WGBH will develop, produce, and distribute Wonders of the Modern World, a project that examines the science and technology behind the building of five international landmarks -- the Golden Gate Bridge, the Aswan Dam, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Toronto Skydome, and the English Channel Tunnel connecting Great Britain and France. Wonders of the Modern World is an integrated, synergistic project that combines a nationally-broadcast, prime time television series with print, interactive components, and on-line products for home and school. The goals of the project are to educate the public about concepts in physical science, technology, and engineering and to engage youth and adults in a diverse range of science and technology activities using various media ranging from on-line telecommunications to print. The specific components of the project include: o A prime time PBS television series consisting of five one-hour programs that will be hosted by David Macaulay, author of numerous popular books on technology such as How Things Work, Cathedral, Castle, and Pyramid, o A World Wide Web site where users can conduct interactive science and technology activities, o Print guides to help with on-line activities, o Family-oriented video vignettes with experiments in structural design, o Activity kits that include the materials needed for conducting family-based science experiments, o Curriculum-based school videos, o Student/teacher guides that will help interpret the series for classroom use, and o A CD-ROM. WGBH has formed alliances with four national organizations that will undertake a major effort to engage members of underserved and low-income communities in the series and the ancillary activities. These organizations are The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Community Technology Centers Network, The Public Library Association, and The American Architectural Foundation. The PI and Project Director will be Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOV A and Head of the WGBH Science Unit. Larry Klein, Head of Production Group, Inc., will be the Series Executive Producer and Co-PI. Beth Kirsch of WGBH will serve as Director of Educational Print and Outreach, and Mark Olshaker will be series editor and scriptwriter. Ted Sicker, Executive Producer for Interactive Projects/New Media at WGBH Educational Foundation will direct the development and deployment of the on-line components of the project. Barbara Flagg will conduct formative evaluation and Irene Goodman will conduct summative evaluation.
KCTS, the public broadcasting station in Seattle, WA, is producing and distributing15 new half-hour episodes for the children's television series, Bill Nye the Science Guy. Topics being considered for these programs include: Caves Jungles Animal Behavior Entropy Home Demo Lakes and Ponds Felines Convection Smell and Taste Life Cycles Minerals Adhesives Atoms and Molecules Organs Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors The project also will include outreach to viewers, teachers, and parents by providing the following materials: A teachers kit to be distributed to 150,000 fourth-grade teachers nationwide Fifty thousand free copies of a printed parents' guide and 15-minuted video distributed through an off-air off and community partner groups Meet a Way Cool Scientist national print contest in which children will be invited to write and illustrate a profile of a scientist in their community Nye Labs Online, a Web site with series information, science topics, hands-on experiments, and an e-mail connection to Bill Nye and the production team Conference Presentations and workshops about the project's approach to science education for PBS stations, teacher groups, and the three partnering organizations, Girls Incorporated, the National Urban League, and the National Conference of La Raza Rockman Et Al will conduct a summative evaluation to extend the understanding of the show's impact on children's attitudes toward and understanding of science. It also will examine the size and composition of the in-school audience, and will assess the use and value of the outreach materials.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth BrockJames McKennaErren GottliebWilliam Nye
MacGillivray Freeman Films, in collaboration with Texas A&M University's Marine Mammal Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, ASPIRA Association, Inc, and Media Education Consultants, is producing a 40 minute, large format film on wild dolphins. The film will feature the research being done by two scientists: Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski, a young marine scientist investigating dolphin communication and social systems, and Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez, a young Hispanic Ph.D. researching dolphin behavior and ecology. The film will inform the audiences about the methods, tools and significance of dolphin research and immerse them in on-going scientific investigations of wild dolphins in their natural habitat. The film will be supported by teacher's guides, a Science Career Exploration Unit for Hispanic youth distributed through ASPIRA, a School Trip Package for distribution to 11,000 teachers, and a Museum Educator Kit. The project also will provide theaters with 2,000 free passes for minority and low-income outreach programs. Greg MacGillivray, President of MacGillivray Freeman Films will be Executive Producer/Co-Producer/Co-Director/Co-Director of Photography. The other Co-Producer will be Alec Lorimore, Vice President for Film Production and Development at MacGillivray Freeman Films. The Co-Director/Co-Director of Photography will be Bob Talbot, an independent marine photographer. Dr. Bernd Wursig, Professor of Marine Mammalogy, Director of the Marine Mammal research Program, and Co-Director of the Institute of Marine Life Science at Texas A&M University will serve as the chief content advisor. Other science advisors include Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez, Kathleen Dudzinski, Randy Wells, Peter Tyack, and the staff scientists from the Mote Marine Laboratory. Informal science education and outreach advisors include Raylene Decatur, David Ellis, Freda Nicholson, Simone Bloom-Nathan, and Hilda Crespo. Project evaluation will be conducted by Barbara Flagg.
