KCTS, Seattle's PBS affiliate, is producing a series of three one-hour prime-time science education television specials starring Bill Nye. The specials will be aimed at a family audience and will be designed to promote informal science learning through an entertaining presentation of science in everyday life. Topics currently being considered for the specials are The Science of Sports, The Science of Learning, and The Science of the Future, thought other topics, such as Pseudo Science, also are being considered. Each program will maintain the entertainment values of enthusiasm for science so prominent in the Bill Nye the Science Guy series but will have a strong narrative element and air of suspense as Bill embarks on a journey of discovery, greater depth of content and presentation, and longer uninterrupted segments. The programs will be supported by a multi-pronged outreach program to reach parents and children through local PBS stations and science museums, community organizations serving disadvantaged populations and, possibly, a tie-in with a national chain of quick family restaurants. Many of the same team that created Bill Nye the Science Guy will work on this project including Bill Nye; Elizabeth Brock, Executive Producer; and Erren Gottlieb and James McKenna, producers. The production team will work with fourteen scientists and science educators who will advise the project on presentation and outreach. This group also will review and comment on all scripts and drafts of outreach material.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William NyeJames McKennaErren GottliebBurnill ClarkRandy Brinson
The Franklin Institute and the Girl Scouts of the USA will develop, implement, and evaluate "Girls at the Center," a family outreach program that will foster girl-centered, learning within the context of the family. Partnerships will be promoted between local science and technology centers and Girl Scout Councils. It is a multi- component program that will increase girls' and their families' understanding of and interest in basic science principles and processes. Consisting of a series of family-oriented activities that coincide with the school year, science/technology centers will serve as the hosts. These museum-based activities will be supplemented by home-based activities. The activities will follow the constructivist theory of education and will cover a broad menu of scientific disciplines including ecology, energy, and human physiology as well as science careers opportunities. They will be linked to the requirements for the Girl Scout recognition (badges) program. It is building on the success of a previously NSF funded project "National Science Partnerships for Girls Scout Councils and Museum" and is expected to reach 75,050 girls and 112,575 adults in 25 sites across the US during the funding period. It will be institutionalized and will continue to operate in those sites as well as expand to other sites after the NSF-funded period.
WGBH Educational Foundation is producing Season I of Zoom, a daily half-hour television series for children aged 8 to 11. Zoom, which is based on the highly successful 1970's series of the same name, features a cast of seven children who engage in activities and examine ideas submitted by youth who watch the show. The new Zoom will have an enhanced educational concentration, an emphasis on science and math activities and projects, and a comprehensive outreach campaign. A major focus of the series will be to develop "Habits of Mind" which promote the capacity to think about the same ideas and evidence in multiple ways; collect, organize, and recognize patterns in data; identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations; and develop skills of estimation, judgment, and data literacy. Season I will have three over-arching science and math-based themes: Structures, Things That Go, and Living Things. Each program will include two or three science and math segments, as well as encouragement to try these activities at home. From time to time, the cast will provide a "challenge" for viewers by asking them to conduct an activity as home and send in their results for presentation on a later show. Field-produced segments will feature children engaged in science or math projects that they have found particularly fascinating and have done on their own. The series also will revisit projects or "challenges" over the course of a season to demonstrate that science is an on-going, evolving endeavor and that new information may change old assumptions. Zoom outreach activities will include a Zoom science guide for educators, a World Wide Web Site, museum Zoom rooms, community partnerships with three national organizations that work with underserved children. In addition, every viewer who writes, calls an 800 number, or sends an e-mail will receive a free four-page newsletter with directions needed to complete activities from the series and to tackle challenge s that the cast issues to the audience. Kate Taylor will be Executive Producer for the project. She has been co-executive producer for Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and for Degrassi Junior High. The Science and Math Director will be Candace Julyan, Senior Project Director at TERC. The Director of Outreach will be Beth Kirsch who oversees the development and implementation of national outreach campaigns for WGBH. The staff will work closely with a group of consultants and advisors with expertise in such areas as science and mathematics, informal science, outreach, and evaluation.
