The SOUNDPRINT Media Center is producing a series of radio documentaries entitled 'Science and Technology on SOUNDPRINT,' a set of related educational and outreach materials, and multimedia non-broadcast applications. The project will include 16 original science documentaries and 21 programs repackaged as special broadcasts distributed to over 200 public radio stations in the United States, reaching over 750,000 listeners, and ten countries around the world. The programs also will be distributed on Internet Talk Radio. The 16 new Programs will be grouped around three themes: 'The Butterfly Effect' which will bring large scientific concepts describing global change to a more human level, 'Technology and Culture' which will consider the implications of technology, and 'The Consequences of Science' which will look at the broad implications of scientific research. The Executive Producer for the project is Moira Rankin. Neenah Ellis will serve as Senior Producer and will work directly with independent producers in story and script development. The Science Editors will be Ann Finkbeiner, a freelance science writer, and Barbara Culliton, Deputy Editor of 'Nature.'
SOUNDPRINT is requesting $901,273 over 16 months to produce a series of radio documentaries entitled Making Connections: SOUNDPRINT Explores Science and Technology, related educational outreach materials, multimedia non-broadcast applications, and an aggressive distribution plan. Sixteen half-hour original science documentaries, distributed through national Public radio will address three broad areas of science and technology. These include: the limitations and possibilities of scientific achievement; the requirements of sustainability (surviving); and the explanation science offers for human behavior. An additional 21 programs will be repackaged as special broadcasts to be distributed to over 200 public radio stations. Target audiences include middle school and secondary school students, and adults.
Georgia Public Television is producing and evaluating one pilot program and accompanying ancillary material for a series of 30-minute television quiz shows for 8 to 10 year olds. The series would be designed to entertain a home audience while educating them about issues and facts relating to nature and the environment. The primary goals of the project are to increase knowledge about the world around us, to develop a concern for the conservation of wildlife and wild places, and to encourage critical and creative thinking skills in relation to the environment. The television programs and the formal and informal ancillary materials and activities will engage viewers in use and development of science process skills: observation, classification, measurement, prediction, inference, identification and manipulation of variables, interpretation of data, formulation of models, experimentation, construction of hypotheses, and drawing conclusions. The project is being developed in collaboration with the Zoo Atlanta, whose staff will have responsibility for content development, and with educational advisors who will help assure that age- and developmentally-appropriate skills are exercised and the topics have the maximum relevance to elementary and middle school science. The senior producers would be Carol Fisk, a producer with Georgia Public Television and previously a news producer and correspondent in Great Britain and with the BBC in Washington, and Nancy Lebens, a Georgia Public Television staff producer. Cindy Horton, a zoo education program coordinator with Zoo Atlanta, will be the host.
The Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association (WETA) is producing and disseminating "Green Technology," a multimedia project that promotes active learning about environmentally beneficial technologies for the home, the workplace, and the community. The objective of the project are to change or consolidate the public's concepts about the fundamental relationships between the environment and technology at the grassroots pocketbook level, to enhance their understanding of the pertinent science and technology, and to provide them with practical information about how to take action for oneself and in the fulfillment of a wider civic responsibility. The components of the project include: o Three one-hour prime time television programs o Community Outreach through the National Community Education Association and their affiliates in 40 states. o Development of community education material including a 30-minute highlight tape to serve as a discussion springboard with accompanying discussion and resource guides. o A Viewer's Newsletter for each program which will include short articles on the basic science and technology explored in the program and a "What You Can Do" section. o A CD-ROM for use by parents and children at home and by students in school. o On-line information clearing house the SOLSTICE, the digital library of energy and environmental resources operated by the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology. o Teacher enhancement materials and activities for middle schools to be disseminated through the Teacher Educator's Network of the Association of Science-Technology Centers. o The National Academy of Engineering will identify engineers who can serve as "on-line consultants" to students and teachers involved in examining specific environmental issues. Richard Thomas, previously Executive Producer for "Mystery of the Senses" and "The World of Chemistry," will be PI and Executive Producer. Principal Content Advisory will be S. William Gouse, chief scientist and President of Energy Systems and Technology at MITRE. William McDonough, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, will be the host of the television series.
National Public Radio will produce and distribute a weekly, one-hour program entitled, "Weekly Edition: Science, The Environment, and Technology," which consists of a compilation of the best science stories aired during the previous week on "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered," and "Weekly Edition." Each program will be varied, looking back at the week in science and reviewing main stories. The hour format also will enable the producers to go into greater depth than was done in the daily coverage. They will expand the news pieces with additional interviews and/or out-takes reporters were unable to use on the daily programs. As part of the NPR outreach program, the project will develop "Weekly Science" on "Kids Connection (Science Friday)" as part of the World Wide Web. Each week, that week's program as well as additional science information and bibliographies will be entered on the "Science Friday" homepage. The PI and executive producer for the series will be Anne Gudenkauf, Senior Editor at NPR. Richard Harris and Joe Palca will host the series. Harris has been an on-air host for NPR produced summaries of congressional action on health reform and both have substituted for Ira Flatow on NPR'S TALK OF THE NATION: SCIENCE FRIDAY. The program producer will be Jane Greenhalgh.