KCTS is producing Sci-Squad, a national weekly science education television series for children ages 8 to 10. The thirteen half-hour programs in the series will show a team of kids, the Sci-Squad, who use inquire and collaboration to seek the solution to a science problem. The team is led by Howzit, a young woman computer whiz. Working cooperatively the team investigates each scientific subject through a combination of first-hand experimentation, Internet surfing, field research, and visits to real-world scientists. Each of the characters models a different mode of science inquiry in search to a question the team receives at the beginning of each program. Youth who view the programs will be encouraged to follow along with the Sci-Squad and will be challenged to observe, measure, think critically, analyze results, and devise further experiments. Outreach materials to support science activities by viewers include an Explorer's Guide for youth, a Parents Guide, and a Guide for Teachers. There also will be collaborations with science and youth serving organizations such as Boys & Girls Club of America, Family Math, GEMS, Science Linkages in the Community, the National Science Teachers Association, the National PTA, and, for the Hispanic population, ASPIRA and the National Council of La Raza. Bill Jersey, President of Quest Productions, will be the Senior Producer, Director, and Co-Project Director. The creator of the project and Co-Project Director is Pierre Valette, a producer and writer of documentaries for Quest Productions and previously an Associate Producer in Children's Programming at WGBH. Elizabeth Brock will be the Executive-in-Charge of Production for KCTS. The Senior Science Consultant is Ted Ansbacher who previously was Director of Exhibits at the New York Hall of Science and Director of Education/Senior Scientist at The Chicago Museum of Science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bill JerseyPierre ValetteElizabeth BrockJeff GentesBarbara Flagg
The AAAS is developing and testing a pilot phase of an on-line website science club for youth. Kinetic City Cyberclub will engage youth in episodic adventures to promote both group and independent exploration. Users will receive carefully crafted, paced challenges as they wind their way through a mystery or other related activity. The adventures will be presented over time in a series of episodes that require users to use science toward solving an on-going mystery or problem. Components of the on-line club will include: Story Pods which set up the problem and inform users of what has been learned to date; Clue Pods which include information and activities that users can add to their individual electronic notebooks; Experiment Pods where users will be able to try out different theories to solve immediate problems; Discussion Pods where questions will be posed to which users are encourage to respond; and a Voting Pods where users get to vote on the next direction the science exploration should take or on possible solutions to problems. Components of the web page will be updated on a regular basis with most of the content being changed weekly and, in some instances, daily. The PI will be Robert Hirshon of the AAAS who has been the key developer of The Kinetic City Super Crew, the radio series on which the Kinetic City Cyberclub is based. The Senior Producer responsible for developing and maintaining the website will be Kimberly Amaral. Ms. Amaral previously been a writer/web developer for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Coastal Research Center and Sea Grant and she has worked as a researcher/writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy. Dissemination and outreach will be a joint effort of the AAAS and the National Science Teachers Association. Evaluation will be conducted by Arthur C. Johnson, an independent evaluator and instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
The Science Museum of Minnesota is developing, producing, and distributing a project on the geography of some of the most dynamic regions of the world. This is a joint venture between the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with additional support from the St. Louis Science Center. The core element of the project is a 40-minute Imax film the examines seven geographically diverse locations on earth: Madagascar Iguazu Falls The Amazon Greenland The Okavango Delta The Namib Desert The Tibetan Plateau Supporting material for the film will include: o Teacher Guide - 36 to 40 pages of hands-on science activities o Family Guide - to help parents share science and geography with children through simple, at-home activities; geography o Geography Museum Trunk - a steamer trunk filled with artifacts, specimens, activities, and