Nanoscale Education Outreach (NEO) workshop participants were interviewed 6+ months after their attendance to determine the effect of the workshop on the participants' professional capacity and to determine the effect of the participants' involvement in the broader NISE Network. 33 of the 87 total participants were interviewed over several months.
The Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA), producer of TV411 and the NSF-funded Think Math, will undertake a planning process for the development of a ten part series, TV411 Cook Smart, which will incorporate lessons in math, biochemical and physical processes into a cooking show format. The television series is geared towards low-literate adults and builds on ALMA's prior experience in producing science/math-based programming. The deliverables include a standards-based curriculum outline for the series; outreach and training plans with the project's broadcast partner, Kentucky Educational Television; development of strategic partnerships with community organizations, including Head Start programs and Neighborhood Networks National Consortium; and evaluation strategies to study the impact of the TV411 Cook Smart on adult learners.
Hidden Universe is a multi-faceted project built around production of a 2D/3D giant screen film. The goal is to inspire, engage, and excite viewers about the mysterious worlds hidden around us and the science and technology that reveal them. The film will illuminate natural wonders that are invisible to the naked eye, such as objects and processes that are too slow, too fast, and too small to be seen without advanced technologies. It will include nanoscience and microbiology research and developing wavelength technologies such as ultrafast lasers. The project will employ cutting-edge technology to bring arresting footage of micro- and nanobiology to the giant screen to offer audiences (1) deeper understanding of natural phenomena that comes through observation and (2) greater appreciation of modern technology that makes such observation possible. The film story will focus on demonstrating science as inquiry and underscore the crucial link between scientific inquiry and technological advances. The film project will be enhanced with educational outreach materials, professional development opportunities for educators, and an interactive website. Hidden Universe will be produced by the large format team at National Geographic's Cinema Ventures group and its production partner Blacklight Films. The project brings to the table the extensive resources of the National Geographic Society. In addition, the project will partner with a select group of scientific research centers (Chester Carlson Center for Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Nanobiotechnology Center at Cornell) and leaders in informal education (Boston Museum of Science and Girl Scouts) to extend the reach and impact of the project. The project will add to its list of partners by working with the D.C. Public Schools and Teach for America to find new ways to intersect with teachers and students in underserved areas. The project will employ Multimedia Research and Knight-Williams Research Communications to conduct the project\'s formative and summative evaluations, respectively.
WGBH is requesting funds to produce a four-hour NOVA television special with accompanying Web and outreach activities about the pervasive role of materials in our lives. The overarching goals of the project are to: 1) enhance public engagement in and understanding of materials science, including appreciation of its effects on society; 2) promote collaboration among educators, scientists and community-based organizations to reach a broad audience; and 3) create effective methods of expanding informal science learning that can be evaluated for their lasting impact on the field. The mini-series, "STUFF: The Materials that Shape our World," will offer an appreciation of the human and scientific factors that drive innovation in materials science, from ancient breakthroughs to today's explosion of biological and nanomaterials. The four episodes, themed around "Stronger," "Smaller," "Smarter" and "Cleaner" will provide a clear focus on the interdisciplinary nature of materials science and showcase dramatic stories of past inventions and exciting new discoveries. The NOVA team in association with the Materials Research Society (MRS) will produce the series. The "STUFF" series is anticipated to be broadcast on PBS in the fall of 2008. WGBH and MRS will work with local PBS stations to train local scientists in public outreach. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the project components, and Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the series and the outreach efforts.
Madison Area Technical College will refine and evaluate the effectiveness of Fusion Science Theater (FST), a combination of theater, science demonstrations, and participatory components, as an ISE teaching model, to test its transferability through development and trials of an exportable version (Science-in-a-Box), and to recruit appropriate partners nationally in preparation for a larger scale implementation and evaluation. A Fusion Science Theater event utilizes the collaborative effort of applied expertise in science, theater and education. These events support playful interactions as characters engage the emotions of the audience. The Act-It Out sequences invite children and parents to become involved in modeling scientific concepts, thus creating an environment where learning is the product of social interaction and kinesthetic, affective and interpersonal learning. To provide proof-of-concept that this a transferable model, an independent, interdisciplinary team from the University of Wisconsin, Madison Biotechnology Center will produce their own FST event that will be evaluated and compared to an existing FST program. The Madison Children's Museum will partner as a venue for the event and provide expertise in the planning process. The ultimate project resulting from this planning would include workshops to train collaborative teams from around the country in the principles and practices of FST, promotion of cross-disciplinary collaboration among professionals, and honing of an evaluation design for FST events. The trained teams would then produce FST events that reach children, their parents and the general public. The planning grant project design includes activities necessary to further test, verify and document Fusion Science Theater events. It provides a proof of concept of model effectiveness and transferability. It also initiates, develops and assesses ways to train other groups to implement the model and publicizes the model to national professional networks to spread the work and recruit site teams.
Cornell University, through Main Street Science (the education program of its Nanobiotechnology Center), proposes to create a 3,500 sq. ft. traveling exhibition on nanoscale science and engineering in partnership with Sciencenter of Ithaca, New York. Intellectual Merit: The exhibition will address two questions: How do we see things too small to see, and how do we make things too small to see? In sections titled Small, Smaller, Nano; Seeing Nano Structures; Making Nano Stuff; and Nano and Me, hands-on activities and experiences will present the tools, processes and applications of nanoscale science and engineering for children ages 8 to 13 and adults. Broader Impact: This traveling exhibition is projected to reach some three million visitors in at least six sites as part of its national tour. It will then become a permanent exhibition at Sciencenter. Dissemination will be supported by a web site, take-home materials, a children's book and activities to carry out at home, along with links to formal education.
