Making Stuff Season Two is designed to build on the success of the first season of Making Stuff by expanding the series content to include a broader range of STEM topics, creating a larger outreach coalition model and a “community of practice,” and developing new outreach activities and digital resources. Specifically, this project created a national television 4-part miniseries, an educational outreach campaign, expanded digital content, promotion activities, station relations, and project evaluation. These project components help to achieve the following goals: 1. To increase public understanding that basic research leads to technological innovation; 2. To increase and sustain public awareness and excitement about innovation and its impact on society; and 3. To establish a community of practice that enhances the frequency and quality of collaboration among STEM researchers and informal educators. These goals were selected in order to address a wider societal issue, and an important element of the overall mission of NOVA: to inspire new generations of scientists, learners, and innovators. By creating novel and engaging STEM content, reaching out to new partners, and developing new outreach tools, the second season of Making Stuff is designed to reach new target audiences including underserved teens and college students crucial to building a more robust and diversified STEM workforce pipeline. Series Description: In this four-part special, technology columnist and best-selling author David Pogue takes a wild ride through the cutting-edge science that is powering a next wave of technological innovation. Pogue meets the scientists and engineers who are plunging to the bottom of the temperature scale, finding design inspiration in nature, and breaking every speed limit to make tomorrow's "stuff" "Colder," "Faster," "Safer," and "Wilder." Making Stuff Faster Ever since humans stood on two feet we have had the basic urge to go faster. But are there physical limits to how fast we can go? David Pogue wants to find out, and in "Making Stuff Faster," he’ll investigate everything from electric muscle cars and the America’s cup sailboat to bicycles that smash speed records. Along the way, he finds that speed is more than just getting us from point A to B, it's also about getting things done in less time. From boarding a 737 to pushing the speed light travels, Pogue's quest for ultimate speed limits takes him to unexpected places where he’ll come face-to-face with the final frontiers of speed. Making Stuff Wilder What happens when scientists open up nature's toolbox? In "Making Stuff Wilder," David Pogue explores bold new innovations inspired by the Earth's greatest inventor, life itself. From robotic "mules" and "cheetahs" for the military, to fabrics born out of fish slime, host David Pogue travels the globe to find the world’s wildest new inventions and technologies. It is a journey that sees today's microbes turned into tomorrow’s metallurgists, viruses building batteries, and ideas that change not just the stuff we make, but the way we make our stuff. As we develop our own new technologies, what can we learn from billions of years of nature’s research? Making Stuff Colder Cold is the new hot in this brave new world. For centuries we've fought it, shunned it, and huddled against it. Cold has always been the enemy of life, but now it may hold the key to a new generation of science and technology that will improve our lives. In "Making Stuff Colder," David Pogue explores the frontiers of cold science from saving the lives of severe trauma patients to ultracold physics, where bizarre new properties of matter are the norm and the basis of new technologies like levitating trains and quantum computers. Making Stuff Safer The world has always been a dangerous place, so how do we increase our odds of survival? In "Making Stuff Safer," David Pogue explores the cutting-edge research of scientists and engineers who want to keep us out of harm’s way. Some are countering the threat of natural disasters with new firefighting materials and safer buildings. Others are at work on technologies to thwart terrorist attacks. A next-generation vaccine will save millions from deadly disease. And innovations like smarter cars and better sports gear will reduce the risk of everyday activities. We’ll never eliminate danger—but science and technology are making stuff safer.