ScienceQuest is an innovative program created by the Education Development Center that fosters an interest in science and technology among adolescents ages 10-14. This program builds on the successful "ThinkQuest" model, in which small teams of 2-3 students work with adult coaches to research subjects of interest and share their knowledge through the creation of websites. "ScienceQuest" teams focus on science topics and are housed in HUD Neighborhood Network technology centers, located in communities with HUD-assisted or insured housing residents. Participants include individuals with and without disabilities from low-income urban areas. Students select a science topic and research it using online resources, hands-on experiments and visits to museums and science centers. Coaches such as scientists, teachers, museum staff and other role models, as well as on-line scientists, provide assistance by setting goals, devising an action plan and identifying appropriate resources. The "I-Search" model, a four-step strategy used to direct student inquiry, is used to guide investigations and aid in content acquisition. Once completed, websites are mounted on the "ThinkQuest" server. Parental participation is encouraged throughout the process. "ScienceQuest" will be piloted in the greater Boston area in year one, and disseminated to 75 Neighborhood Network sites throughout the country in years two and three of the grant. Each site may have one or more teams. With more than 500 Neighborhood Networks in place, "ScienceQuest" has the potential for widespread dissemination.
KCTS is producing Sci-Squad, a national weekly science education television series for children ages 8 to 10. The thirteen half-hour programs in the series will show a team of kids, the Sci-Squad, who use inquire and collaboration to seek the solution to a science problem. The team is led by Howzit, a young woman computer whiz. Working cooperatively the team investigates each scientific subject through a combination of first-hand experimentation, Internet surfing, field research, and visits to real-world scientists. Each of the characters models a different mode of science inquiry in search to a question the team receives at the beginning of each program. Youth who view the programs will be encouraged to follow along with the Sci-Squad and will be challenged to observe, measure, think critically, analyze results, and devise further experiments. Outreach materials to support science activities by viewers include an Explorer's Guide for youth, a Parents Guide, and a Guide for Teachers. There also will be collaborations with science and youth serving organizations such as Boys & Girls Club of America, Family Math, GEMS, Science Linkages in the Community, the National Science Teachers Association, the National PTA, and, for the Hispanic population, ASPIRA and the National Council of La Raza. Bill Jersey, President of Quest Productions, will be the Senior Producer, Director, and Co-Project Director. The creator of the project and Co-Project Director is Pierre Valette, a producer and writer of documentaries for Quest Productions and previously an Associate Producer in Children's Programming at WGBH. Elizabeth Brock will be the Executive-in-Charge of Production for KCTS. The Senior Science Consultant is Ted Ansbacher who previously was Director of Exhibits at the New York Hall of Science and Director of Education/Senior Scientist at The Chicago Museum of Science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bill JerseyPierre ValetteElizabeth BrockJeff GentesBarbara Flagg
The Self Reliance Foundation in association with the Hispanic Radio Network over a five year period will produce and distribute a variety of daily Spanish-language radio programs on science education topics and follow-up outreach services to network listeners on science education and career opportunities. The applicants will add two science related episodes each week to Buscando La Belleza, the four-minute daily radio series for families that focuses on social issues, work issues, women's rights, and educational and career opportunities. It is carried on 100 stations with a weekly cumulative audience of 2,567,000 listeners. The new episodes will include: 52 role model interviews with Hispanic men and women who have careers in science, mathematics, and technology from technical positions not requiring a college degree to Ph.D.'s engaged in cutting edge research; 26 family involvement episodes with suggestions for parents to build their confidence in helping their children with homework, doing simple science activities with their children at home, encouraging their older children in their studies, and working with schools and community organizations; and 26 academic and career resource/success stories highlighting Hispanic students who have been successful in their pursuit of careers in science, mathematics, and technology. The second series included under the grant is Salvemos Nuestro Planeta, a two-and-a-half minute series that focuses on environmental issues. It currently is carried on 89 radio stations twice a week with a total weekly cumulative audience of 2,494,300. The producers will expand the series to seven original episodes per week with five episodes focusing on science, mathematics, and technology themes: general science literacy, environmental management and technology, computers and information technology, environmental activities for youth, and SMET career opportunities. Outreach will consist of a national Spanish language toll free phone number that will refer listeners to resources related to opportunities for scholarships in science and engineering, activities and resources for parents and children in science education, etc., and in some cases, connect callers to the subject of that days interview. The PI will be Roberto Salazar who has been chief assistant to Vicente Llamas at the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities. He has been involved in numerous science education project for Hispanics and has a background in radio. The Executive Producer will be Jeff Kline. Major science consultants will be Vicente Llamas, Director of the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities, and Estrella Triana, Hispanic Science Education Director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Roberto SalazarGilbert SanchezRobert Russell