Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) - Monroe County, Inc. and The College of Exploration are developing and implementing a pilot project to target traditionally under-represented ethnic groups who are limited English proficient-- many reading and writing in English at the grade 0 - grade 5.5 level. The project goals are for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to use digital photo cameras, digital video cameras, waterproof underwater HD cameras and GPS technologies to geo-locate, explore, observe, record, display and tell stories in English both in words, photos and short HD video clip sequences. Stories will be about the exploration of places like the National Marine Sanctuaries and other areas of the country and coasts where there are scientific observation and monitoring opportunities created and supported by NOAA partners.
Tornado Alley is a large-format 2D/3D film and comprehensive outreach program exploring the science behind severe weather events. The project focuses on cutting-edge developments in the fields of meteorology and earth science, demonstrating weather monitoring technologies. The project spotlights the current research of the VORTEX 2 (V2) project--the most ambitious effort ever to understand the origins, structure and evolution of tornadoes. The principle target audiences are science museum audiences, with additional special attention to under-served, rural mid-western communities, which will be served by digital 3D screenings. The film will be produced by Graphic Films and Giant Screen Films and distributed by Giant Screen Films. The Franklin Institute will create and manage outreach to professional audiences. Informal Learning Solutions will conduct formative evaluation; RMC Research Corporation will conduct summative evaluation of the project. The film, produced by Paul Novros (PI) and directed by Sean Casey, will collaborate closely with the V2 team, led by Dr. Josh Wurman, and consult with the project advisors to assure clarity and accuracy of the science being presented. A distance-learning initiative to serve educators--both formal and informal--will be managed by Karen Elinich (co-PI) of The Franklin Institute. The project's innovative outreach strategies leverage the mobility of the tornado intercept vehicle (TIV) built by Sean Casey, and the Doppler on Wheels and MGAUS (weather balloon vehicles) to bring scientists and weather-monitoring technology into direct contact with audiences. Outreach to underserved audiences, especially rural audiences, will provide opportunities for interactions with V2 PIs and their students, who serve as role models in science careers. In addition, cyber infrastructure will allow groups of educators to interact remotely with V2 researchers and experience visualizations of weather data. The film and ancillary materials will be translated into Spanish. The project serves as a model for the dissemination of the methods and results of a specific major NSF hard-science research endeavor to the general public through ISE products and activities. The goal of the project is for the audience to increase their knowledge and understanding of the scientific process, learn what meteorologists do, what technologies are used in meteorology and weather science and the factors and forces in meteorological events. It is intended that young audience members will also develop and interest in weather science and potential careers in science and engineering. In the first five years of the film\'s release, the audience is anticipated at 7 million plus. In addition, the live outreach events are expected to engage approximately 40,000-60,000 individuals.
In the Communities of Learning for Urban Environments and Science (CLUES) project, the four museums of the Philadelphia-Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative worked to build informal science education (ISE) capacity in historically underserved communities. The program offered comprehensive professional development (PD) to Apprentices from 8-11 community-based organizations (CBO), enabling them to develop and deliver hands-on family science workshops. Apprentices, in turn, trained Presenters from the CBOs to assist in delivering the workshops. Families attended CLUES events both at the museums and in their own communities. The events focused on environmental topics that are especially relevant to urban communities, including broad topics such as climate change and the energy cycle to more specific topics such as animals and habitats in urban neighborhoods.
Journey into Space (JIS) is designed to improve student, educator, and general public understanding of earth/space science and its relationship to NASA goals and objectives through the use of a traveling GeoDome (inflatable planetarium) and engaging supporting programming at The Journey Museum. The Museum collaborates with area colleges, school districts, K-12 educators, youth serving organizations, astronomical affiliations, and others. The overall goal of JIS is to improve student, educator, and general public understanding of STEM and its relationship to NASA goals and objectives. JIS objectives are: 1) To increase student and public interest and awareness in STEM areas; 2) To increase student interest in pursuing STEM careers; 3) To improve teacher knowledge of NASA related science; 4) To increase teacher comfort level and confidence in teaching NASA related science in their classrooms; 5) To increase collaboration between informal and formal science educators; 6) To increase student and public understanding of Plains Indians ethno astronomy; and 7) To increase museum visitors’ interest and understanding of NASA related science. The Museum produced 2 films (“Cradle of Life”, “Looney Moons”) that are offered daily, 4 recurring monthly programs (Final Frontier Friday, Amazing Science, SciGirls that became Science Explorer’s Club, and Black Hills Astronomical Society meetings), summer robotics classes and teachers’ workshops, annual Earth Science Day, in addition to the GeoDome programming that has toured the region including presentations in the three poorest counties in the United States. The ethno-astronomy is underway in partnership with Oglala Lakota College and South Dakota Space Grant Consortium.