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WGBH Educational FoundationPaula Apsell
Schools do not define education, and they are not the only institutions in which learning takes place. After-school programs, music lessons, Scouts, summer camps, on-the-job training, and home activities all offer out-of-school educational experiences. In Learning at Not-School, Julian Sefton-Green explores studies and scholarly research on out-of-school learning, investigating just what it is that is distinctive about the quality of learning in these “not-school” settings. Sefton-Green focuses on those organizations and institutions that have developed parallel to public schooling and have
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The MacArthur FoundationJulian Sefton-Green
The Decapoda - shrimp, lobsters, and crabs - are an economically important, diverse group of animals whose geologic history extends back 400 million years. Living representatives, numbering over 15,000 species, are global in distribution and nearly ubiquitous in oceanic and non-oceanic environments. They exert a major impact on ecosystems; understanding the dynamics of their fossil record will illuminate their historical impact on ecosystems. We will test the hypothesis that decapods are arrayed in a series of discrete evolutionary faunas; remarkably, the vast array of living and fossil decapods in diverse interrelated groups have exploited four basic body plans repeatedly. Other hypotheses to be tested are that the Decapoda have repeatedly adopted a limited number of baupläne, or generalized architectures, throughout their history; that they have experienced explosive evolutionary radiations followed by periods of no determinable change; and that they are generally resistant to mass extinction events. These hypotheses will be tested using a unique dataset compiled and assessed by the Principle Investigators: a compilation of all fossil decapod species, arrayed in a classification scheme including fossil and living taxa, with geologic and geographic ranges of all species, including a phylogeny (i.e. "family tree") for many sub-groups within the Decapoda. The dataset will be expanded to include ecological data for each taxon and will be entered into the Paleobiology Database, an NSF-supported vehicle for analyzing the fossil record. Employing its methodology, patterns of diversity and macroevolution of the decapods will be generated at levels ranging from the entire Order to species level. This will result in a comprehensive analysis of macroevolutionary patterns of this major group for the first time. Available paleoecological data derived from field studies and published records will be used to determine the effects of various environmental factors such as seafloor conditions, reef development, water depth, and temperature on morphology, extinction survivorship, and diversity. Because decapods have a remarkable range of morphological variation preservable in the fossil record, the diversity of the groups of decapods can be assessed in relation to their morphological characteristics. Defining the history of taxa with specialized morphology will permit recognition of body plans that have been exploited by different decapod groups throughout the history of the clade.
Intellectual merit. This study will provide the most comprehensive analysis of macroevolution of the Decapoda yet conducted, all based upon a unique dataset that is internally consistent by virtue of its having been developed entirely by the investigators. It will document the significance of employing a high resolution, species-level database for interpretation of diversity. The hypotheses and conclusions derived here will provide a model and the foundation for future work on Decapoda, Arthropoda, and macroevolution of well-constrained groups. It will provide a test for the efficacy of PBDB data versus a constrained dataset assessed by specialist systematists.
Broader impacts. The work will introduce undergraduate students at Kent State at Stark, an undergraduate campus, and Kent State at Kent, to research that involves paleoecological, paleogeographical, and functional morphological elements which, in turn, will be communicated to other students. Because decapods are known to virtually everyone, they form an excellent group to use to inform the public about ancient patterns of diversity and the relationship between the morphology of organisms, variations in their environmental requirements, and their adaptability to different physical conditions. This will be conveyed in a professionally constructed display which has the potential to be exhibited in museums and universities around the country. Small kits designed for use in elementary and middle schools will be available to allow students to make their own observations about the adaptations of decapods to their environment and its effect on diversity. Published papers and presentations on results of research at meetings will be prepared throughout the course of the research. Because the study of modern biodiversity is a concern of the general public, presentations to broader audiences as well as geology classes will provide a broad historical context for understanding modern patterns of diversity. Data entered into Paleobiology Database and Ohio Data Resource Commons will be openly available to other researchers and the general public. Combined, the databases will assure archival storage and public access, following a proprietary period.
NASA Science and Technology on the Family Calendar investigated the possibility of using local public and charter schools to recruit groups of families with middle-school-age children who would meet regularly to create NASA-themed programs for presentation to the general public at the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC). The lead institution was the Rochester Museum & Science Center, in partnership with the Insight Lab at the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science of the Rochester Institute of Technology, with evaluation services provided by the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester.
The original project concept was to work through the Rochester City School District, the Genesee Community Charter School (GCCS), the Rush-Henrietta Central Schoool District, and the West Irondequoit Central School District to recruit a cohort of twelve families from each district and GCCS. Each cohort would meet regularly over a period of months to develop a program of activities with support from RMSC educators and RIT students and STEM faculty.
Experience over three years indicated that recruiting family groups through RMSC's and RIT's own channels of communication could be as effective or more effective than working through school districts. Although some cohorts started with as many as twelve families, completion of each project was actually accomplished by smaller core groups of two to five families. Because of other stresses on students, parents and the school, one of our Rochester City School District partners was unable to produce a cohort of families that could meet regularly. For this school we arranged special all-school visits to the RMSC's Strasenburgh Planetarium. We also recruited a new cohort from the general public to create a sixth event as envisioned in our proposal.
