The popularity of the anti-vax movement in the United States and elsewhere is the cause of new lethal epidemics of diseases that are fully preventable by modern medicine [Benecke and DeYoung, 2019]. Creationism creeps into science classrooms with the aim of undermining the teaching of evolution through legal obligations or school boards’ decisions to present both sides of a debate largely foreign to the scientific community [Taylor, 2017]. And one simply has to turn on the TV and watch so-called science channels to be bombarded with aliens, ghosts, cryptids and miracles as though they are
Technoscience is deeply linked to national cultures across terrains as diverse as medicine, agricultural biotechnologies, ICTs, energy technologies, etc. Understanding the cultural dimension of technoscience is vital for the project of socialisation. This project should be embedded in technological and political cultures, taking variation in cultural approaches to technoscience, national identity and political decision-making seriously. Socialisation of science and technology in Europe should therefore approach socio-technical developments in a way that allows for the emergence of
The idea to link European citizenship and science education is surely new and uncommon in Poland, but we think, as SEDEC project, that can enrich both the panorama of science popularization outside and inside school system. I checked carefully curricula for every stage of school education looking for the topics concerning the developing of the European citizenship. I found that they are usually connected to the history, geography and some activities developing of the knowledge about generally defined citizenship. The spare topics connected directly to the science are present especially in
The article reports the outcome of an analysis of the reception of Bertolt Brecht’s play, "The Life of Galileo", as presented by Giorgio Strehler (Milan, 1963) and Brecht himself in collaboration with Erich Engel (East Berlin, 1957), carried out on respective press reviews. The reviews were examined by the application of quantitative analysis based on the recurrence of determinate themes associated with images of science. In comparing the results of the analysis of each of the two press reviews, it appears that different images were conveyed by the same play performed in two different contexts
In The Areopagitica, his most important work of prose, John Milton mentions Galileo as the illustrious martyr who fought for the freedom of thought. The name of the great scientist is repeated several times in the English poet's epic masterpiece: Paradise Lost. In three different passages of the poem, Milton in fact celebrates the "Tuscan Artist" and his crucial achievements in astronomy. Nevertheless, in a subsequent passage, the poet addresses the Copernican issue without openly defending the heliocentric theory confirmed by Galileo's discoveries. In fact, he neither embraces the Copernican
Focusing on the experience of working with Russia’s cultural, industrial and political sectors, this paper investigates how the development of new contacts and partnerships has contributed not only to the loan of material of historic significance to the Science Museum’s exhibition, but more broadly changes perceptions about Russia and its space programme in the western world. Addressing the multiple challenges involved – legal, political and security, among others – it reveals the importance of many of the space objects themselves as well as demonstrating how the Science Museum has helped to
Soundprint Media Center, Inc. and RLPaul Productions, produced a cross-media package that includes a website (capecosmos.org), radio programs, and museum-based family events related to the 50th anniversary of the Space Program. The project, Out of This World (OOTW), is a program that sought to stimulate interest in science by presenting the little known stories of African-Americans and women who contributed to the U.S. Space program, and to provide historical context for the scope and reach of the nascent aerospace science program. Through radio documentaries and collaborations with science centers and museums, including the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM), OOTW broke new ground in developing an integrated media project that reached different audiences. The deliverables included: three radio documentaries (; an educational DVD package with 20 video mini-documentaries, curator interviews with space research pioneers and a learning guide; an interactive website that recreates a space mission circa 1961, and a series of live two-way video conferences between NASM and some 14 partner museums and science centers. OOTW used the power of investigative journalism and the reach of public radio and local science museums to connect with adults and school-age children, to cut across demographic categories, and to include a significant number of minority and at-risk children.
Future Space is an educational but fun pair of planetarium programs, targeted at middle school students and then general public, to show that NASA is still in the space business! The lead institution is the Louisiana Art and Science Museum with lead production at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and science and program review through Rice University. The program has produced one excellent planetarium show "We Choose Space!" which covers the history of the space program including building the International Space Station (ISS), and actual images from our fisheye lens inside the ISS. It has been licensed to over a dozen theaters around the world and is also available for free viewing through YouTube, with a free downloadable Educator Guide. It has been translated into Spanish, Hindi, and Teluga and is being translated into Turkish. A second show "The Gravity Factor", which discusses how humans might in the future visit and exploit the planets, is being completed now. It uses surface gravity as a common theme. A dome cover was created to represent the ISS Cupola from the outside.
The Discover Aeronautics and Aerospace Gallery (Discover) engages students, families and the general public in the STEM research that makes major accomplishments in space and aeronautics possible. Great Lakes Science Center, home of NASA Glenn Visitor Center, developed the gallery in collaboration with NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to provide interactive learning opportunities, amazing NASA artifacts, and multimedia experiences that encourages them to discover more about STEM. The overarching project goal is to engage visitors in the important research of NASA GRC, and summative evaluation concluded that Discover is an immersive environment of interactive exhibits that increases visitors’ levels of knowledge about aeronautic and aerospace research. The Gallery successfully raises the profile of NASA GRC, and emphasizes the importance of research and experimentation for the challenges of flight – in the air and in space.
Discover is divided into mini-laboratory settings—Aeronautics Lab, Materials Lab, Rocket Lab and Power Lab—and the Discover Stage, an ideal environment for demonstrations, and presentations by astronauts and aerospace experts. When not in use for live productions, the stage hosts a video tour of NASA GRC’s impressive labs and test chambers. Visitors can experiment with a microgravity drop tower, plan a space mission, analyze slow-motion footage from a ballistic impact facility, see how motion and sound are affected by the vacuum of space, and more. Discover engages over 300,000 visitors a year in the STEM research necessary for flight. As part of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, the Gallery exemplifies the Science Center’s dedication to sharing NASA content to inform, engage, and inspire students, educators, and the public. Discover immerses visitors in the exciting challenges and rewards of space exploration, and is a place of inspiration for tomorrow’s scientific leadership and workforce.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Donald Paterson
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The conference, Indigenous Worldviews in Informal Science Education, is designed to advance research on the integration of Native and Western science in relation to informal science learning. The goals of the conference are to integrate and synthesize research and theory, formulate a research agenda, and share the results with the STEM education community. The conference is organized around six strands: Collaboration, Policy, Holistic Education, Next Generation Youth, and Evaluation. A six-week preconference online discussion of conference issues leads into the two-day conference, held at Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawaii. The meeting brings together sixty participants including educators, research scientists, learning researchers, policymakers, and Native youth. The conference includes keynotes, workshops and synthesis discussion groups, which will be synthesized and presented at a policy outcome meeting held in Washington, DC that follows the conference. Conference results will be further disseminated at relevant conferences, in publications, and through online discussions. A full evaluation process will inform the detailed planning of the conference and will evaluate the effectiveness of the conference, based on responses from conference participants.
This paper provides an overview of the Audience Research Consortium of Toronto, comprised of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Center and the Royal Ontario Museum. These groups have a shared vision of attracting a larger and more diverse audience-one that includes nontraditional and multicultural groups. This paper outlines how this group developed, acquired funding, hired a consulting group, and created a proposal and research plan. Preliminary findings are also briefly summarized.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Art Gallery of OntarioRoyal Ontario MuseumOntario Science CentreMetropolitan Toronto ZooWoods Gordon Management Consultants
This article provides study findings from the summative evaluation of "The Universe in Your Hands: Early Tools of Astronomy" permanent exhibition that opened in May 1995 at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum. The renovated and recontextualized exhibit portrays the museum's collection of early astronomical instruments in the social and scientific setting of the European and Islamic worlds during the Middle Ages (1200 to 1500 A.D.).