The Exploratorium is developing a model program that demonstrates the vital role science museum exhibits can play in supporting formal science education reform. The development of exhibitions and enhancement activities is based on the Science Framework for California Public Schools and the emerging National Science Education Standards. The project includes: A series of four museum exhibitions (with a total of 60 exhibits) based on the Science Framework themes of Patterns of Change, Stability, Scale and Structure, and Systems and Interactions Publications (Exhibit Guides and Pathways) for each collection A series of workshops and evening events for teachers, families and students A symposium, video and Internet resource for museum and education professionals An important feature is an information desk and resource kiosk to inform teachers, parents and the general public about science education reform efforts. The project aims at 5,000 teachers, 32,000 parents and caregivers, 140,000 students and 1,320,000 members of the general public.
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) is implementing a new, 41-month phase and augmentation of a national public service advertising campaign that was launched in 1995. The Math is Power campaign was developed by NACME in partnership with The Advertising Council toward the goal of creating an increase in the number of students who graduate from high school with prerequisite courses to enroll in any rigorous, math- or science-based undergraduate program. The current project is designed to reach all students but is especially targeted to groups currently underrepresented in math and science and will be anchored by highly directed television, radio, print, and outdoor advertising. The new phase will introduce a Math is Power interactive web site. The website will allow NACME to add direct services to the information packets that are sent to students and parents who respond to the public service advertising. It will include: content relevant, age appropriate math challenges, games, problems, and contests; a national registry of math opportunities where students, parents, and teachers can find mathematics resources; an on-line special events chat room; and a best practices bulletin board. NACME will coordinate their outreach efforts with services such as the Community Technology Center Network (CTCnet) in order to facilitate web access for youth and parents in disadvantaged neighborhoods. They also will work directly with 25 cities with the greatest numbers of citizens who fall in the target population. Math and Science education services in these cities will be able to localize much of the material through such means as placing a local tag on the television ads. In addition, the NACME production and distribution capabilities will be substantially expanded to meet the tremendous demand for Math Is Power materials.
KCTS, Seattle's PBS affiliate, is producing a series of three one-hour prime-time science education television specials starring Bill Nye. The specials will be aimed at a family audience and will be designed to promote informal science learning through an entertaining presentation of science in everyday life. Topics currently being considered for the specials are The Science of Sports, The Science of Learning, and The Science of the Future, thought other topics, such as Pseudo Science, also are being considered. Each program will maintain the entertainment values of enthusiasm for science so prominent in the Bill Nye the Science Guy series but will have a strong narrative element and air of suspense as Bill embarks on a journey of discovery, greater depth of content and presentation, and longer uninterrupted segments. The programs will be supported by a multi-pronged outreach program to reach parents and children through local PBS stations and science museums, community organizations serving disadvantaged populations and, possibly, a tie-in with a national chain of quick family restaurants. Many of the same team that created Bill Nye the Science Guy will work on this project including Bill Nye; Elizabeth Brock, Executive Producer; and Erren Gottlieb and James McKenna, producers. The production team will work with fourteen scientists and science educators who will advise the project on presentation and outreach. This group also will review and comment on all scripts and drafts of outreach material.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William NyeJames McKennaErren GottliebBurnill ClarkRandy Brinson
The Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc., requests $264,904 to pilot a project for establishing a national program to provide parents and significant other adults with support, training and materials. Also, the project goals will enable parents and other adults to become actively engaged in local science education reform and science literacy for their children. The duration of this project is eighteen months. The cost sharing for this NSF award is 24.6% of the total projected cost of the project. The Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc. will collaborate with the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and the Arundel County Public Schools' Family Involvement Center. Project "ASK with Science" will develop a model program for implementing and disseminating science education materials to young children in underserved communities, thereby creating a grassroots, family-oriented program that can become established in the local communities served by these organizations.
