The Earth and Sky radio series proposes to produce, distribute, market and evaluate 72 compelling environmental radio programs on oceanic and atmospheric topics featuring NOAA scientists, data and information. These programs will air at a rate of 24 programs per year over a three-year period as part of Earth and Sky's regularly scheduled programming to its many affiliates. Earth and Sky will feature this new radio programming on our web site. The programs will be available in both text and a variety of audio formats including downloadable mp3 files, streaming m3u files, and will be available for podcast. The web site will also feature additional information that augments and supports the content of the radio programs, including links to relevant information, encouraging web visitors to delve deeper into a topic area and learn more. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT will correlate their vast catalogue of existing environmental education curricula to each show. Correlations for each program will be listed next to that show in the dedicated PLT section of Earth and Sky's website.
This article summarizes summative evaluation of the impact on public radio listeners of Earth & Sky, a short-format science radio program airing daily on more than 1,000 commerical and public radio stations in the U.S. as well as on satellite and Internet radio outlets. Earth & Sky’s goals are to make science accessible and interesting and to increase science literacy by providing daily doses of science to listeners with a range of science backgrounds, knowledge and interest. Subsequent to listening to Earth & Sky, the producers hope listeners may be motivated to turn to other sources of
Earth & Sky is a daily short-format science series for both commercial and public radio. Produced by EarthTalk, Inc. of Austin, TX, the series is hosted by Deborah Byrd and Joel Block and consists of 90-second programs on a wide variety of topics mostly drawn from environmental sciences, earth sciences and astronomy. With support from the National Science Foundation, Multimedia Research presents the second study of a two-part summative evaluation on the impact of Earth & Sky on public radio listeners, focusing on traditional formats as well as the new “Edge of Discovery” programming that
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of Origins of the Universe, the 4-part NOVA miniseries. The Origins series chronicled the history of the earth's formation, how the universe evolved to permit the emergence of life on earth, the likelihood that there is life beyond earth, and the tools and techniques scientists use to study the universe. In June 2007, Thomas Levenson, MIT professor and Executive Producer of the series, won the inaugural Walter P. Kistler Science Documentary Film Award for his work on Origins. An extensive outreach campaign accompanied the series
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jennifer BeckJennie MurackUnicorn Projects, Inc.Irene F Goodman
This project proposes a new approach for delivering informal science education to the traveling public through scenic highway programs. This pilot project would engage travelers as they drive along the 220-mile Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway between California and Nevada, a corridor that traverses an unspoiled landscape rich in natural resources and unique contributions to scientific research. The project plans to use the new Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) to broadcast informal science education "stories" via transmitters along the highway. Students in afterschool programs will develop the content of the microcasts and related hands on activities. These microcasts would then direct travelers to roadside pull-offs, visitor centers and museums to engage in hands-on science activities that are led by local, trained docents. The planning grant will be used to create, implement and evaluate a pilot test site at an established roadside pull-out that will include signage, radio broadcasts, docent-led activities and participant surveys.
The Colorado State University will create and produce "Riverwebs," a one-hour documentary video exploring the hidden mysteries of streams, their intricate food webs and the linkages between streams and forest ecosystems. This project will communicate a body of international and interdisciplinary research on streams in the United States and Japan, and also explore the human experience of doing science. Major film themes are an introduction to stream life, the exploration of stream food webs, and the motivations, friendships and collaborative achievements of stream scientists. By interweaving natural history, scientific and human themes, a holistic story emerges. At the heart of this story is humankind's inherent close relationship with nature, our desire to understand its complexity and our responsibility for its well-being.
The James Agee Film Project is requesting funds to produce a four-part series of one-hour films on the environmental and social history of Appalachia. "APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People" will be the first series of films on the history of Appalachia and the first environmental history film ever made about a region in the United States. The project will demonstrate the dynamic interaction and inseparability of natural history and human history. By interweaving the discoveries and insights from scientific disciplines, including geology, ecology, biology and environmental science, with those of the humanities, the series will explore how the mountains have shaped human cultures and how people have shaped the mountains. "APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People" is made for national broadcast on PBS and is being co-sponsored by six Appalachian state PBS networks. The series is being produced in conjunction with the upcoming "Encyclopedia of Appalachia." Outreach programs include partnerships with many regional grassroots organizations, PBS stations and educational institutions to extend the film into a wide range of rural communities and schools. The Project Director/Writer of the series will be the Academy Award nominated filmmaker Ross Spears. Jamie Ross is co-producer/writer; Dr. George Constantz, the Science Writer/Content Director. Dr. Constantz is also currently the principal science and ecology editor of The Encyclopedia of Appalachia, which will be published in 2005. A distinguished group of scholars and scientists will contribute to the project. Dr. Gary Henry, Director of the Applied Research Center in Atlanta, will oversee the project evaluation.
WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for "ZOOM," which will be renamed "Hot Seat." "Hot Seat" is a daily half-hour PBS television series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, the program gives its viewers a chance to explore, to experiment and to share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The intended impacts are to: (1) establish a project that uniquely integrates television, the Web and outreach as a model for how media can teach science and math; (2) engage kids and teach them science and math content and process skills; (3) provide curriculum and professional development to organizational partners. Innovation includes developing three new content areas for the series -- Invention, Space Science and Earth Science -- and evolving the project design by incorporating new production techniques that enhance the "reality factor" of the science programming. Outreach for the project will include printed materials for kids, families and educators. A new collaborative partnership is being developed with the American Library Association to help distribute the new afterschool curricula to librarians across the country. "Hot Seat" will support the existing network of "ZOOM" outreach partners and convert the museum "ZOOMzones" to "Hot Seat Spots." "ZOOM" currently is carried by 269 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by 4 million children each week.
The Land Information Access Association seeks funds to support planning activities related to "Listening to the River," a project that will ultimately result in a new model for engaging teens and adults in environmental activities that can be transferred to other community groups and institutions. This long-term project focuses on an environmentally and regionally meaningful topic (i.e. watersheds), brings together teens and adults in scientific discovery, transforms these explorations into radio segments and creates a children's museum exhibit. Planning grant activities include: (1) a program summit to build new partnerships with informal-learning organizations and reinforce existing community networks; (2) assessment of the potential for a scalable, model project; and (3) focus and refinement of program goals and objectives.
National Geographic Television requests $1,121,583 (35%) of a total project budget of $3,192,249, to produce a documentary series in 13 half-hour and one hour-long special, "Facing the Wild: The Crittercam Chronicles," with associated informal science education materials and programs. This project will feature the natural histories of some of the Earth's most enigmatic and charismatic marine species, highlight the groundbreaking technology employed to study these extraordinary creatures and celebrate the scientists who devote their lives to understanding marine creatures. The project's goals include: to educate audiences about the vital importance of the world's oceans to the health of the planet; to celebrate the ingenuity of novel technology developed for science and exploration; to illustrate that many tantalizing mysteries remain yet unsolved and a great deal of exciting science and exploration has yet to be done; to provide viewers with scientific role models and help motivate them to pursue careers in science. Employing cutting-edge remote imaging tools, including "crittercam", and National Geographic's trademark storytelling, Facing the Wild's strong conservation message is designed to appeal to a national and global audience. A robust web site, virtual teacher workshops and Student Ocean Conferences will augment the impact of the series.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Greg MarshallKeenan SmartBarbara Flagg
Night Fire Films is producing a one-hour show for PBS titled "Breaking the Maya Code," based on the book by Dr. Michael D. Coe. "Breaking the Maya Code" will explore the history of the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic script. The 400-year scientific detective story, climaxing in the past thirty years, will be told through footage shot at key locations in Central America, Europe and the United States, together with dramatizations, animation and graphics; archival materials; and interviews with major participants in the decipherment. An outreach campaign, including an extensive web site, will enhance the television viewing experience as well as promote further STEM learning. The program will be produced and directed by David Lebrun; Nicolas Noxon serves as Executive Producer. Michael Coe will serve the project as Principal Advisor, along with an extensive board of advisors of ethnographers, epigraphers, archaeologists, historians, iconographers and others. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the program; Knight-Williams Research will conduct summative evaluation of the project. The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted $550,000 toward this project.
Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc., is producing a series of twelve radio features for National Public newsmagazines about the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The purpose of this series is to examine the relationships between science and culture as they converge and diverge over issues concerning the Ganga: through (a) examination of the ecology of the river in two key areas; and (b) study of the relationships between scientific and religious attitudes applied to the environmental issues raised in both reaches of the river. The radio series is complemented by a Web site and extensive educational outreach through 11 state Geographic Alliances, an AP Environmental Science module and a pilot Virtual River program developed and tested in collaboration with the Museum of Science in Boston.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Julian Crandall HollickKelly AlleyVinod TareRK SinhaGraham Chapman