Since the first pioneering balloon flight undertaken in France in 1783, aerial ascents became an ordinary show for the citizens of the great European cities until the end of the XIX century. Scientists welcomed balloons as an extraordinary device to explore the aerial ocean and find answers to their questions. At the same time, due to the theatricality of ballooning, sky became a unique stage where science could make an exhibition of itself. Namely, ballooning was not only a scientific device, but a way to communicate science as well. Starting from studies concerning the public facet of aerial
The author reflects on the use of some media channels to disseminate information about astronomy. He states that there is a striking absence of regularly maintained blogs hosted by major astronomical institutions. He asserts that social networking sites offer a quick and efficient channel for dissemination of content to a younger audience. He offers information on Second Life, the most popular non-game-based virtual community.
This report is the second annual report summarizing data collected about the overall impact of the Saint Louis Science Center's educational programs on participants. Data was collected between September 2007 to August 2008. Four programs, Challenger Learning Center Student Missions, MySci(TM), Nanofuture Forums, and Travel Programs, are spotlighted.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jennifer HeimElisa IsraelStaci WillisKaty LoftonYing LiuSaint Louis Science Center
WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for "ZOOM," which will be renamed "Hot Seat." "Hot Seat" is a daily half-hour PBS television series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, the program gives its viewers a chance to explore, to experiment and to share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The intended impacts are to: (1) establish a project that uniquely integrates television, the Web and outreach as a model for how media can teach science and math; (2) engage kids and teach them science and math content and process skills; (3) provide curriculum and professional development to organizational partners. Innovation includes developing three new content areas for the series -- Invention, Space Science and Earth Science -- and evolving the project design by incorporating new production techniques that enhance the "reality factor" of the science programming. Outreach for the project will include printed materials for kids, families and educators. A new collaborative partnership is being developed with the American Library Association to help distribute the new afterschool curricula to librarians across the country. "Hot Seat" will support the existing network of "ZOOM" outreach partners and convert the museum "ZOOMzones" to "Hot Seat Spots." "ZOOM" currently is carried by 269 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by 4 million children each week.
Seeing in the Dark will be a prime-time PBS special about stargazing -- described in the proposal as "the interaction between starlight and human beings who have a look for the love of it, whether just learning the constellations or doing amateur astronomy so advanced that it sometimes rivals professional research." The project teaches "hands-on" astronomy drawing heavily on new technology (large, inexpensive "Dobsonian" telescopes; charged-coupled light-sensing devices [CCDs}; and the Internet) that make astronomical observing practical for millions to whom it has previously been at best a remote possibility. The video will be supported by an extensive outreach effort that includes informal, family projects and formal, in-class exercises. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be a major outreach partner. There also is a companion book, "Seeing in the Dark," published by Simon & Schuster.
The Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley will develop the "Real Astronomy Experience (RAE)" in which science center visitors will explore the universe by controlling and viewing robotic telescopes via the Internet; by using image processing software to understand the images they capture; and by capturing images with a hands-on, functional telescope equipped with a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera to learn how a modern telescope image-capture system works. Guided by project materials, visitors learn about the cosmos, tools and methods of scientific research, data analysis and the general progress of modern astrophysics.
Waves in Space, an educational museum exhibit for upper elementary and middle school students, clarifies the concept of radio wave propagation and how it is affected by variations in the Earth's atmosphere. The exhibit is based on research in upper atmospheric physics conducted by the Atmospheric Sciences Group at the MIT Haystack Observatory. This research is at the forefront of the emerging national space weather effort, a large NSF initiative to forecast and predict dynamic conditions in Earth's upper atmosphere and the effects these conditions have on key technologies such as cellular phones, pagers and satellites.
This PDF includes presentations and discussions that took place at the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Cornell Laboratory of OrnithologyCatherine McEver