Each of our six successful cohorts produced its own public event running from one to ten days at RMSC: "Planet Next: Where Are We Going and How Will We Get There?", "Space Odyssey: Colonization of Space," "Lasers," "Aliens: Friend or Foe?", "Evolution of Electronics" and "Our Home Planet." These events were created during 105 family meetings attended by 269 unique individuals (including children of all ages and adults) and seen by an estimated 5910 RMSC visitors.
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.
Science Club is an after school program created in partnership between Northwestern University and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. Every week throughout the academic year, middle school youth (grades 5-8) work in small groups with their graduate student mentors on challenging, hands-on experiments. The six Science Club curricular modules cover topics ranging from biomedical engineering to food science, all with the goals of helping youth to 1) improve their understanding of the scientific method, 2) develop scientific habits of mind, and 3) increase their interest in STEM fields, particularly health-related careers. Science Club serves 60 youth every quarter with the help of 30 trained scientist mentors. Science Club meets three days a week at the Pedersen-McCormick Boys & Girls Club in Chicago, IL.
Over the past 50 years, women in the United States have made great strides in education and entry into the work force in this country. However, despite these advances, women continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, collectively referred to as “STEM.” Women’s representation is low at all levels of the STEM career “pipeline,” from interest and intent to majoring in a STEM field in college to having a career in a STEM field in adulthood. Studies show that girls lose interest in math and science during middle school, and STEM interest for girls
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Kamla ModiJudy SchoenbergKimberlee Salmond
CREATE (Creating Relevant Education in Astronomy Through Experience) will immerse and teach astronomy to underserved high school students in Milwaukee who will then become planetarium producers and astronomy mentors to younger students. The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) is the lead this effort in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee (BGCGM). MPM will also work with NASA and local astronomy institutions (Adler Planetarium & Yerkes Observatory) for educational materials and speakers. CREATE’s goal is to increase participation of high school youth from central-city neighborhoods in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The objectives are to: Engage these students who have shown an interest in STEM and leverage NASA resources to produce relevant astronomy education. Have the students become mentors for peers and younger students—thus inspiring themselves as well as their mentees to continue their educational paths in science. Build interest in NASA programs and in STEM careers with the creation of their planetarium shows and educational programs for their mentees. Expand CREATE’s impact by making these programs available nationwide and distribution of the planetarium show. The CREATE project will span three years. The first year will be spent on further development and planning of the program. During years two and three, CREATE staff will work with the students in an intensive 40-week program. Twenty students will be chosen to participate in CREATE each year.
Families and school-aged constituents at 30 urban, inner-city neighborhood community-based organizations and teachers and students in earth science classes in 40 middle schools. Intent: This project will prepare neighborhood and community leaders in Philadelphia to use simple but effective observation tools and NASA’s educational web content to help their inner-city Philadelphia neighbors learn about space science and technology – and about their city and themselves – by knowledgably exploring the sky. Project Goals: 1. Create multiple opportunities for inner-city children, adults and families to observe and learn about the solar system through neighborhood and city-wide events. 2. Equip CBO’s with the knowledge, skills and materials they need to make space science-related events and activities a sustained part of programming for their constituents. 3. Stimulate interest and engagement in NASA’s missions and resources among residents of traditionally underserved, inner-city neighborhoods through astronomy experiences and NASA’s websites. 4. Create and strengthen collaborative ties between The Franklin Institute, CBO’s, city residents, and local amateur astronomers. Programs/Products produced: 1. Repeatable ‘Galileoscope’ workshops and activities in 30 CBO’s 2. Solar observing activities for 30 CBO’s and 40 middle schools. 3. School assembly-type audience interactive program about observational astronomy for use in schools and community organizations. 4. Recurring neighborhood star parties facilitated through on-going partnerships with local amateur astronomy clubs. 5. Participation in city-wide star party as part of the annual Philadelphia Science Festival.
The goal of this project is to advance STEM education in Hawaii by creating a series of educational products, based on NASA Earth Systems Science, for students (grades 3-5) and general public. Bishop Museum (Honolulu HI) is the lead institution. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is the primary NASA center involved in the project. Partners include Hawaii Department of Education and a volunteer advisory board. The evaluation team includes Doris Ash Associates (UC Santa Cruz) and Wendy Meluch of Visitor Studies Inc. Key to this project: the NASA STEM Cohort, a team of six current classroom teachers whom the Museum will hire. The cohort will not only develop curricula on NASA earth science systems but also provide guidance to Bishop Museum on creating museum educational programming that best meets the needs of teachers and students. The overall goal of Celestial Islands is to advance STEM education in Hawaii through the use of NASA Earth Science Systems content. Products include: 1) combined digital planetarium/Science on a Sphere® program; 2) traveling version of that program, using a digital planetarium and Magic Planet; 3) curricula; 4) new exhibit at Bishop Museum on NASA ESS; 5) 24 teacher workshops to distribute curricula; 6) 12 community science events. The project's target audience is teachers and students in grades 3-5. Secondary audiences include families and other members of the general public. A total of 545,000 people will be served, including at least 44,000 students.
This is a Broad Implementation proposal. Our goal is to create a vibrant, sustained community of practice around the established Café Scientifique New Mexico model for engaging high school teens in science, technology, engineering and math; scale-up will be accomplished via a national network of committed partners. The adult Cafe Scientifique model for engaging citizens in science has proven very effective and has been implemented widely. The interaction in a social setting with a scientist-presenter around a hot science topic is the key to the model’s success. With ISE funding, the model has been adapted by Science Education Solutions for the high school teen audience. Cafe Scientifique New Mexico, now starting its fifth year, has had documented success in providing teens with increased STEM literacy and a more realistic picture of scientists as real people leading interesting lives. Teens come to better understand the nature of science and are more likely to see the relevance of science to their lives. Scientists express strong satisfaction with the nature of our coaching and the resulting quality of their science communication. The program has been continually evaluated and improved, and is now ready for broad implementation. Intellectual Merit: Teenagers are the adult citizens and workforce of tomorrow. Teens are reaching a critical life juncture and are making choices that affect their future life style, life-long learning behaviors, and careers. Yet they are increasingly dropping out of the STEM pipeline in school. Even teens interested in STEM often know little about science and engineering careers and the nature of scientific research. Teen Cafés can play an important role in addressing these challenges. We have two major objectives: 1. Implement the Café Scientifique model of Teen Cafés in a national network of sites committed to adopting and adapting the program and validating its impacts with diverse audiences; and 2. Create a vibrant and sustainable community of practice comprised of ISE and STEM professionals interested in engaging teens in STEM through Teen Cafés. We have formed a core network of six initial partners: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Center for STEM Research, Education, and Outreach; The Florida Teen SciCafé Partnership; North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh; Science Discovery, University of Colorado; The Pacific Science Center in Seattle; and The Missouri AfterSchool Network (MASN) – Project LIFTOF. We will add two more core partners in Year 3. The core partners will join the Teen Cafe Network in a staged fashion in years 1 - 3. Each will reach sustainability over a three-year funding period. Each node has a local area network of partners consisting of organizations that will host local Cafes; scientific organizations with potential presenters; schools and other organizations for recruiting teens; and entities capable of contributing to financial sustainability. The network will provide a structure for a dynamic, growing, and sustainable community of practice to implement the Teen Café model, in which high school teens will gain skills in scientific discourse, thought, and exploration. STEM professionals will gain improved skills for communicating with public audiences and a new perspective on their research from a broader societal perspective. ISE professionals will gain capacity to adapt, implement, test, and further disseminate the Teen Café model and increased capability for preparing STEM experts to communicate effectively with teen audiences, along with tools, resources, and expertise to help them do so. Science Education Solutions will manage the project and provide the resources to support the community of practice, while continuing Cafe Scientifique New Mexico as a ninth network node. We will stimulate intensive ongoing communication of lessons learned across the network as partners start up their Cafe programs; external observers will be able to watch the program unfold. Broader Impacts: We will build capacity for serving teens and effective communication of science in the broad ISE and STEM communities by encouraging and nurturing others wishing to start a Cafe program and join the network. We have partnered with 10 large science and science education organizations, each with its own extensive network, which will allow us to further propagate the Teen Cafe Network. They are: National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), The American Institute of Physics (AIP), Science Cafés.org (to include NOVA), Science Festival Alliance, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI), Informalscience.org, Project Liftoff: Elevating Science Afterschool, ITEST Learning Resource Center, and The Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes (CMMAP). Each partner will also target underserved and diverse teen audiences for their programs.
This article is a review of the 2011 book "Better Together: A Model University-Community Partnership for Urban Youth" by Barbara Jentleson. Better Together examines in depth the first decade of the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership (DDNP), focusing on its involvement with six community-based afterschool programs sponsored by Duke’s Project HOPE (Holistic Opportunities Plan for Enrichment). The primary aim of Project HOPE was to provide academic support to Durham’s low-income minority youth.