This paper outlines findings from a 1990 survey conducted by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), specifically related to the prevalence and value of teacher training programs at accredited AAZPA institutions.
Green City Data is an after-school community service project. Teams of secondary students are trained to inventory urban natural areas selected by regional resource planning agencies to supplement their own data collection efforts. Representatives from seven agencies and educational institutions initiated this project to support development of a system of greenspaces within the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington metropolitan area. This consortium includes expertise in resource management, geography, biology, computer telecommunications, science education and community coordination. These and other community professionals tech students and volunteer team leaders (teachers or other adults) the basics of habitat identification and mapping in the context of regional planning. ***
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gail WhitneyMichael HouckJames GillenJoseph PoracskyEllen Lanier-Phelps
Acting on behalf of a group of academic, educational and public-service organizations the University of California-Santa Barbara proposes to improve aquatic science education in informal settings that include youth-service organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, YMCA, YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs and 4-H. The specific emphasis will be on the close interdependence between humans and the aquatic environment and on the need for enlightened social action in defense of that environment. The thrusts of the project will be to establish the California Aquatic Science Education Consortium; to develop multiple copes of sets of instructional materials on topic of aquatic science appropriate for informal educational settings; and to develop a program for training a cadre of trainers who in turn will train volunteers in the use of the materials. The program has a significant potential for broader national application.
In the Fall of 1994 The New York Botanical Garden will begin its second 100 years of commitment to science education with the opening of the Children's Adventure Garden and the Children's Adventure Trails. As two components of the Children's Adventure Project , these informal science education facilities will use participatory discovery to engage urban children and their families in learning botanical science, inquiry skills, positive attitudes towards science, and the methods of scientists. In the 1.5 acre Adventure Garden children will interact with living plants and fabricated exhibits to discover fundamental principles of plant biology; and in the one mile of Adventure Trails they will closely observe interdependencies of complex ecosystems using the framework of these fundamental principles. To expand visitor understanding of plant biology and the ways that scientists study it, Investigation Stations, integral components of each facility, will be placed so that visitors will handle, sense, and observe living plants in situ and interact with fabricated exhibits and scientific tools. The Project will be developed by NYBG staff educators and scientists with on-going participation of a broad spectrum of advisors and consultants, including exhibition designers, evaluators, community school teachers, and environmental education specialists.
The Great Lakes Museum of Science, Environment, and Technology will develop a 10,000 sq. ft. exhibit focusing on The Great Lakes Environment. Addressing the core mission of the museum, the exhibit will promote understanding about "the interdependence of scientific, environmental, and technological activities in the Great Lakes Region." The exhibit will focus on the Great Lakes as an ecosystem. By means of interactive activities, visitors will learn how this ecosystem was formed, the web of life it supports, the stresses it receives, and the efforts to restore its health. The Great Lakes Museum is a new 165,000 sq. ft. facility located in downtown Cleveland on the Lake Erie Shore and is scheduled to open in 1996. The exhibit area will cover 50,000 sq. ft. and will be fully accessible. An entire floor will be dedicated to the Great Lakes Environment. Complementary educational programs will consist of the following: take home activity guides to encourage the discovery and exploration of ecosystems in backyards or neighborhoods, pre and post visit activities for school groups, and teacher enhancement activities. Museum staff are participating in the planning process for the Urban Systemic Initiative of Cleveland and activiites and content of exhibits will be developed to complement the curriculum. The museum will develop a menu of activities and databases for electronic networking with homes and schools. They will have video conferencing capabilities to connect the museum with classrooms.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Richard CoyneTimothy LargePauline Fong
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop an interdisciplinary national traveling exhibition about raptors (birds of prey). Created in collaboration with The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota (TRC) and the Museum Magnet School of the St. Paul School District, this exhibit and its related programs will explore themes of biodiversity, ecology, and human relationships with the natural world. It will help visitors understand raptors as diverse, charismatic, biologically-complex animals whose continued survival is linked to fundamental questions of public policy, economics, and environmental ethics. combining the perspectives of the sciences with those of the humanities, the exhibit will present science in a real-world context of human values and actions. Opening at SMM in the summer of 1944, the 5,000-square-foot exhibit will travel for five years or more to other large museums, nature centers, and zoos throughout the U.S. Using specimens, models, artifacts, dioramas, audiovisual programs, and interactive components and supported by theater, demonstrations, and a variety of other on-site programs, it will provide a compelling mix of informal learning experiences for families, school groups, and other general audiences. Beyond the museum walls, the themes of the project will reach schools and other important outreach audiences through videotapes, teacher training programs, educational materials, and other programs. SMM will also produce a scaled-down version of the exhibit that will tour to smaller museums, nature centers, and zoos.
Through the proposed project, approximately 555,000 youth and adults will improve their knowledge of the basic sciences and mathematics, and learn to integrate and apply these disciplines, by analyzing local environmental problems using remote sensing imagery and maps. Faculty from the Cornell laboratory for Environmental Applications of Remote Sensing (CLEARS) and Cornell Department of Natural Resources will train county teams of teachers, museum and nature center educators, community leaders, and Cooperative Extension agents from throughout New York State to conduct educational programs with youth and adults in their communities. Previously developed CLEARS educator enrichment workshops and training materials will be enhanced and revised based on the interactions among Cornell Faculty, informal and formal science educators, and students during this program. A facultative evaluation focusing on the workshops, training materials, and educator teaching skills, and a summative evaluation focusing on student learning and attitudes, program delivery in the various community education settings, and the effectiveness of the county educator teams will be conducted. The results of the evaluation will be incorporated into a program handbook and used in nationwide dissemination of the program.