Project LIFTOFF works with local, regional, and national partners to engineer statewide systems for Informal Science Education that inspire: YOUTH to pursue STEM education and careers through increased opportunities for quality, hands-on STEM learning. AFTERSCHOOL STAFF to facilitate STEM learning experiences that contribute to the overall STEM education and aspirations of youth in their programs. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS to encourage and support staff in the integration of STEM enrichment into the daily programming. STATE LEADERS to sustain and expand afterschool learning opportunities so that all students have access to engaging STEM experiences outside of the regular school day. Project LIFTOFF is dedicated to the development of the following essential elements of statewide systems for informal science education:
Access to appropriate STEM Curriculum for youth of all ages, abilities, and socio-cultural backgrounds that meets the needs and interests of individual community programs
Systematic STEM Professional Development that matches individual skills in positive youth development with abilities to facilitate discovery and science learning
A diverse Cadres of Trainers who will deliver the professional development, technical assistance and curriculum dissemination in their local communities
Authentic Evaluation of informal science efforts that determine the impacts on youth aspirations and the capacity of youth programs to provide quality STEM experiences
Local STEM education leadership to identify the ways in which collaborative education efforts can advance the development of 21st Century Skills and the preparedness for STEM workforce and higher education
Partnerships in support of youth development and informal science education that convene local, regional, and statewide organizations and stakeholders
To advance national initiatives and states' sySTEM engineering efforts, LIFTOFF coordinates an annual convening, the Midwest Afterschool Science Academy, that brings together national informal science experts, system leaders and youth development professionals to elevate the levels of science after school. The 5th MASA will be in the spring of 2014 in Kansas City, MO
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Missouri AfterSchool NetworkJeff Buehler
This Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) is a collaboration among Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California—Santa Barbara, and the Museum of Science—Boston with participation by Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), the University of Basel (Switzerland), the University of Tokyo (Japan), and the Brookhaven, Oak Ridge, and the Sandia National Laboratories. The NSEC combines "top down" and "bottom up" approaches to construct novel electronic and magnetic devices with nanoscale sizes and understand their behavior, including quantum phenomena. Through a close integration of research, education, and public outreach, the Center encourages and promotes the training of a diverse group of people to be leaders in this new interdisciplinary field.
The WGBH Educational Foundation together with the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and dozens of partners, proposes a major new initiative to reshape the image of computing among college-bound high school students, with a special focus on Latina girls and African-American boys. Image is seen as an important factor in the lack of interest in computing majors among high school and college students, who often see computer scientists as geeks and nerds with boring jobs and equally boring lives. Latina girls and African-American boys--among the most underrepresented groups in computing--represent particularly important and challenging audiences. The New Image for Computing project will research and design a "communications make-over"--a new set of messages that will accurately and positively portray the field and will be widely tested for their emotional appeal to and intellectual connection with the targeted audiences. Experienced marketing professionals will help create the messaging campaign using proven marketing and communications strategies. WGBH, a leading producer of programming for public television and non-broadcast educational media, is uniquely positioned to lead this initiative, as they have a current, similar project called Engineer Your Life that aims to encourage academically prepared high school girls to consider engineering as an attractive option for both post-secondary education and as a career choice.
The X-Tech program will bring together the Exploratorium and staff at five Beacon Centers to create an innovative technology program using STEM and IT activities previously tested at the Exploratorium. At each X-Tech Club, two Beacon Center staff and two Exploratorium Youth Facilitators will work with 20 middle school students each year for a total of 300 participants. Youth Facilitators are alumni of the Exploratorium's successful Explainer program and will receive 120 hours of training in preparation for peer mentoring. Each site will use the X-Tech hands-on curriculum that will focus on small technological devices to explore natural phenomenon, in addition to digital imaging, visual perception and the physiology of eyes. Parental involvement will be fostered through opportunities to participate in lectures, field trips and open houses, while staff at Beacon Centers will participate in 20 hours of professional development each year.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Vivian AltmannDarlene LibreroVirginia WittMichael Funk
SciGirls is a multimedia project designed to encourage and empower more girls to pursue careers in STEM. It is a bold and unique experiment--the first television series on PBS designed specifically for girls aged 8-13. The approach is based on the findings of prior gender research. The television show and the Web site are integrally linked. Episodes are available for distribution on many of the newest digital platforms, e.g., Vimeo and iTunes for downloads, free of charge. SciGirls launched in February 2010 and reaches over 80% of the country. This project will support further research and development to advance SciGirls' online and outreach activities. Specifically, the deliverables include: (1) enhancement of the SciGirls website on pbs.org; (2) maintenance of the SciGirls Educator Networks and outreach to new partners; and (3) R&D on other media platforms. The project's two strategic partners are the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) in Seattle and The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The NGCP links SciGirls with its network of 500 community-based science programs for girls, and The Franklin Institute coordinates an affiliate network of science museums to implement SciGirls' outreach activities. The project will also work with the Girl Scouts of America's new "Girl Scout Leadership Experience" program, which emphasizes STEM learning. The most significant web component is a social networking feature that allows girls who are interested in science to connect with peers across the nation. To date, there have been over 300,000 unique visitors and 20,000 registered "SciGirls."
