A summative evaluation in Jersey City, New Jersey at the Liberty Science Center’s IMAX® Dome Theater was carried out with adult (18+ years) viewers. A quasi-experimental separate-sample pretest/posttest design was used. "Island of the Sharks" made a positive impact on sample adult audience member’s knowledge of topics presented in the film and was reportedly moderately or very interesting to 81% of the adult sample. A second summative evaluation involving three classes from each of two middle schools was carried out with seventh grade students. A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest
A quasi-experimental separate-sample pretest/posttest design was used to assess the impact of the giant screen film "The Greatest Places" on adult viewers. A second evaluation was implemented with eighth grade students who either viewed the film after two related reading activities or viewed the film without associated activity.
Vital Signs a community-based education program that links middle school students, citizen scientists, and scientists in the collection and analysis of environmental data related to invasive species. Vital Signs leverages technology to enable students to practice scientific inquiry, collect rigorous and consistent data, share the data and knowledge they have collected, and to serve as a distributed data collection network for the scientific community.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (RTHU), Archilochus colubris, are the most widely distributed of the 339 species of hummingbirds, occurring in all ten countries of North and Central America. They come frequently to nectar plants and backyard sugar water feeders and are easily observed. Nonetheless, many aspects of RTHU natural history are not well understood, so “Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project” has teamed with EarthTrek to allow citizen scientists to collect data about RTHU migration and nesting. Operation RubyThroat has been in operation since 1984 as a outreach initiative of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York, South Carolina USA. The project is also affiliated with The GLOBE Program, through which K-12 teachers and students make hummingbird observations and submit data through the GLOBE Web site. Now, through EarthTrek, adult citizen scientists and independent students also can contribute important data to the overall Operation RubyThroat project. Principal Investigator for Operation RubyThroat is Bill Hilton Jr., an internationally known educator-naturalist recognized by Discover Magazine as one of the top ten citizen scientists. Each winter Bill takes groups of adult citizen scientists to Central America to help with hands-on studies of RTHU on their wintering grounds. These trips to Central America are coordinated through Holbrook Travel, one of EarthTrek's concept partners; while in the Neotropics participants continue to collect RTHU data to earn additional EarthTrek points through participation in Operation RubyThroat. To learn about these successes—or to find out how you can join Bill on one of his exciting trips in 2010 or beyond—please visit the Operation RubyThroat Web site. You may also wish to keep abreast of hummingbird activities and other natural history happenings by subscribing to "This Week at Hilton Pond," a regular series of award-winning photo essays written by Bill and available on line through the Hilton Pond Web site.
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Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
Carnegie Mellon University is developing an interactive, multimedia planetarium presentation about the human brain. The interdisciplinary project team will build upon and refine the experience gained from its recently completed planetarium show, Journey Into the Living Cell. The context for this work is the need for increased public understanding of the human brain - an organ central to the very concept of humanity. The understanding of the human brain is located at the lively crossroads of research in many disciplines, including psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, computer science and biology. The proposed medium to address this important issue is a 45-minute planetarium show. A broad audience ranging from pre-adolescent to adult will be targeted. Sophisticated and entertaining imaging technologies, including animation and virtual reality, will be used throughout the work. Narration and sound will be tightly integrated into the work. The hemispherical display surface of the planetarium will be fully utilized both visually and sonically. Recent advances in the brain sciences as well as long held understandings about the brain will be presented. Basic brain biology and principles of brain function including cooperativity in brain region activity and brain region specialization will be introduced.
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James McClellandPaul OlesBryan Rogers
The Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc., requests $264,904 to pilot a project for establishing a national program to provide parents and significant other adults with support, training and materials. Also, the project goals will enable parents and other adults to become actively engaged in local science education reform and science literacy for their children. The duration of this project is eighteen months. The cost sharing for this NSF award is 24.6% of the total projected cost of the project. The Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc. will collaborate with the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and the Arundel County Public Schools' Family Involvement Center. Project "ASK with Science" will develop a model program for implementing and disseminating science education materials to young children in underserved communities, thereby creating a grassroots, family-oriented program that can become established in the local communities served by these organizations.
The Science Museum of Minnesota will develop "Investigations in Cell Biology," an integrated program that introduces cell, microbiology, and molecular biology to museum audiences through open-access, wet-lab, micro-experiment benches; training and support for school teachers; classes for adults and teens; and a long-term program for local high school youth. The project includes the development, testing, and installation of four micro-experiment benches that introduce visitors to the objectives, tools, and techniques of cell biology experimentation. These benches,"Inside the Cell," "Testing for DNA," "DNA Profile," and "Microbe Control," will be part of "Cell Lab," a 1,500 square-foot open experiment area within the science museum's new core exhibition, "The Human Body," opening December 1999.
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Laurie Kleinbaum FinkSusan FlemingJ Newlin
Big Ideas Entertainment, Inc. is producing a coherent test sequence, 30-seconds to 1-minute in length, that combines character animation with live action footage. The purpose is to assess the different methods of animation and compositing to produce an appropriate "marriage" between animation and live action footage, including testing the SANDDE hand-drawn animation system vs. traditional cel animation. The exploratory research also will test CGI processing (digital compositing) vs. optical printing. The footage to be produced, though short, will be developed with science content, a treatment, shooting script, and storyboard. Live action footage will be selected, animation characters designed, and one minute of animation and live action footage will be produced. The resulting footage will be evaluated by screening and focus group interviews with an audience of children and adults, as well as being assessed by professionals in the large-format film field.
