This poster was presented at the 2021 NSF AISL Awardee Meeting.
Dinosaurs of Antarctica is a giant screen film and outreach project that documents the work of NSF-funded researchers on expeditions to Shackleton Glacier during the 2017-2018 field season. This immersive film and companion television special will bring the past to life and engage the public, and particularly students in middle grades (6-9), with polar science through appealing, entertaining media experiences and informal learning programs. The film serves as a companion for the synonymous Antarctic Dinosaurs museum exhibition
California Academy of Sciences contracted with Wendy Meluch of VisitorStudies.com to design and conduct an evaluation of the Habitat Earth planetarium show (HE) during winter/spring 2017. HE is a 30-minute show which features a pre-recorded movie-like section, and a live presentation. HE team members’ primary interests were to assess cognitive, affective and behavioral impacts of the show on audience members, and understand the roles and relative strengths of the live and pre-recorded segments of the program in manifesting those impacts. Findings of this study will inform development of the
Lineage is a comprehensive educational media and outreach initiative that will engage individuals and families in learning about deep time and evolution, helping audiences come to newfound understandings of the connections between the past, present, and future of life on Earth. The project is a partnership between Twin Cities PBS (TPT) and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and is linked to the opening of that museum's new Deep Time Fossil Hall in June 2019. The project includes a two-hour film for national broadcast on PBS, and a 20-minute short version for exhibition in science centers. The documentaries will show how scientists, using paleontology, genetics, earth science and other disciplines, can reconstruct in detail the origins of living animals like birds and elephants, revealing their ancient past as well as evidence of ecological change that can inform our understanding of Earth today. Extensive educational outreach will include the creation of "Bone Hunter," an innovative VR (Virtual Reality) game designed for family co-play that engages multiple players in the process of paleontology as they piece together a fossil in a digital lab. Bone Hunter and other collaborative educational activities will be deployed at Family Fossil Festivals that will attract multi-generational learners. One such Festival will take place at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., while others will be based at geographically diverse institutions that serve underserved rural as well as urban communities. Lineage is a collaboration between national media producers, noted learning institutions and researchers, including Twin Cities Public Television, the Smithsonian Institution / National Museum of Natural History, Schell Games, the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), and Rockman et al. One of the project's primary innovations is its exploration of new learning designs for families that use cutting-edge technologies (e.g. the Bone Hunter virtual reality game) and collaborative multi-generational learning experiences that advance science knowledge and inquiry-based learning. An external research study conducted by ILI will investigate how intergenerational co-play with physical artifacts compared to virtual artifacts influences STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) learning and engagement. The findings will lead to critical strategic impacts for the field, building knowledge about ongoing innovation in the free choice learning space. The project's external evaluation will be conducted by Rockman et al and evaluative findings, as well as the educational materials derived from the project, will be widely disseminated through partnerships with professional and educator groups. Clips from the Lineage film and related learning resources will be hosted on PBS LearningMedia, so educators can incorporate these resources into their classrooms, and students and lifelong learners can explore and discover on their own. The project outcomes will have broad impact on public audiences, deepening and advancing knowledge and understanding about important scientific concepts, and promoting continued, family-based collaborative learning experiences to expand and deepen STEM knowledge. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning.
Science and wildlife films are very common and widely viewed. Yet, most of the makers of these films have entered the profession because of their knowledge or interest in science and wildlife. Given the potential for a rather circuitous route to the profession many filmmakers benefit tremendously from engagement in professional development. We have detailed the professional development needs of novice and expert science and wildlife filmmakers ranging from keeping current with technology to consideration of engaging audiences beyond the viewing. We have also addressed gaps in the current
For over two decades NSF has been investing in the development and evaluation of giant screen films for viewing by audiences in science centers and museums. These have been highly successful in terms of audiences reached and project evaluations that indicate their impact on learning. Less well understood is how the unique attributes of giant screen films (e.g., "immersion" and "presence") affect learners in ways that differ from other film formats. This integrated research and media project will contribute to that knowledge base. Project deliverables will include a giant screen film that tells the story of the discovery of biological mimicry (the critical proof for natural selection and in turn, evolution) through the life story of Henry Bates and his travels through the Amazon rainforest more than 150 years ago; 2D dome, and 2D flat format versions; live interactive science demonstrations and educational resources; and workshops for ISE professionals. The film and the related outreach via science centers, social media, and the web are expected to reach large public audiences; workshops and web resources will reach ISE professionals nationally. A strategy for reaching underrepresented audiences through science museums and partnerships with educational societies is a part of the broadening participation effort. Building on results of an NSF-funded workshop in which researchers, evaluators, and filmmakers began to develop a research agenda to provide evidence about giant screen attributes and their impacts on learning, the research component of this project will focus on the differences in learner knowledge among the various film formats, their unique attributes, and whether format plays a role in science interest and science identity. A baseline study will be conducted to begin gathering evidence on how each of these formats affects learning. Data on audience knowledge gains, interest, and science identity will be collected using a novel tablet-based game-like assessment pre-film viewing, immediately post viewing, and in a later follow-up. These baseline data will inform follow-on research that, over time, can better explain the unique impacts on learning of the giant screen format. Project partners include the Pacific Science Center, SK Films, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rutgers University, and Arizona State University.
This article presents IMAX films as making science more accessible to the public, but cautions against building spectators rather than participants. It examines a film about Yellowstone while making the case that large-format films serve entertainment rather than scientific purposes.
The Maryland Science Center, in partnership with SK Films, Inc. received NSF funding to produce a large format, 2D/3D film and multi-component educational materials and activities on the annual migration of monarch butterflies, their life cycle, the web of life at select sites where they land, and the citizen science efforts that led to the monarch migration discovery. Project goals are to 1) raise audience understanding of the nature of scientific investigation and the open-ended nature of the scientific process, 2) enhance and extend citizen science programs to new audiences, and 3) create better awareness of monarch biology, insect ecology and the importance of habitat. Innovation/Strategic Impact: The film has been released in both 3D and 2D 15/70 format. RMC Research Corporation has conducted evaluation of the project, both formatively and summatively, including a study of the comparable strengths of the 2D and 3D versions of the film. RMC has conducting formative evaluation and is currently conducting summative evaluation to assess the success of project materials in communicating science and achieving the project's learning goals. Collaboration: This project employs a collaborative model of partnerships between the project team and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the University of Minnesota's Monarchs in the Classroom and Monarch Watch. Project advisors represent world-renown monarch butterfly research scientists and educators, including Dr. Karen Oberhauser, named a "Champion of Change" by President Obama in June 2013, and Dr. Chip Taylor, founder and director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas.