The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will partner with The Exploratorium and with three smaller science museums that have strong connections to rural and Spanish-speaking populations in Texas: Discovery Science Place, Loredo Children's Museum, and Science Spectrum to develop TexNET, a four-year project modeled on the Exploratorium Network for Exhibit-based Teaching (ExNET). TexNET builds on lessons learned from past exhibit outreach models and addresses the needs of small, rural partners for exhibits and capacity-building workshops. Each small museum partner will host a set of ten exhibits for one year. Exhibit topics are 1) motion, 2) weather and 3) sound. Workshops focus on inquiry learning techniques, science content, programming and workshop design, as well as the institutional needs of each partner. Based on feedback from formative evaluation, the project added three additional partners in its final year, the Children's Museum of Houston, the Austin Children's Museum, and the Don Herrington Discovery Center, and focused its remaining year on building institutional capacity around tinkering. Inverness Research Associates will conduct the project evaluation. They will examine the success of this project by looking at the effectiveness of the TexNET model, the success of the individual exhibit elements to engage rural communities, the effectiveness with which this project has enhanced the abilities of local rural communities to sustain their own educational improvements and the effectiveness of the training components in increasing the capabilities of the local museums to serve their rural audiences.
DATE:
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Charlie WalterSamuel DeanJoe HastingsRobert Lindsey
The Children's Museum of Houston seeks to develop a 1,500 sq ft bilingual traveling exhibition based on their bilingual "Magnificent Math Moments" activities. This project simultaneously addresses two very important needs: the relative lack of mathematics exhibits for young children and for Spanish-speaking audiences. The exhibition is based on Patron (Pattern) Point where the visitor meets math superheroes, Subtracta, Capt. Mas in the settings of Subtracta's Puzzle Parlor; Capt. Mas's Marina; and Formas (Shapes) Family Shipping Yard. It will provide an inviting setting for introducing the target audiences to mathematics through the use of characters, environments and puzzles. BROADER IMPACT: Fabrication of a second version of the traveling exhibition will extend the number of institutions reached through two national tours. These exhibitions, which target children ages 5-10 and adults, are projected to reach some 1.4 million visitors in 24 museums over five years; sites will be selected to reach Hispanic audiences in smaller, low-income urban and rural areas. For further impact CMH is forming another network of museums that will benefit from this project, even though the institutions will not be able to host the traveling exhibition. CMH also is developing ancillary materials and services to accompany the exhibition that include activity kits and cart, character costumes, training guides, parent materials and other resources.
The Space Science Institute (SSI) seeks to develop the "Stardust Project," designed to introduce the public to concepts related to the birth of stars, the search for planets beyond our solar system and the search for life beyond earth. The project's three components include a 2,500 square-foot travelling exhibition called "Stardust: Our Search for Origins;" a comprehensive education program for museum staff and grades 4-9 school teachers and a public Web site that incorporates and builds on the exhibit and education content. The project proposes to assemble standards-based educational materials for dissemination through workshops conducted at museums that host the exhibit. The educational programs -- particularly professional development workshops for teachers -- target, among other groups, underserved Native American and Hispanic teachers associated with a partnership between SSI and the NSF Rural Systematic Initiatives in the American West. The project is built around strong partnerships with two NASA Origins Program missions and with established informal education institutions including the New York Hall of Science, the Lawrence Hall of Science, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, TERC and the SETI Institute. Its goals are to make it possible for teachers, students and the public to learn about: The formation of stars, planets, and the solar system; The conditions necessary for life; The effect of life on Earth's environment; The methods used to detect planets orbiting distant stars and The scientific tools used in origin research -- from space-based telescopes to microscopes.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific requests $1,348,428 to enhance the dissemination of Project ASTRO in communities by building new capability into an existing network to serve the "whole family". Family ASTRO will consist of the following components: Six Family Astronomy Kits, in English and Spanish, each consisting of a suite of hands-on activities that can be done with simple materials that are available to a wide range of families. All families will have the capability to perform these activities. A Family Astronomy Events Manual to help partners and site leaders use star parties, Sun, Moon, and Shadows sessions, and other larger group astronomy events into the project. Training protocols and materials at three levels: to train the families in doing astronomy activities directly, to train the astronomy/teachers partners to work with families and to train regional site leaders on the best ways to work with their local partners to start their own Family ASTRO program. The project will have a strong focus on families of underserved populations in science by continuing the work of Project ASTRO sites in urban areas such as Chicago and San Francisco, and in rural areas like southern New Mexico.