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Kristin MartinValentine KassJocelyn StevensonMichael Templeton
The Louisville Science Center will develop "'The World We Create' -- a Traveling Exhibit." This project will develop two traveling version exhibitions (approximately 2,500 sq. ft. each) based on the programs of the highly successful permanent 12,500 sq. ft. exhibition "The World We Create," funded by NSF. One exhibit copy will travel nationally to small and medium-sized science centers throughout the United States over a three-year period, filling a need for quality traveling exhibits and reaching an audience of 300,000 to 500,000 people. The second exhibit copy will travel to rural areas of Kentucky to be hosted by schools, public libraries or community colleges, reaching an audience of 150,000 to 200,000 students and adults.
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Theresa MatteiGail BeckerNancy Potoczak
David Grubin Production, Inc., in conjunction with Thirteen/WNET, is producing a multimedia project entitled, The Secret Life of the Brain. The project will examine new understandings into the processes of the human brain that have developed over the last decade. Through an exploration of the brain's normal development from conception through old age, the project conveys the most recent knowledge available. The series will enable audiences to appreciate the current revolution in neuroscience, understand how new technologies have enabled scientists to unearth a wealth of information, and learn how neuroscience research impacts the health and future well-being of the average person. The five one-hour programs in the series will explore the brain from conception through age two, childhood from age two through puberty, adolescence, adulthood, and normal aging process in older age. Educational outreach materials for use in informal and formal setting will include two separate sets of printed materials, one for adolescents and one for adults. A Secret Life of the Brain Web Site will include Brain Games, the Brain Quiz, and the Live Brain that present learning opportunities for adults and teens. The project Principal Investigator will be David Grubin who will serve as Executive Producer. Grubin previously was the producer of Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers and the critically acclaimed biographies of Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt. June Kinoshita, an internationally recognized science reporter and editor, will serve as the Series Science Editor. Lead advisors for each program will be Bruce McEwen, President-elect of the Society for Neuroscience and Professor at Rockefeller University (Program 1); Steve Petersen, Director, Division of Neuropsychology, Dept. of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine (Program 2); Steven Hyman, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (Programs 3 & 4); and Carl Cotman, Director for the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California, Irvine (Program 5). Robert Miller of WNET will be responsible for the educational materials to accompany The Secret Life of the Brain.
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David GrubinTamara RobinsonWilliam Grant
WGBH will develop, produce, and distribute Wonders of the Modern World, a project that examines the science and technology behind the building of five international landmarks -- the Golden Gate Bridge, the Aswan Dam, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Toronto Skydome, and the English Channel Tunnel connecting Great Britain and France. Wonders of the Modern World is an integrated, synergistic project that combines a nationally-broadcast, prime time television series with print, interactive components, and on-line products for home and school. The goals of the project are to educate the public about concepts in physical science, technology, and engineering and to engage youth and adults in a diverse range of science and technology activities using various media ranging from on-line telecommunications to print. The specific components of the project include: o A prime time PBS television series consisting of five one-hour programs that will be hosted by David Macaulay, author of numerous popular books on technology such as How Things Work, Cathedral, Castle, and Pyramid, o A World Wide Web site where users can conduct interactive science and technology activities, o Print guides to help with on-line activities, o Family-oriented video vignettes with experiments in structural design, o Activity kits that include the materials needed for conducting family-based science experiments, o Curriculum-based school videos, o Student/teacher guides that will help interpret the series for classroom use, and o A CD-ROM. WGBH has formed alliances with four national organizations that will undertake a major effort to engage members of underserved and low-income communities in the series and the ancillary activities. These organizations are The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Community Technology Centers Network, The Public Library Association, and The American Architectural Foundation. The PI and Project Director will be Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOV A and Head of the WGBH Science Unit. Larry Klein, Head of Production Group, Inc., will be the Series Executive Producer and Co-PI. Beth Kirsch of WGBH will serve as Director of Educational Print and Outreach, and Mark Olshaker will be series editor and scriptwriter. Ted Sicker, Executive Producer for Interactive Projects/New Media at WGBH Educational Foundation will direct the development and deployment of the on-line components of the project. Barbara Flagg will conduct formative evaluation and Irene Goodman will conduct summative evaluation.
The Exploratorium will develop "The Electronic Guidebook: Extending Museum Experience Using Networked Handheld Computers." Through this project, the Exploratorium and the Concord Consortium will investigate the use of new technologies to enhance the learning experience of science museum visitors. The exponentially increasing availability of portable personal computing devices provides an opportunity for science museums to develop new ways for visitors to experiment and interact with exhibits. The partners will design and prototype a museum-based "Electronic Guidebook" for visitors. Twenty-five Exploratorium exhibits will be connected to a museum network and handheld portable computers through infrared connections. The target audiences for this project are the general public (adults and families) and children in the K-12 age range. The primary disciplinary focus is physics, with a secondary focus on mathematics.