The summative evaluation focuses on two project components: (1) an IMAX® Dome film, titled Coral Reef Adventure, and (2) an associated interactive exhibit, titled Weird, Wild and Underwater, intended to be displayed in museum and science center lobbies. The general goals for the summative evaluation study were to assess the appeal of "Coral Reef Adventure" film and the lobby exhibit; acquisition of scientific knowledge and understanding as related to the project’s learning goals and understanding of film topics; and the impact that the exhibit has on viewers of the film. A separate-sample
Over the last few years the media and especially television have focussed on presumed health emergencies such as mad-cow disease, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the Di Bella cancer-cure case and the Lipobay case. Topics such as these have a strong emotional impact on public opinion and subscribe to the dictates of the ratings rather than following the more or less prescriptive rules of scientific communication. In a highly competitive environment, if the ratings prevail against information, it is obvious that news follows the rules of fiction, health reports become mere
No field of western society has remained untouched by the events of September 11. Lastly, science and science communication are also bearing the consequences. During the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver, Colorado, on February 15, 2003, the major international scientific magazines, faced with the bioterrorism alarm and the fear of seeing important information fall in the wrong hands, announced their intention to resort to an unprecedented security measure: preventive self-governance. They consider the Statement on Scientific Publication and
Terms such as gmo, genetic tests and pharmacogenomics, which were once used only by experts, belong today to everyday language. The new vocabulary of molecular biology shows an increase in the interest of society in scientific problems, and in particular the recent cultural supremacy of molecular biology. For all of us, the gene symbolizes progress and power, the hope of fighting incurable diseases, and the fear of terrifying genetic manipulations. These aspects become real events and characters in the Human Genome Project. But this great international project has also shown that the relation
Knight-Williams collaborated with five aquaria to solicit the reactions of a random sample of their aquaria members to the PBS broadcast of the Shape of Life series. The collaborating aquaria were located in geographically diverse regions of the country and included: The Seattle Aquarium, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Shedd Aquarium, and New York Aquarium. The report focuses on questionnaire data provided by both the non-viewer respondents and by viewers of two or more episodes from the series.
Summer science programs held in university research facilities provide ideal opportunities for pre-college students to master new skills and renew, refresh, and enrich their interest in science. These types of programs have a positive impact on a student's understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and can open a youngster's eyes to the many possible career opportunities in science. This paper describes a study of high school students enrolled in the Summer Science Academy program at the University of Rochester that investigates the program's impact on students' knowledge of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kerry KnoxJan MoynihanDina Markowitz
This article explores the ways that mothers and children from primarily middle-income European American backgrounds reason about events in which biological and nonbiological objects change in size. In Study 1, mother–child conversations were examined to investigate the events mothers described as growth, as well as the ways mothers explained events occurring in different domains. Findings indicate that although mothers primarily discussed events in domain-specific ways, they exhibited some domain blurring in their talk to children. In Study 2, 3-year-old children (M=3 years, 2 months) and 5
"Birds in the Hood" or "Aves del Barrio" builds on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's (CLO) successful Project Pigeon Watch, and will result in the creation of a web-based citizen science program for urban residents. The primary target audience is urban youth, with an emphasis on those participating in programs at science centers and educational organizations in Philadelphia, Tampa, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Participants will develop science process skills, improve their understanding of scientific processes and design research projects while collecting, submitting and retrieving data on birds found in urban habitats. The three project options include a.) mapping of pigeon and dove habitats and sightings, b.) identifying and counting gulls and c.) recording habitat and bird count data for birds in the local community. Birds in the Hood will support CLO's Urban Bird Studies initiative by contributing data on population, community and landscape level effects on birds. Support materials are web-based, bilingual and include downloadable instructions, tally sheets, exercises and results. The website will also include a web-based magazine with project results and participant contributions. A training video and full color identification posters will also be produced. The program will be piloted at five sites in year one, and then field-tested at 13 sites in year two. Regional dissemination and training will occur in year three. It is anticipated that 5,000 urban bird study groups will be in place by the end of the funding period, representing nearly 50,000 individuals.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Rick BonneyJohn FitzpatrickMelinda LaBranche
This article describes a front-end evaluation conducted by researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Prospect Park Zoo in planning for the new "In Living Color" exhibit. The evaluation examined how the zoo's average young visitor--a 5.1 year old--thinks and feels about animal coloration.