resource materials available for rental to school, museums, and other groups o Greatest Places On-Line - A World Wide Web site with activities for youth and adults to explore the interrelationships of earth, air, water, and life in their local region and a "living atlas" as a forum for comparing and sharing observations with others around the world. o Summer Educator Institutes - where formal and informal educators will receive intensive training in utilizing all aspects of the project with multiple audiences. o Accessibility Guide - which outlines programs and options to provide no- or low-cost viewing for underrepresented audiences. The project will be guided by Geography for Life: The National Geography Standards and Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Science. Dr. Mel Marcus, Professor of Geography at Arizona State University, will have primary responsibility for content. He will work closely with an advisory group of geographers, ecologists, and formal and informal educators. The PI and Executive Producer of the film will be Mike Day, Director and Executi ve Producer of the Science Museum of Minnesota Omnitheater and Executive Producer of seven previous Imax films.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mike DayNatalie RuskCharlie WatersMelvin MarcusBarbara Flagg
NACME will produce a three year public service advertising campaign designed to shape the educational choices children make in junior high and high school with respect to mathematics and science. The ads, featuring actor/director Spike Lee, will aim to increase the number of children in grades three through eight who understand the relevance and value of mathematics and science to life in the adult world. The campaign also will be directed towards parents with the goal of helping them recognize the importance of learning mathematics and science to their children's future. The components of the project will be: For each of the three years of the project, development and distribution of one 60, one 30, and one 10 second television spot; For each of the three years of the project, development and distribution of three 60, three 30, and three 10 second radio spots; Annual development of print ads and marketing materials to be delivered to selected consumer magazines, educator's publications, in-school magazines, newspaper "kid pages," comic book companies, and bus shelter and transit card carriers; Annual development and distribution of 100,000 full-color student brochures to reinforce the concepts outlined in the campaign; Annual development and distribution of 100,000 brochures for parents to engage them in their children's science and mathematics education; Establishment of a toll-free 800 number for students to call to request information. Each caller will be sent both the student and the parent brochure; Development of promotional materials including buttons, games, science experiments, math puzzles, T-shirts, etc.; Annual public relations campaigns including press conferences, media tours, in-school demonstrations, and personal appearances; Annual evaluation of the project including monthly reports of fulfillment of requests received via the 800 number. Development, production, and distribution of the campaign will be the responsibility of a task force consisting of: Ronni Denes, NACME's vice president for communications and public affairs; George Campbell Jr., President of NACME; Lea E. Williams, executive vice President of NACME and formerly served as vice president, educational services, of the United Negro College Fund; Catherine Morrison, director of research; and Ismael Diaz, director of precollege programs. The ad agency for the NACME/Ad Council campaign is Tracy-Locke. Rob Britton, manager of Advertising and Direct Marketing for American Airlines will serve as campaign director.
This project creates and implements a national parent engagement and education campaign. It provides a framework for all parents to explore existing and alternative forms of assessment within the context of changes in current classroom math curriculum and practices. The campaign also provides a mechanism for enhancing communication between teachers, schools and parents in order to ensure support for math strategies and practices by all members of learning communities nationwide. Project products include: * A thirty-minute documentary on mathematics reform and assessment, to be broadcast by public television stations, that will also include a viewer's guide and local publicity materials. * A Community Education Kit containing a Leader's Guide, Parent's Handbook, and short videotapes. Project materials and activities are designed for parents of elementary-age children, with a specific emphasis for materials on grades 3-5.