National Public Radio is seeking to expand its coverage of scientific issues in two ways: through the creation of a new Environmental Reporting Unit, and through the introduction of SCIENCE FRIDAY, a two hour call-in talk show dedicated to scientific issues. Each of these projects will be supported by an extensive outreach effort targeted at local schools, community groups, science museums, and nature centers. Through the Environmental Reporting Unit, NPR plans to produce eight to ten half hour documentary reports per year on critical environmental issues. Each of these reports will be available to listeners on cassette and will be accompanied by supporting documentation. The SCIENCE FRIDAY team will engage NPR's audience in a lively debate on questions ranging from nuclear physics to archaeology. In addition, SCIENCE FRIDAY will travel to high schools and museums across the country and engage in question and answer sessions with students, teachers, parents and school administrators. These "on the road" segments will be supplemented by live broadcasts from annual meetings of the National Association for Science (NAS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Through these efforts, NPR will be able to draw listener attention to the need for improved science and mathematics education, while helping listeners make informed evaluations of current public policy in these areas.
The Self Reliance Foundation in association with the Hispanic Radio Network over a five year period will produce and distribute a variety of daily Spanish-language radio programs on science education topics and follow-up outreach services to network listeners on science education and career opportunities. The applicants will add two science related episodes each week to Buscando La Belleza, the four-minute daily radio series for families that focuses on social issues, work issues, women's rights, and educational and career opportunities. It is carried on 100 stations with a weekly cumulative audience of 2,567,000 listeners. The new episodes will include: 52 role model interviews with Hispanic men and women who have careers in science, mathematics, and technology from technical positions not requiring a college degree to Ph.D.'s engaged in cutting edge research; 26 family involvement episodes with suggestions for parents to build their confidence in helping their children with homework, doing simple science activities with their children at home, encouraging their older children in their studies, and working with schools and community organizations; and 26 academic and career resource/success stories highlighting Hispanic students who have been successful in their pursuit of careers in science, mathematics, and technology. The second series included under the grant is Salvemos Nuestro Planeta, a two-and-a-half minute series that focuses on environmental issues. It currently is carried on 89 radio stations twice a week with a total weekly cumulative audience of 2,494,300. The producers will expand the series to seven original episodes per week with five episodes focusing on science, mathematics, and technology themes: general science literacy, environmental management and technology, computers and information technology, environmental activities for youth, and SMET career opportunities. Outreach will consist of a national Spanish language toll free phone number that will refer listeners to resources related to opportunities for scholarships in science and engineering, activities and resources for parents and children in science education, etc., and in some cases, connect callers to the subject of that days interview. The PI will be Roberto Salazar who has been chief assistant to Vicente Llamas at the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities. He has been involved in numerous science education project for Hispanics and has a background in radio. The Executive Producer will be Jeff Kline. Major science consultants will be Vicente Llamas, Director of the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities, and Estrella Triana, Hispanic Science Education Director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Roberto SalazarGilbert SanchezRobert Russell
WNET is conducting planning for Wild TV, a new environmental education public television series for children ages 8-13. The planning activities consist of post-production and evaluation of a new version of the pilot episode of the series. WNET will reversion the pilot episode to address concerns raised by the reviewers to a previous proposal, as well as incorporating recommendations from the formative evaluation conducted by RMC Research Corporation. During the planning phase, the producers will work closely with Dr. Betty Faber and Mark Testa, two environmental educators with expertise in extra-curricular settings. These educators have been added to the advisory committee and Dr. Faber will serve as lead content advisor to the project. After production of the revised pilot is completed, RMC Research Corporation will conduct another evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the revisions to the project.
The program producers at the World Media Foundation seek $550,000 over three years to produce and present to listeners vital stories about scientific inquiry and technological developments related to environmental change. These presentations, entitled Living on Earth, are broadcast weekly on more that 240 National Public Radio member stations in the United States. The producer intends to develop the program into a one-hour format from the current 30 minute broadcast. Audience participation will be encouraged through call-in question and answer sessions about science and ecology.
Byrd & Block Communication, Inc. is continuing production and distribution of the widely broadcast two-minute radio spots which focus primarily on astronomy, earth science, or environmental science. Some programs also contain information about other sciences such as marine biology or chemistry. The series is carried on 519 affiliate stations in 627 carriage locations in the United States and can be heard in all 50 states. Of these stations, 315 are public radio stations and 204 are commercial stations. It also is broadcast by the Armed Forces Radio network and by the Voice of America. The current grant will enable the producers to enhance the series by: - Adding programs for weekend broadcast, thereby increasing the number of programs produced each year from 260 to 365. - Making a concerted effort to add more stations, particular commercial stations, that carry the series. - Working with Kalmbach Publishing, fulfilling listener requests for free copies of science magazines. - Producing and distributing classroom materials in collaboration with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific - Conducting a second and third annual "Earth & Sky Young Producers Contest." - Expanding "Earth & Sky's" on-line presence on the Internet. The writer/producer/host will continue to be Deborah Byrd and Joel Block, VP of Byrd & Block Communications, Inc., will continue as studio producer and co-host. The principal content consultant for astronomy is Derek Wills, a McDonald Observatory astronomer, and the primary earth content consultant is Cliff Frolich, a research scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics.