puzzles, and other thought-provoking exercises. * Wild Web -- a World Wide Web site featuring an interactive version of the comic book, activities and puzzles, a chat room, a bulletin board, and links to environmental groups. * A Home and Extracurricular Settings: Activity Guide - intended for parents and informal educators, the guide will include: enriching nature appreciation for the entire family; improving the learning relationship between children and their parents; and activities/directions for parents that are not prohibitive with regard to area, income, and adults' educational background. * Classroom materia ls - a 12-page guide designed as an introductory resource for classroom teachers who want to incorporate environmental science activities into their teaching.