This evaluation instrument was developed for Exploring Physics, an extra curricular program for 5-7 grade students, with a focus on female students. It is part of an NSF funded program entitled Promoting Young Women in the Physical Sciences.
WGBH will develop, produce, and distribute a comprehensive project that will review science of the twentieth century. The major components of the project will be a series of five, two-hour, prime time documentary programs for PBS, an outreach campaign to involve the public through informal and formal science education institutions and organizations, material for use in formal classrooms, and a science museum component. The focus of the series will be to review the science of the twentieth century by telling the dramatic story of the struggle to understand ourselves and our world over the past 100 years -- a time when science advanced further than in previous eras combined and when scientific discipline underwent a revolution. However, because at the close of the century there is an ever-widening gap between what scientists know and what most of the public comprehends, the series will explore the century's most enduring scientific endeavors with each two-hour program probing several related fields of investigation and application: views of the universe and of matter; origins of the Earth and of life; health, medicine, and the human body; human nature and behavior; and technology and engineering. It will offer viewers an opportunity to view 100 years of scientific pursuits as a whole, to recast their perceptions of science and scientists, and to be intrigued and inspired by a view of science as a never-ending and deeply human quest for answers and solutions. The outreach component of the project include: Video-based Components - videocassettes of the series, video modules selected for classroom use, level one videodiscs, and a prototype for a CD-ROM for home learning. A Discovery Challenge Activity - a national campaign targeted primarily for girls and boys 11-14 years of age. The two-phase activities will be offered through middle school science and social studies classes; through youth groups such as Girls Inc., Family Science Programs, 4-H, and Girls and Boys Clubs; at museums and science centers; and through other informal education outlets. Activities will be designed so they can be undertaken by youth with a wide range of interests, learning styles, and skills. Print Components - teacher's guide, video module activity guide, videodisc guide, poster, and a companion trade book. On-line Component - an electronic bulletin board and e-mail center related to the project. Public access sites will be established in libraries, community centers, and schools throughout the country and members of the public with home computers will be able to connect to WGBH at no cost. Service and activities offered on-line will include the ability of viewers to critique programs, ask questions of the production team, download educational materials, and ordering project material. The bulletin board will provide an electronic forum for educators to exchange strategies and ideas as they use the project's resources and enable participants in the Discovery Challenge to tap into the on-line resources and share information. The on-line component will be managed and controlled at WGBH. Museum Component - consisting of a museum tool kit and activities to be incorporated Science-by-Mail. Paula Apsell, executive producer for NOVA and director of the WGBH Science Unit, will serve as executive-in-charge of production. Jon Palfreman will be executive producer and will head up a project team consisting of the executive editor, Thomas Friedman, a senior producer, and two producers. Outreach activities will be the responsibility of Beth Kirsch, Director of Educational Print and Outreach, and Simone Bloom, Outreach Manager.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paula ApsellThomas FriedmanJon Palfreman
This is a request from Claypoint Productions for 124,700 of a total budget of $526,178 to produce a one-hour prime-time documentary program on the Wright Brothers, the processes of science and engineering used in their work, and the science and technology behind their development of the airplane. The PBS program will cover the subjects of aerodynamics, aeronautics, geometry, algebra, applied mathematics, mechanical engineering, the process of invention, and the history of technology. A teacher's guide will be developed to supplement the film.
Lawrence Berkeley Labs developed a CD containing educational materials, staff training and the software necessary for informal science education centers to offer to middle school students one- hour sessions, multiple-day workshops, and ongoing participation in a drop-in computer lab. Hands-On Universe (HOU) is an active science education program that provides participants access to observing time on professional telescopes through the use of a personal computer and the Internet. The CD contains: exploration experiences and challenge games; resource material including images from other national labs, descriptions and animations of related topics, and astronomical catalogs; image processing software; a telecommunications package to interface with HOU telescopes and support network, the Internet, and World Wide Web; staff training material. The target audiences are youth in grades three through high school, and adults.