The primary goal of MAST-3 is to increase the diversity of students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, electing careers in NOAA related marine sciences. This is done through a multidisciplinary program that engages students in NOAA-related marine research, and explores marine policy, the heritage of African Americans and Native Americans in the coastal environment, and seamanship. MAST students use the Chesapeake Bay to understand efforts to protect, restore and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management. To do this, Hampton University has formed partnerships with various NOAA labs/sites, several university laboratories, the USEPA, various museums, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the menhaden fishing industry.
The Orlando Science Center has assembled a project team to create a unique environmental science learning tool: THE GLOBAL DECISION ROOM. Founded on, and enhancing, the Science On a Sphere (SOS) digital globe, the Global Decision Room is an interactive theatre that puts visitors in the role of being decision makers on behalf of the behavior of large populations on the planet. The results of global decisions relating to the environment are seen played out on SOS. The interactive strategy that is created for the Global Decision Room will be flexible and well integrated into the SOS software platform, making it possible to design other educational story scenarios that can use the same system. The Global Decision Room is designed as a multi-use, high impact, exciting content delivery platform. This proposal is based on a well developed initial educational premise, but the resulting construction of the Global Decision Room will be the perfect environment for other educational topics of interest to NOAA s outreach strategy. As new datasets become available in the future, new interactive stories will be developed for the Global Decision Room. The Orlando project brings with it significant additional funding from the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Orlando Utilities Commission, and the Florida Hydrogen Initiative, which will greatly leverage the funding from NOAA. Partners in the project include a strong technical team from the University of Central Florida and the Florida Solar Energy Center, interactive digital media experts from the Institute for Simulation and Training, the creative design team "i.d.e.a.s." located at Disney-MGM Studios, and the XhibitNet interactive multimedia design team.
The people of Val di Susa (Italy) blocked the construction of the new high-speed railway line that should connect Turin with Lyons (France). This project is regarded as a strategic achievement for the economic development of the European Union, but local communities have a different concept of development and are asserting their rights through ad hoc experts’ reports and the production “from the bottom” of new specialised knowledge. We shall describe these events as a case study to put ecological democracy to the test of facts, also through a comparison with the experimental actions taken in
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Yurij CastelfranchiGiancarlo Sturloni
In this article, Marjorie Schwarzer, Professor of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, California, describes eleven of the most influential exhibitions from the 20th century, according to NAME members surveyed for her book "Riches, Rivals and Radicals: 100 Years of Museums in America."
The Monarch Butterfly Larval Monitoring project is a collaborative Citizen Science Project in which informal science education (ISE) institutions participate in research to measure the distribution and abundance of monarch butterfly larvae throughout the US, addressing the lack of knowledge about the breeding phase of the annual cycle. This project seeks to create links among ISE institutions (nature centers, museums, state and national parks, and environmental learning centers) from across the US, and also between these institutions and university scientists, citizens, and K-12 educators. The
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Carol FreemanUniversity of Minnesota
The Ramapo College of New Jersey requests funding to develop the "Senior Environmental Experiences (SEE)" project. The project will produce a series of interactive science experiences using Internet videoconferencing to connect seniors at community centers and extended care facilities with environmental experts at the Meadowlands Environment Center as the principal context for discussions of environmental concepts and issues. The goal of the program is to increase the interest of seniors by linking science to history and politics. "SEE" will create experiential modules related to the natural history, ecosystem structure and future of the Meadowlands. Discussion from the field using live images and feedback from the seniors would support exploration of details relevant to the specific topic at hand. The videoconferences will be recorded and made available to seniors in other locations throughout New Jersey and the US. Follow up materials will encourage further activities by the seniors. "SEE" will reach approximately 4,500 seniors in 32 centers during the three-year project.
Summerhays Film is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a large-format film and related educational materials to educate Americans about issues related to U.S. territorial waters. The critical strategic impact of the full project, entitled America's Ocean Challenge (AOC), is to measurably increase the American public's understanding and appreciation of our marine heritage, leading to public awareness of personal responsibilities for maintaining ocean health. The goal of the proposed planning phase is to complete planning for a comprehensive ISE program to be delivered in three phases over ten years. The work is being carried out in collaboration with The Ocean Project and supported by an advisory committee of scientists and informal science education specialists. Knight-Williams Research Communication will conduct front-end evaluation.