Lincoln Park Zoo will upgrade and make freely available ZooMonitor, a scientific data collection tool, which currently exists in a pilot version, for monitoring the behavior of animals in zoos and aquariums, . ZooMonitor will contain modules for tracking animal behavior and body condition and for conducting data analysis. The zoo will also integrate a platform for securely storing an institution's data. With these modifications, ZooMonitor will be rigorously tested by industry partners, translated for both Apple and Android devices, and made available for free public download. ZooMonitor will enable any zoo or aquarium, regardless of collection size, budget, or number of staff, to develop a routine monitoring program—improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals across the country and around the world.
The Florida Aquarium will create a Gulf-focused seafood education program that will deliver current information on seafood choices that help ensure abundant future populations of fish. The aquarium will form an advisory council to provide ongoing Gulf seafood recommendations, produce a pocket-sized "Gulf Seafood Guide," refine and expand its Restaurant Partner Program, create a Commercial Partner Program for non-restaurant businesses, increase the sustainable seafood educational content on its website, and host World Oceans Day/Seafood Now Awareness Days to reach an even broader audience. The combination of educational products and events will enable the aquarium to reach the public with current information and allow consumers to take a positive role in helping preserve the Gulf through their purchases.
Brookfield Zoo will expand its "Zoo Adventure Passport" (ZAP!) program for urban families with children ages 3-12 to serve additional families and increase informal science learning opportunities in the two Chicago suburbs of Cicero/Berwyn and Melrose Park. The program will serve as a gateway to new family experiences, teaching families and children about their local and world environments, and providing an opportunity for family enrichment in a community-centered learning environment. The zoo will use presentations and activities to enhance science learning, offer field trips that reconnect urban families with wildlife and nature, and provide STEM content through multigenerational science learning. Through this project, the zoo will increase family participation by 25%; improve student performance in school; increase family interest in and enthusiasm about science, nature, and the environment, and increase family participation in their children's education.
Brookfield Zoo will develop a model for formal and informal early childhood educators in the Chicago metropolitan area to promote children and family learning (nature play, exploration, and scientific inquiry) within urban environments. In collaboration with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Mary Crane and El Valor Head Start centers in Chicago, Brookfield Zoo will train 80 early childhood educators in its established nature play curriculum; facilitate networking opportunities between participants and organizations; and host a two-day symposium for 150 early childhood educators at the end of the project. This partnership has built-in capacity for expansion within Chicago and throughout the region, and can serve as a replicable model for zoos, nature preserves, and Head Start programs throughout the country to increase opportunities children have to play, explore, and learn in nature as a basis for developing lifelong environmental stewardship.
Monterey Bay Aquarium will provide to 130 middle school teachers its yearlong Project-Based Science Institute professional development program covering strategies for implementing ocean science and conservation project-based science in the classroom. The program includes two levels: Level I Institute will introduce teachers to the concepts, strategies, and examples of how to implement project-based science in the classroom. Level II Institute will provide additional support through one-on-one coaching, collaborative problem-solving and a focus on longer-term, student-run projects including data collection and analysis. By implementing these strategies, teachers will have the tools to positively impact student STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning outcomes and expose children to interesting, real-world science experiences.
The Detroit Zoo will develop an innovative partnership to help underrepresented students achieve success in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) higher education and careers. The “Learning Classroom—Community of Practice” project will bring together the zoo’s informal educators and STEM content experts with partners at the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program and Oakland University’s School of Education and Human Services in four workshops designed to create a shared language, vision and values around program development and implementation. The group will develop methods for addressing developmental needs of youth while providing science education relating to wildlife conservation and environmental stewardship. They will also build a process for bringing new members into the collaborative with the ultimate goal of delivering large and sustained STEM projects in the metropolitan Detroit area. While focusing on creating a positive impact on STEM achievement and success in Detroit area youth, the project will identify aspects of the process that can be replicable in other regions.
The Bronx Zoo of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) engaged Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. to conduct formative evaluation and community focus groups related to a proposed exhibit, "Safari Adventure." The aim with this exhibit is to provide better connections to nature for families in our community and foster a life-long sense of environmental stewardship. The exhibit concept was born of the issue that, today, there exists a greater need to connect people to nature than ever before, a topic especially relevant for our community—part of the largest urban population in the United States
In 2011, the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) a Museums for America – Engaging Communities grant to explore the development of a new family exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, "Safari Adventure." Our aim with this exhibit is to provide better connections to nature for families in our community and foster a life-long sense of environmental stewardship. The exhibit concept was born of the issue that, today, there exists a greater need to connect people to nature than ever before, a topic especially relevant for our community—part of the largest urban population in the United States. The IMLS grant allowed us to take a multi-faceted approach to inform our current thoughts about useful nature exhibit practices and what resonates with our audiences. Through evaluation, prototyping, visits to other institutions, workshops, and community focus groups, we explored themes of child nature play, intergenerational learning, community engagement, and barriers to access. We are disseminating the various reports and products from this process to publicize our findings to the larger professional community. The Wildlife Conservation Society, founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. We are the world’s most comprehensive conservation organization, currently managing about 500 conservation projects in more than 60 countries and educating millions of visitors each year at our five living institutions in New York City: the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo. Our conservation programs work directly with animals such as gorillas, elephants, condors, and penguins, and we manage more than 200 million acres of protected lands around the world.
"In the past several years, New England Aquarium (NEAq) renewed all exhibits, built new additions, and made substantive efforts to restructure its interpretation strategies to transform the visitor experience. With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant #MA-06-12-0143-12, the Aquarium embarked on A New Strategy for Visitor Engagement: Interpreting our Mission for a Changing World. From fall 2012 through summer 2014, NEAq developed, implemented, and evaluated a comprehensive approach to increasing the capacity of front-line staff and interpreters to engage with