WNET is producing "The Human Spark," a multimedia project that includes a four-part television series (4 x 60 min) for national primetime broadcast on PBS, innovative outreach partnerships with museums, an extensive Web site and outreach activities, including a Spanish-language version and companion book. Hosted by Alan Alda, "The Human Spark" will explore the intriguing questions: What makes us human? Can the human spark be found in the differences between us and our closest genetic relative -- the great apes? Is there some place or process unique to the human brain where the human spark resides? And if we can identify it, could we transfer it to machines? The programs will explore these questions through presenting cutting-edge research in a number of scientific disciplines including evolution, genetics, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral science, anthropology, linguistics, AI, robotics and computing. The series will highlight opposing views within each field, and the interdisciplinary nature of science, including its intersection with the humanities. The series will develop a new innovative format, the "muse concept", which involves pairing the host with a different scientific expert throughout each program. The outreach plan is being developed with a consortium of four leading science museums, American Museum of Natural History in New York, Museum of Science in Boston, The Exploratorium in San Francisco, and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, paired with their respective local public television stations. An additional six museums and local broadcasters will be chosen through an RFP process to develop local initiatives around the series. Multimedia Research and Leflein Associates will conduct formative as well as summative evaluations of the series and web.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William GrantJared LipworthGraham CheddBarbara Flagg
SoundVision Productions is developing and distributing a series of ten, hour-long public radio documentaries that will explore the turbulent boundary between science and the humanities, capturing the present moment of tremendous scientific and scholarly ferment with the unique and intimate power of radio. By introducing the radio audience to the thoughts and voices of some of the world\'s most accomplished scientists, in conversations with the counterparts in the humanities, the series will look at recent developments in science including physics, molecular and cell biology, environmental science, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and the multiple disciplines of the life sciences reflecting the increasingly subtle and widespread application of evolutionary theory. In each program, a careful account of new scientific ideas and discoveries will be placed within the context of historical and contemporary thought about the human and natural worlds. Barinetta Scott, the Executive Producer, has most recently been the Executive Producer for the highly regarded NSF funded NPR series, "The DNA Files." In developing this project, she will work closely with an advisory committee that includes: John Avise, Research Professor, Dept. of Genetics, University of Georgia Samuel Barondes, Professor and Director of the University of California San Francisco\'s Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry Terrence Deacon, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Anne Foerst, Professor of Computer Science and Theology, St. Bonaventure University Ursula Goodenough, Dept. of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis William Irons, Professor of Anthropology, Northwestern University Gordon Kane, Professor of Physics, University of Michigan Jim Miller, Senior Program Associate for the AAAS Program of Dialogue Between Science and Religion W. Mark Richardson, Episcopal Priest, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, General Theological Seminary Holmes Rolston, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University Michael Ruse, Professor of the Philosophy of Biology and Ethics, at Florida State University Mary Evelyn Tucker, Professor of Religion at Bucknell University Dorothy Wertz, Senior Scientist; Social Science, Ethics, and the Law; The Shriver Center.
The Museum of Science (MOS) seeks to establish a Network, a national infrastructure designed to foster public awareness, engagement and understanding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE). As part of this undertaking, MOS will create a set of interactive, media-based and discourse-based educational productes based on NSE; generate new knowledge about design for learning and produce a sustainable network that involves inromal educators and researchers. Core partners are the Exploratorium and the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). This project will establish for the first-time an open national network that links science centers across the nation, focusing for this award on the development and delivery of exhibits and programs addressing the interdisciplinary content areas of NSE. In addition, the Network will establish ties and collaborative relationships with university-based NSE research centers, including MRSEC's and NSEC's. An educational research and development component will address the challenges of public understanding of a difficult-to-grasp emerging field. Project deliverables will be created primarily at three sites. The Center for NISE Research at the Exploratorium will collect, develop and disseminate knowledge about how to communicate to target audiences. The NISE Center for Public Engagement at MOS will develop a network media framework for dissemination to other science centers, network radio (with WBUR), and produce forums for dialogue and deliberation with adult audiences. The NISE Center for Exhibit and Program Production and Dissemination at SMM will develop interactive exhibits, exhibition packages for distribution, and immersive media environments programs. Development of deliverables will involve the following science-technology center partners: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), OR; New York Hall of Science, NY; Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, TX; Museum of Life and Science, NC; Sciencenter, NY; and Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). NSE research partners include Main Street Science, Cornell University; Materials Research Society; University of Wisconsin Madison, MRSEC Interdisciplinary Education Group; and Purdue University, Envision Center for Data Perceptualization. The resulting Network and the knowledge gained as a result of this project are intended to produce a dramatic improvement in the capacity of the science center field to engage and educate the public about NSE, both in quality and quantity. By Year Five, there are expected to be NSE exhibits and activities at some 100 sites across the nation. In addition, the NSE research community should gain a deeper appreciation of the role that science centers can play as intermediaries in conveying scientific research to the public.