Ornithology is one of the few scientific disciplines to which amateurs can still make significant contributions. Whether they observe birds at a feeder, count birds for a national census, or conduct a simple experiment, their activities contribute greatly to our knowledge of birds. Furthermore, participants in bird study programs not only learn about birds, they also become more aware of environmental problems. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology exists to facilitate such amateur involvement and education. This proposal is aimed at strengthening our education programs and expanding them to include under-served audiences in the inner city. We propose to evaluate the extent to which our radio program, magazine, and Project FeederWatch appeal to various audiences and how effective these programs are at communicating information about birds and in stimulating involvement. Based on this evaluation, we will modify our programs, then evaluate them again. We are also proposing a brand-new volunteer-assisted data gathering program, which we call the National Science Experiment. In cooperation with other organizations, volunteers will look at the biology of pigeons in our cities, food preferences of winter birds across the United States, and the habitat requirements of neotropical migrant tanagers. The results of these studies will be of interest to both ornithologists and birders; furthermore, participants in the project will gain first-hand involvement with the process of science.
National Public Radio is seeking to expand its coverage of scientific issues in two ways: through the creation of a new Environmental Reporting Unit, and through the introduction of SCIENCE FRIDAY, a two hour call-in talk show dedicated to scientific issues. Each of these projects will be supported by an extensive outreach effort targeted at local schools, community groups, science museums, and nature centers. Through the Environmental Reporting Unit, NPR plans to produce eight to ten half hour documentary reports per year on critical environmental issues. Each of these reports will be available to listeners on cassette and will be accompanied by supporting documentation. The SCIENCE FRIDAY team will engage NPR's audience in a lively debate on questions ranging from nuclear physics to archaeology. In addition, SCIENCE FRIDAY will travel to high schools and museums across the country and engage in question and answer sessions with students, teachers, parents and school administrators. These "on the road" segments will be supplemented by live broadcasts from annual meetings of the National Association for Science (NAS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Through these efforts, NPR will be able to draw listener attention to the need for improved science and mathematics education, while helping listeners make informed evaluations of current public policy in these areas.
The Science Museum of Connecticut (SMC) proposes a three- year exhibit project called The State of the Environment. This cost-effective project will serve over 500,000 citizens a year by producing two permanent exhibits - 2400 sf for SMC and 400 sf for SMD's Roaring Brook Nature Center -- and eight traveling exhibits for use primarily in connecticut's Priority schools. These innovative exhibits use highly accurate sculptural relief maps which are animated by laser graphics and responsive to visitor inquiries through a research-calibre database containing vast information on Connecticut's environment. Thorough evaluation will help SMC design visitor experiences that make map-database interaction attractive, easy to use and understand, and educationally satisfying. State accredited teacher workshops will give educators a firm grasp of database capabilities prior to its use in the traveling exhibits for schools. Traveling exhibits will support goals in Connecticut's NSF-funded Statewide Initiative. Teacher's Guides will facilitate in-dept investigations for high school science lessons. These exhibits will provide hands- on experiences with professional tools for environmental research, show how environmental maps are made, teach basic principles of environmental science, and provide-in-depth information about the ecology of an entire state.
Field Museum requests $1,033,456 from NSF for the geological and biological science portions of the new, 14,000 square-foot multidisciplinary exhibit on Africa. This $3.45 million permanent reinstallation will capitalize on Field Museum's extensive African collections. We intend to use these collections and other presentational strategies, broad scientific and community input to develop a sensitive and appealing exhibit that will advance central scientific themes in anthropology, geology, ecology, and conservation. A variety of techniques will be used to appeal to the individual interests, needs and learning styles of our diverse audience. Project director will be Michael Spock, Vice President for Public Programs at Field Museum. Co-developers will be Karen Hutt and Fath Ruffins. Exhibit consultants and advisors include Field Museum scientists and educators, and experts in the fields of biology, zoology, and conservation from outside the Museum. An estimated 14 million children and adults will be reached by this ehibit over the next 20 years, and extensive documentation of the exhibit development process will serve as a model for development of other comprehensive exhibits throughout the world.
The Staten Island Children's Museum requests support for an interactive exhibition for children on the topic of water. WATER WATER EVERYWHERE will open in April 1991 and remain on view for three years; a smaller replica of the exhibition will be ready to travel in the Spring of 1992. The first year will allow an initial evaluation period during which both design and content can be improved. The exhibition has dual goals: to provide family audiences, focusing on children, with the materials and context that encourage experimentation and learning, and to educate visitors about an essential and widespread constituent of our world. WATER will present different aspects of this varied subject in six sections: the many forms of water in our world; the properties of water; how living things use water; how water works for us; experiments with water and local water issues. The exhibition will engage children imaginatively, inform, provide opportunities to experiment and learn, and stimulate creativity. Museum public programs and activities will be offered in conjunction with WATER to both extend and enrich the project. WATER will contribute to both children's and inter- generational learning. Its desired outcomes include further development of the Museum's critical thinking skills program, expansion of our renewed Informal Science Education Program, extension of our community service programs and heightening our participation in community issues, such as the environment, through the ecological aspect of the exhibition. By touring the exhibition and producing educational materials based on WATER, the Museum will extend its impact in learning skills, science education and environmental awareness to a scale that is potentially national.