This article describes an evaluation project that measured the effectiveness of particular communication strategies in the Kelp Forest feeding program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. During the Kelp Forest program a volunteer guide (docent) delivers a narration about the Kelp Forest exhibit and has a conversation with a diver feeding the fish in the exhibit. The program concludes with the diver and the volunteer taking questions from the audience. The communication strategies measured in this study were identified by The Ocean Project (TOP), a collaborative initiative where the Monterey Bay
This award is for a Science and Technology Center devoted to the emerging area of nanobiotechnology that involves a close synthesis of nano-microfabrication and biological systems. The Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC) features a highly interdisciplinary, close collaboration between life scientists, physical scientists, and engineers from Cornell University, Princeton University, Oregon Health Sciences University, and Wadsworth Center of the New York State Health Department. The integrating vision of the NBTC is that nanobiotechnology will be the genesis of new insights into the function of biological systems, and lead to the design of new classes of nano- and microfabricated devices and systems. Biological systems present a particular challenge in that the diversity of materials and chemical systems for biological applications far exceeds those for silicon-based technology in the integrated-circuit industry. New fabrication processes appropriate for biological materials will require a substantial expansion in knowledge about the interface between organic and inorganic systems. The ability to structure materials and pattern surface chemistry at small dimensions ranging from the molecular to cellular scale are the fundamental technologies on which the research of the NBTC is based. Nanofabrication can also be used to form new analytical probes for interrogating biological systems with unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. Three unifying technology platforms that foster advances in materials, processes, and tools underlie and support the research programs of the NBTC: Molecules of nanobiotechnology; Novel methods of patterning surfaces for attachment of molecules and cells to substrates; and Sensors and devices for nanobiotechnology. Newly developed fabrication capabilities will also be available through the extensive resources of the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, a site of the NSF National Nanofabrication Users Network. The NBTC will be an integrated part of the educational missions of the participating institutions. NBTC faculty will develop a new cornerstone graduate course in nanobiotechnology featuring nanofabrication with an emphasis on biological applications. Graduate students who enter the NBTC from a background in engineering or biology will cross-train in the other field by engaging in a significant level of complementary course work. Participation in the NBTC will prepare them with the disciplinary depth and cross-disciplinary understanding to become next generation leaders in this emerging field. An undergraduate research experience program with a strong mentoring structure will be established, with emphasis on recruiting women and underrepresented minorities into the program. Educational outreach activities are planned to stimulate the interest of students of all ages. One such activity partnered with the Science center in Ithaca is a traveling exhibition for museum showings on the subject of nano scale size. National and federal laboratories and industrial and other partners will participate in various aspects of the NBTC such as by hosting interns, attendance at symposia and scientist exchanges. Partnering with the industrial affiliates will be emphasized to enhance knowledge transfer and student and postdoctoral training. This specific STC award is managed by the Directorate for Engineering in coordination with the Directorates for Biological Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Education and Human Resources.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Harold CraigheadBarbara Baird
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Phylogenetic groupings of organisms are the basis for predictive classifications and biological information systems. Organizing biological knowledge and their parallel hierarchies according to phylogenetic relationships has become increasingly important for many segments of science and society (i.e., genetic databases such as GenBank). Yet, our understanding of the tree of life is still very incomplete at all taxonomic levels because phylogenetic hypotheses are typically characterized by inadequate taxon samples, and the data themselves are often variable across the included taxa with respect to kind, quantity, and quality. In addition, methods of analysis vary in their appropriateness and applicability, thus making comparison of phylogenetic trees difficult. These impediments need to be addressed if we are to have a tree of life for the major groups of organisms within a reasonable time frame. Equally important will be to ensure that phylogenetic knowledge is accessible and useful to researchers, institutions, and the government agencies who need it. This proposal seeks to bring together approximately 25-30 leading systematic biologists and nonsystematists interested in phylogenetic research and informatics (phyloinformatics). The workshop will attempt to identify the research needed to assemble the tree of life and make that information available to the global user community within a reasonable time frame. The workshop will formulate recommendations designed to promote institutional changes within the systematic research community to accelerate phylogenetic understanding, identify research efforts that will result in large-scale increases in phylogenetically informative data and improve data analysis, and specify research, technological advances, and infrastructural needs to store, retrieve, and manipulate large amounts of phylogenetic information and make it widely available.