Predicting the spread of non-native organisms in the oceans is difficult. Usually there is not enough data on the introduced species over a large enough geographic scale and for a long enough time to develop and test mathematical models. Collecting adequate data takes many people working together to identify a particular species and accurately record information. This project seeks to demonstrate that a large group of people working together can collect enough scientifically valid data for predicting the spread of recently introduced non-native crab species. This project is designed to accomplish two goals. Firstly, it aims to train and validate the efforts of citizen scientists to collect data. Secondly, the data will be used to develop an invasion probability model for two crab species, European green crab (Carcinus maenas), and Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus).
Volunteer “Grunion Greeters” experience a grunion run and witness the remarkable behavior of the silvery little fish as they come completely ashore to spawn. Volunteers monitor local California beaches and collect basic information during a grunion run. The data are used by Pepperdine University researchers conducting studies on these charismatic fish and to ensure their protection on the beach.
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Karen MartinNational Marine Fisheries Service
The Invaders of Texas Program is an innovative campaign whereby volunteer "citizen scientists" are trained to detect the arrival and dispersal of invasive species in their own local areas. That information is delivered into a statewide mapping database and to those who can do something about it. The premise is simple. The more trained eyes watching for invasive species, the better our chances of lessening or avoiding damage to our native landscape.
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Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterTexas Forest ServiceTexas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentTravis Gallo
In 2003 and 2004 a summative evaluation of the Jellies: Living Art exhibition was conducted. The exhibition is a 4,650 square foot special exhibition at the aquarium that is open from April 2002 through January 2005. It includes live displays of domestic and exotic jellies and a collection of artwork in a variety of media: paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and three large site-specific installations. Though the aquarium has displayed art previous to Jellies: Living Art, this exhibition represents the first time the aquarium has displayed both art and live species together. There were seven
The John G. Shedd Aquarium opened an exhibition entitled Wild Reef: Sharks at Shedd in April 2003. Wild Reef immerses visitors in an Indo-Pacific ecosystem where they experience firsthand the connections among animals, habitats and people. This 2,800 square-foot exhibition spans nine rooms and contains one of the largest and most diverse collections of sharks in North America, along with the Midwest's largest public display of live corals. The primary message of Wild Reef is: Philippine coral reefs support an amazing abundance of life and anchor a delicate network of dependencies between
Explore Evolution is a three-year project that uses a combination of traveling exhibits and activity kits to introduce the concept of evolution to museum audiences and 4-H groups. Six museum partners will collaborate on the development of eleven interactive exhibit modules on the following topics: disease in humans, eye development in animals, fruit fly diversity, sexual selection, hominoid development and extinction. The museum consortium includes the Kansas Museum and Biodiversity Center, Museum of the Rockies (MT), Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Science Museum of Minnesota, University of Nebraska State Museum and the Exhibits Museum of the University of Michigan. The inquiry-based activity kits will be modeled after the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's "Wonderwise" kits, funded in part by NSF, and designed for middle school audiences. An "Explore Evolution" website will be launched to support the exhibits and activity kits. Dissemination will occur through museum education programs as well as a consortium of 4-H programs in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Michigan, Nebraska and Wyoming. It is anticipated that more than 1.8 million museum visitors and 800,000 4-H members will participate in this project.
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Charlie WalterSamuel DeanJoe HastingsRobert Lindsey
TEAMS, an exhibit collaborative of seven small science museums, will collaborate with academic researchers to expand knowledge about learning in informal science environments and will apply that knowledge to the creation of eight (two copies of four topics) traveling science exhibitions suitable for small museums and science centers. The research investigations build on recent findings about the nature of socio-cultural learning in museums. This close working collaboration among researchers, museum evaluators and museum exhibition designers provides an innovative opportunity to examine a model for rapid transfer of research knowledge into museum practice. Through this collaborative effort the project builds capacity within the seven small museums, helping address the larger problem of under-served audiences in rural areas. One component of the research supports design guidelines to increase effectiveness for girls visiting STEM exhibitions.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David GoudyCharles TrautmannSarah WolfMark SinclairCatherine McCarthy
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The "Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute" is a three-year project to increase the capacity of museum educators and exhibitors to design and implement technology-integrated inquiry activities for the public. The collaborators include the Exploratorium, MIT Media Lab, Science Museum of Minnesota, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Explora Science Center and the Children's Museum of Albuquerque. The deliverables include a portfolio of technology-rich activities, professional development institutes, online educator resources and a handbook of pedagogical design principles for museum educators. This project builds upon prior NSF supported work that developed the PIE Network, which among other things developed the "cricket," an inexpensive computer that makes informal learning inquiry activities more compelling. This project has the potential to impact both the theory and practice of informal science education in museums. It will implement new theories and tools that represent a new approach to engaging and supporting visitors' learning experiences using play and experimentation that mirrors the processes of laboratory investigation. It also provides an innovative model of collaboration that develops and implements a major complex project by bringing together science centers with unique and complementary expertise.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mike PetrichCollen BlairKaren WilkinsonKristen MurrayKeith BraafladtRobert LindseySamuel Dean