The City as Learning Lab (CaLL) is a comprehensive research and development initiative designed to create new measures of audience impact in technology experiences; identify features of university-community collaboration that facilitate sustainable community programs; and produce a set of tools and resources that allow other cities to tailor creative robotics programs to unique audiences. Project partners include the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE), the Community Robotics Education and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) lab at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, and the Georgia Institute of Technology as well as local museums, community organizations, and afterschool clubs. CaLL builds on the work of three existing youth technology programs in Pittsburgh targeting audiences ages 9-15: the Robot Diaries, Neighborhood Nets, and Robot 250. Research questions relate to creative processes in informal learning settings, use of robotics to engage diverse audiences, and changes in technological fluency after students leave the informal learning setting and apply their new knowledge and skills at home or in other learning contexts. The research incorporates data from up to 1000 program participants. Findings will establish evidence for how technological fluency can be measured, supported, and developed through informal technology learning experiences. Project deliverables include a CaLL curriculum, toolkit, new measures of audience impact, and identification of factors that support university/community collaborations. Broader impacts in informal technology education will be achieved by developing flexible toolkits that allow other communities to adapt and adopt CaLL technologies, curricula, and activities.
A Youth-Directed Cafe Scientifique targets culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse youth ages 11-18 with a web-based program designed to engage students in active discourse on current STEM topics. Building on the adult program of the same name, this youth-centered project also provides opportunities for individual and group activities. Project partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Bradbury Science Museum, Sandia National Laboratory, Los Alamos Women in Science, and the University of New Mexico, which will serve as a source of scientists to act as speakers and mentors. Northern New Mexico Collefe, Santa Fe Community College, University of New Mexico, and theNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, as well as area high schools will host discussions and focus group meetings. Recruitment of youth participants will be carried out by New Mexico MESA as well as four local high schools. Project deliverables include a robust model for engaging youth in an active online community and Youth Leadership Teams (YLT). YLT's select topics, recruit members, and facilitate Cafe discussions and blogs. Cafe meetings enable youth to explore a topic of their choice in an online session led by a youth host in conjunction with a guest speaker. The follow-up sessions encourage more in-depth exlopration of the topic via interviews, articles, community meetings, and museum exhibits created in collaboration with the Bradbury Museum. The Cafe website will highlight youth produced podcasts, essays on science topics, and a blog. Strategic impact resulting from this project includes the development of a creattive model that effectively engages youth in STEM discourse while meeting the cultural and intellectual needs. It is anticapated that this project will serve over 5,700 youth in three years.
WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce the third and fourth seasons of "NOVA scienceNOW," a multimedia project addressing a wide array of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects via multiple platforms including national PBS broadcast, the PBS Web site and innovative outreach initiatives. Project goals are to help the general public understand the value and importance of scientific ressearch and to encourage an interest in STEM careers among younger viewers. INNOVATION/STRAGEGIC IMPACT: The series provides a significant opportunity to develop a new format for science journalism building on brand recognition but potentially reaching a broader and more diverse national audience. The new host will be Dr. Neil deCgrasse Tyson, an accomplished astrophysicist and charismatic science communicator whose partipation will help the series reach out to a broader demographic. NOVA is planning a new scheduling configuration for these future seasons to maximize audience for the six new programs per year, i.e. the programs iwll run consecutively in the NOVA slot during June and July. COLLABORATION: NOVA has developed a new consortium of PBS stations to advise on the series and to contribute editorially to the programs. This will give the program greater geographic coverage and will provide local contacts with researchers at major universities and institutions connected to these stations. The project will also partner with the American Library Association and Sigma Xi and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in the outreach effort. Multimedia Research, Inc. and Goodman Research Group will conduct formative and summative evaluations, respectively.