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science proposed to develop an outreach science and mathematics program with a parent involvement and teacher enhancement professional development component. The goals of the project are as follows: (1) to involve parents in their children's education; (2) to promote a positive attitude on behalf of parents and students toward science and mathematics; (3) to increase teachers' level of comfort in teaching science; and (4) to enhance teacher's confidence in the hands-on approach as an effective method for teaching science. The objectives for the parent component of this project are: acquaint parents with the national and state science education goals and standards; introduce parents to activities that can be done at home with children; and provide families with materials and activity sheets that can be used at home. The objectives for the teacher component of this project are: (1) to provide teachers with opportunities for increased communication with parents about science literacy for children; (2) provide professional development for teachers on the use of hands-on science activities in the classroom; and (3) to providing bilingual activity guides and kits containing materials to encourage science learning. The methods for implementing this project will be varied according to the needs of the target audiences. Parents and children will be engaged through parent workshops and multi-aged children's activities conducted at the museum by experienced science educators. The professional development for teachers' component of this project will include an extensive summer workshop, on-going training/ planning sessions during the school calendar year and session on the uses of the bilingual teaching manuals. The cost sharing for this NSF award is 46.7% of the total project cost.
The goals of the Seattle Partnership for Family Science are to enhance science literacy; increase parental involvement in their children's science education; and increase the numbers and ethnic diversity of families participating in school-based and community science programs. The Partnership will use the existing Seattle Partnership for Inquiry-Based Science, funded by a National Science Foundation grant for local Systemic Change, as the framework for the proposed activities. During the planning phase, the project staff will: * identify barriers to participation by families in their children's education paying special attention to ethnic minorities and individuals with limited proficiency in English; * develop and pilot-test an array of methods aimed at reducing these barriers; * promote awareness and involvement of parents in inquiry-based science activities; * develop new inquiry-based tools for science investigations; and * establish collaborative partnerships among the Seattle School District, the University of Washington, the Woodland Park Zoo, and other informal science centers.
This project by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) develops a public education program on chemistry. The program: introduces students and the general public to the science of chemistry and processes of chemistry-related research through drop-in lab activities; provides follow-up chemistry activities for use by elementary teachers and parents so that children can further explore the interests they have developed in science and chemistry; provides opportunities for internships for high-school students as lab assistants so that they can develop greater knowledge of "everyday" chemistry, laboratory techniques and safety, develop skills in working with others and in teaching chemistry, and explore potential careers in teaching chemistry; and make available the resources developed by OMSI to other interested science museums.
The Youth Experiences in Science (YES) Project of the 4-H Center at UC, Davis will produce, pilot and evaluate an informal science education curriculum expressly designed for 5-9 year olds in school-age child care (SACC) settings. Seven thematic units will be developed (three in both English and Spanish versions), utilizing the basic design process and instructional model developed in the earlier SERIES Project. Each unit consists of engaging hands-on activities performed with inexpensive materials and incorporating home and neighborhood service applications. During the three years approximately 500 teenage volunteers will deliver the program to approximately 2,500 children through a network of existing SACC sites operated by 4-H and other community groups. Capitalizing on SACC settings, the program will collaborate with schools and reach out to parents through development of "Science Family Backpacks" and "Science Family Activity Nights." Program evaluation includes in-depth monitoring and use of multiple assessment instruments and measures at 25 selected sites. In addition to formative and summative evaluation, data will be available on parent involvement and the amount, nature, and durability of positive influences on participants' school science interest and success.
Blackside, Inc. is producing a television series and an outreach component about minority scientists. The goals of the six-hour prime-time series, "Breakthrough: People of Color in Science," are to raise the consciousness of the general public that is largely unaware of the significant contribution of scientists of color and to provide role models that will encourage young people to consider science and engineering careers. The programs will feature the work of contemporary African-American, Latino and Native American scientists and engineers who are active in cell biology, astrophysics, applied mathematics and other fields of science. The stories of their scientific achievements will present both women and men, old and young, at different stages of their careers, and will explore the professional, educational and social worlds they live and work in. Viewers will have immediate access to a comprehensive follow-up effort that will connect them with local, regional and national opportunities in informal science education. Blackside will collect information from existing resources and institutions as well using source material from several extensively researched databases geared toward minority students. Using all of this information, Blackside will create a metadatabase that will connect teachers, parents, mentors, and students to a rich variety of educational programs: extracurricular classes, mentoring programs, national science contests, teacher training workshops, and a myriad of on-line services. To ensure immediate access and, where possible, to customize the information to viewers needs, Blackside will disseminate it through a variety of means: an 800-number with a direct fax-back capability, an on-line service, a CD-ROM, and a printed packet delivered by mail. A principal target audience is gatekeepers in students' lives: parents, teachers, and scientists interested in becoming mentors. The target audience also includes students from fourth th rough twelfth grades. Joseph Blatt will serve a PI for this project and co-executive producer for the television series. His previous experience include serving as executive producer of "Scientific American FRONTIERS" and as a producer/director for several NOVA programs. He also has been executive producer for three television series/college credit courses in mathematics. Henry Hampton will be the other co-executive producer. He was the creator and executive producer of the 14-hour, award winning series, "Eyes on the Prize," about America's civil rights movement. The principal educational consultant will be Ceasar McDowell, assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Michael Ambrosino, the original executive producer of NOVA, will be the principal science television consultant.
The Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association (WETA) is producing and disseminating "Green Technology," a multimedia project that promotes active learning about environmentally beneficial technologies for the home, the workplace, and the community. The objective of the project are to change or consolidate the public's concepts about the fundamental relationships between the environment and technology at the grassroots pocketbook level, to enhance their understanding of the pertinent science and technology, and to provide them with practical information about how to take action for oneself and in the fulfillment of a wider civic responsibility. The components of the project include: o Three one-hour prime time television programs o Community Outreach through the National Community Education Association and their affiliates in 40 states. o Development of community education material including a 30-minute highlight tape to serve as a discussion springboard with accompanying discussion and resource guides. o A Viewer's Newsletter for each program which will include short articles on the basic science and technology explored in the program and a "What You Can Do" section. o A CD-ROM for use by parents and children at home and by students in school. o On-line information clearing house the SOLSTICE, the digital library of energy and environmental resources operated by the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology. o Teacher enhancement materials and activities for middle schools to be disseminated through the Teacher Educator's Network of the Association of Science-Technology Centers. o The National Academy of Engineering will identify engineers who can serve as "on-line consultants" to students and teachers involved in examining specific environmental issues. Richard Thomas, previously Executive Producer for "Mystery of the Senses" and "The World of Chemistry," will be PI and Executive Producer. Principal Content Advisory will be S. William Gouse, chief scientist and President of Energy Systems and Technology at MITRE. William McDonough, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, will be the host of the television series.
"Under the Rock: An Experiment in Neighborhood Exhibit-Making" is a project that will engage children in the development of exhibits as well as present information about backyard ecology. The Children's Museum staff will work with Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses (a group of inner city neighborhood centers in Boston) to develop a model activity that uses the theory and practice of exhibit making as a tool to engage children in science learning in their neighborhoods. They will work with children and their parents in the exploration of insect life in their urban settings and presentation of their findings in exhibits the children will make. Exhibit making includes the entire process of: studying live insects, doing research, writing text, designing and building interactive activities for an exhibit about insects, and marketing the exhibit. Exhibit making has been chosen as the pedagogical technique because it parallels creative work done in the real world; it involves people working together in teams, and utilizes different skills and intelligences of the participants. In addition to the exhibits, other results of this project will include: an educator's guidebook documenting the process of exhibit-making in community centers; a proposal for an activity book for kids with writing samples and illustrations that will be submitted to a publisher; video and electronic resources; and contributions and recommendations for the Museum's "Under the Rock" exhibit, a new exhibit to be developed subsequent to the completion of the first two phases of this project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Signe HansonTimothy PorterDorothy Merrill
The Massachusetts SSI (Project PALMS) will conduct this project in partnership with MITS (the Museum Institute for Teaching Science, Inc.) and will develop, demonstrate the effectiveness of, and disseminate a locally-driven model for parental involvement in mathematics, science, and technology education. The model builds on the SSI structure by starting with parents who are active in PALMS District Leadership Teams for Systemic Change (approximately 2900 parents). These parents will have opportunities for additional training with materials such as Project PRISM, EQUALS, AAAS, etc. These support the new State frameworks and assessments developed through he SSI, and are also in support of the high quality curriculum materials recommended for implementation in schools. Parents will then develop local plans for engaging other parents in their communities. Materials will be developed, including a manual on How to Build Coalitions to Engage Community Members in Mathematics, Science, and Technology Reform. In addition, materials will be developed and outreach activities will be conducted to include activities for parents and children (estimated to reach an additional 21,000 parents) held in nontraditional environments such as subways, laundromats, health clinics, and malls. Products will include a manual on building coalitions to engage communities in supporting mathematics and science reform, and a collection of field-tested prototype outreach activities. Findings will be disseminated through the Eisenhower Consortia, National PTA, Urban League, and National Council of La Raza.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Thomas NoonanMary Jane SchmittPendred Noyce