Radio Lab will produce 20 hour-long interdisciplinary science programs and 30 shorter features to be aired on NPR news magazine programs on a wide range of core STEM topics exploring how research is done as well as what the scientific results mean to the listener. The programs are co-hosted by Robert Krulwich, science reporter for NPR, and Jared Abumrad, WNYC radio producer and music composer. The programs are using a new, unorthodox format with music, live sounds and conversations between the hosts designed to appeal to young adult listeners who previously thought they did not like science. Each episode is crafted around a scientific finding and aims to connect the scientific inquiry to philosophical and universal implications. Program topics will include biology and neuroscience as well as physics, genetics, chemistry, math and engineering. The program carriage goal is to have the hour-long programs airing on 100 stations reaching three to four million listeners by the end of the project. The shorter segments will be distributed by NPR in its regular news magazine programs. Programs will also be podcast on NPR and WNYC's web sites, as well as through iTunes. The project will also train NPR science reporters on this new approach to science news content.
DATE:
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen HorneJad AbumradRobert KrulwichBarbara Flagg
Kikim Media requests $743,316 to produce four half-hour television documentaries and associated outreach programs based on Michael Pollan's best-selling book, The Botany of Desire. The project explores the reciprocal nature of people's relationship with plants. The programs focus on the connections between apples and the human desire for sweetness; tulips and the desire for beauty; marijuana and the desire for intoxication; and corn and our desire for control over nature. The project will increase public understanding of diverse subjects including genetics, evolution, cognition and biochemistry as well as biodiversity, genetic diversity and the consequences of their loss. The project will have a broad impact through a national primetime PBS broadcast, an outreach program targeting adult audiences, and an educational module delivering appropriate content (excluding intoxication) to middle and high school audiences. Knight-Williams Research Communications will conduct the evaluation for The Botany of Desire television broadcast and outreach efforts.
This proposal is based on the PI's active research investigating the physical, chemical, spectroscopic and biological properties of boronic acid substituted chalcones, a subclass of flavonoid plant pigments. Functions of flavonoids include disease resistance, sunscreen protection, plant pigmentation and fertility. This project targets youth in Berrien County, Michigan providing them with hands-on activities involving natural plant pigments and their function. It also provides teachers with supplementary materials to Michigan's core science curriculum and informs the general public about the importance of research in developing a robust R&D sector in Berrien County's mixed economy. Outreach tools include the websites, DVDs, PowerPoint, poster presentations and the Benton Spirit Community Newspaper.
This planning activity will produce a prototype film on Spanish horses and conduct 10 focus group discussions to determine: audience interest, background knowledge, what viewers would like to see in this documentary, language barriers, cultural barriers, and how the film could be structured to help the public and teachers interact with children. The focus groups will target the follow groups: (1) middle school teachers, (2) elementary school teachers, (3) families with young children, (4) Hispanic families, (5) American Indian families, (6) youth ages 13-19, (7) horse lovers and those involved in horse activities, (8) senior citizens and individuals with disabilities, (9) documentary, museum exhibit and website production professionals, and (10) media and museum marketing professionals. The effort is intended to guide development of a PBS documentary, an interactive website, a companion book, and a museum exhibit on the origins, evolution, migration and impact of Spanish horses. STEM content in mathematics, genetics, paleontology, chemistry, evolution, and animal behavior, integrated with history, will be incorporated into the scripts for this diverse array of media platforms. The project also presents an opportunity to present in a very interesting and real sense the scientific process used for discovery. In addition to producing the prototype film and conducting focus group discussions, this planning grant will help to: clarify the responsibilities of all of the participants, especially the international participants; clarify the contributions from each discipline and scientist; plan in detail ways to achieve the greatest understanding with the anticipated diverse audiences; select the best geographic region, graphics, media, and animation; and establish realistic budgets and elements for production and post-production. Collaborators include: New Mexican Horse Project, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Habitat Media, University of New Mexico and Institute for Social Research, Cambridge University, Texas A &M University, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Selinda Research Associates, and PBS.
The periodic table of chemical elements is an array that is confusing to the uninformed and profoundly simplifying and full of crucial information to the informed. It represents some of the most basic information for the construction of what people see, feel and breathe. Due to the table's complex appearance and the way it is described; many individuals shun its informative base. This proposal is a planning grant application that intends to develop a multi-media presentation, which includes TV, web site, a teachers DVD, and an outreach plan, to bridge this knowledge gap in a user freindly manner. It will make educating minority children one of its priorities. The basic premise for their bridge is that people will better grasp the aspects of the chemical elements if they humanize the elements by discussing them as products of scientists and that scientists are people. The success of this effort is critical. While chemistry affects every aspect of human life, it is one of the least understood sciences. If successful, this project may well pave the way for additional programming.
Oregon Public Broadcasting is requesting funds to produce three one-hour nationally broadcast television programs, a project website, community-centered outreach coordinated by AAAS in 7 U.S. cities, a seminar discussion guide and a series of 90-second programs as part of the "Earth &Sky" radio series. The subject and purpose of the project is to attract public interest in nanotechnology by examining the social, ethical, legal and environmental issuers surrounding its application. The television programs will be produced by Fred Friendly Seminars (FFS) and broadcast on PBS. Two science museums, Boston Museum of Science and the South Carolina State Museum, and the University of California, Berkeley, will host the FFS panels. The format of the Seminars is designed to produce thought provoking and nuanced discussions of contemporary issues. Collaborative partners in the project include AAAS, Lawrence Hall of Science and ICAN Productions. The outreach initiative includes outreach to "targeted stakeholders" in 7 US cities, four 90-second radio spots as part of Earth & Sky, a project web site and a Seminar discussion guide. Inverness Research Associates and Edu, Inc. will conduct both formative and summative evaluation of the project components.