The Educational Film Center, in collaboration with Dr. Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate and John A. Newman, Professor of Physical Science at Cornell University, will produce THE MOLECULAR WORLD, a series of three one-hour specials for Public Television. The specials will outline this "century of synthesis," the historical contribution of chemistry to our everyday lives. They will further highlight the future impact of chemistry on new materials for transportation and communication, and ont he rational design of effective medicines. The programs respond to the need for public awareness about the molecular and chemical make-up of the natural world around us and within us. The public also needs to appreciate better the continuing role of chemistry in producing the new molecules which change our world. THE MOLECULAR WORLD is designed for a national television audience complementing the recently completed college telecourse "The World of Chemistry" and its High School adaptations. The National Science Foundation award constitutes 15% of the total cost of the project.
Children's Television Workshop (CTW) will produce two additional seasons of SQUARE ONE TV, a daily series of mathematics for children aged 8-12. The first season of 75 half-hour shows premiered on public television stations in January 1987. The second and third seasons will each consist of 65 programs to capitalize on the success of Season I and compound its educational utility. SQUARE ONE TV has three goals: to promote positive attitudes toward, and enthusiasm for, mathematics; to encourage the use and application of problem solving processes; and to present sound mathematical content in an interesting, accessible and meaningful manner. Based on preliminary research results, the series appears to be meeting these goals. The series has attracted a substantial audience from throughout the country during its initial season, and a very positive reception from mathematicians, parents, teachers, and the press. Most importantly, the target-aged children are enjoying and learning from the series. The goals and content for additional seasons will basically remain the same, with refinements made as research results are assembled and digested by in house staff in conjunction with mathematics advisors. Production plans will take advantage of the learning experiences acquired from Season I. The additional seasons of SQUARE ONE TV will be supported by a full range of promotion, community outreach activities and school services, including teacher's guides. Season II should be ready to air in September 1988. The highly skilled production team responsible for season I remains in place: Dave Connell, Vice President and Executive Producer, CTW; Dr. Keith Mielke, Vice President for Research, CTW; Dr. Joel Schneider, Content Director, SQUARE ONE TV; and Bettina Peel, Director of Research, SQUARE ONE TV. An 18 member National Advisory Board is chaired by Dr. Gerald Lesser, Bigelow Professor of Education and Developmental Psychology at Harvard, and more than 15 additional distinguished mathematicians, scientists, and educators serve as project consultants. With the addition of SQUARE ONE TV to the existing 3-2-1 Contact science series, america's children now have a full hour a day of math and science learning opportunity at home. Continued development of SQUARE ONE TV mathematics programs is essential to sustain our national commitment for improved mathematics and scientific literacy for our young. An award of an additional $3,000,000 for FY87 and $3,000,000 for FY88 is recommended.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David ConnellKeith MielkeBettina PeelJoel Schneider
Prism Productions will manage a transition to economic independence for the "How About..." science news insert series featuring science journalist Don Herbert. "How About..." has for a decade provided science new inserts for local commercial news broadcasts around the country, supported by NSF and the General Motors Corporation. The series airs regularly on more than 140 commercial television stations in markets representing 70% of american households. In an effort to establish independence and a self-sustaining economic base, the proposers will redesign the series to accommodate recent trends in local news broadcasting, develop a mix of 90 second and 3-4 minute feature segments, and seek corporate sponsors for the series, newly titled "Correspondent Science News." The new package will be offered to stations on a barter basis. This award-winning series has reached many households in the country with accurate and professional science reporting. With the conclusion of NSF support after an extended period, this award will maximize the opportunity for independent continuation of the series.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Donald HerbertNorma HerbertRonald A. Silverman
"3-2-1 Contact," the nationally broadcast award winning children's public television science series, has been reaching children aged 8-12 with daily half hour science programming since 1980 with support from both the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education. In seven seasons of production, CTW has produced 225 regular and two special shows, generating an estimated 633 million viewings by the target audience and more than 1.66 billion viewings by viewers of all ages. With completion of primary show production, the series will begin repeat broadcasts in the fall of 1989 drawn from the library of existing programs. This final award will support continued broadcast of the series and insure the widest possible distribution and utilization of "3-2-1 Contact." CTW will implement a Transition Plan to sustain series broadcast, establish series access as a VCR based science resource, and insure permanent access for teachers, schools, and out of school resources to the "3-2-1 Contact" program library. Broadcast activities will include supporting a portion of the costs of residuals for rebroadcast for a five year period, production of five "3-2-1 Contact EXTRAS" -- single topic half hour specials with high visibility -- and encouraging increased off air taping of the series by teachers. Support for school use of the series will be strengthened with the development and distribution of topic indexing software and teacher guides, the creation of short "3-2-1 Contact" segments specifically tailored to the classroom needs of teachers and a series blockfeed to schools to create a permanent archive of shows. Community outreach partnerships will be strengthened and home video opportunities explored as well. This five year award will allow millions of American children the continued opportunity to view science programming after school on a regular basis, and will assist their teachers in making effective use of "3-2-1 Contact" program materials in classroom settings.
William Miles, an award winning Black documentary filmmaker, will collaborate with WNET, New York to produce "Black Stars In Orbit," an hour-long television documentary for PBS broadcast on black astronauts and black Americans' contributions to America's space program. The program will utilize personal interviews with archival footage, family photographs, and news headlines to profile such individuals as Edward Dwight, Jr., Guion Bluford, Jr., Ronald McNair, Frederick Gregory, Patricia Cowings-Johnson and Robert Shurney. Videotape copies of the program will be made available for use by national organizations concerned with encouraging black youth in science and engineering. This film project has a substantial opportunity to reinforce science and engineering role models for black youth. Approximately 50% of the $450,000 project budget will be provided by NSF.
WQED/Pittsburgh plans to produce SPACE AGE, a major eight-hour prime time PBS television series on space sciences for airing in 1992, coinciding with the Columbus Quincentennial Celebration and the inauguration of the International Space Year (ISY). Produced in association with the National Academy of Sciences, the $7.2 million series will comprehensively document the extensive influence of space activity from scientific, technological, economic and social perspectives. International co-operation and co- production support from several nations will insure that topics are treated globally, rather than nationally. WQED will develop collateral educational materials and a trade book for popular audiences; eight years of off air taping rights for pre-college teachers will be provided. The series should be viewed by more than seven to twelve million viewers on 320 PBS stations. NSF support will amount to approximately 9% of the $7.2 million project total.
The ETV Endowment of South Carolina, in an international co-production with Channel Four, London, will produce, promote and distribute a PBS television series "Spaceship Earth", consisting of ten 30 minute programs and an accompanying book on world geography, presented from the perspective of a global understanding of planet Earth. Geography will be viewed as an integrating science, treating physical, biological, and cultural components as interrelated parts of a whole. The series will present a satellite's eye view of the earth, utilizing the best available imagery from satellite, photographic coverage, maps, animation, and computer generated imagery. Program topics will include global systems and remote sensing, patterns of settlement, geologic processes, local impacts of global markets, climatic zones and climatic changes, oceans of the world, rivers and lakes, forests of the world, feast or famine, and ethnicity and technology. The Producers, Nigel Calder and Nicholas Barton, are experienced writers and producers of science book and films. They will be supported by an internationally recognized team of senior consultants and advisors. SPACESHIP EARTH will be complemented by educational materials packages for wide use in formal and informal settings, and U.S. precollege teachers will have unlimited three year off air tape and reuse rights to the series. This series promises to be an engaging and fresh approach to science through global views of geography, with substantial appeal to educators and schools as well as at home viewers. NSF's contribution will be 13% of the total.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ruth SproatNigel CalderNicholas Barton