KCTS, the public broadcasting station in Seattle, WA, is producing and distributing15 new half-hour episodes for the children's television series, Bill Nye the Science Guy. Topics being considered for these programs include: Caves Jungles Animal Behavior Entropy Home Demo Lakes and Ponds Felines Convection Smell and Taste Life Cycles Minerals Adhesives Atoms and Molecules Organs Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors The project also will include outreach to viewers, teachers, and parents by providing the following materials: A teachers kit to be distributed to 150,000 fourth-grade teachers nationwide Fifty thousand free copies of a printed parents' guide and 15-minuted video distributed through an off-air off and community partner groups Meet a Way Cool Scientist national print contest in which children will be invited to write and illustrate a profile of a scientist in their community Nye Labs Online, a Web site with series information, science topics, hands-on experiments, and an e-mail connection to Bill Nye and the production team Conference Presentations and workshops about the project's approach to science education for PBS stations, teacher groups, and the three partnering organizations, Girls Incorporated, the National Urban League, and the National Conference of La Raza Rockman Et Al will conduct a summative evaluation to extend the understanding of the show's impact on children's attitudes toward and understanding of science. It also will examine the size and composition of the in-school audience, and will assess the use and value of the outreach materials.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth BrockJames McKennaErren GottliebWilliam Nye
The Smithsonian Associates Program at the Smithsonian Institution has a unique, one-time only opportunity to test the potential of producing a very low cost, but high quality science program featuring an outstanding and widely recognized scientist. The program will be an edited hour from an hour and a half interview that Timothy Ferris will have with Stephen J. Gould before a live audience on November 7, 1997. If successful, the program will be broadcast in prime time by PBS and would serve as a prototype for additional programs other eminent scientists. During the requested Small Grant for Exploratory Research phase, the Smithsonian will: * Determine if a viable hour-long program can be derived from a live interview that is only an hour and a half in duration. This 1 to 1.5 ratio of finished program material to the total footage shot is very economical but also is much lower than most television programs which have a ratio of 1 to 3 and up. * Test how to take advantage of Dr. Ferris' talents in a video interview format. While Ferris has interviewed many scientists for print media, this will be his first interview for this kind of broadcast medium. * Assess how successful Ferris is in conducting a live interview so that difficult scientific concepts will be accessible to a lay audience. This interview with Dr. Gould also will provide a rare opportunity to investigate emerging research areas that are likely to be of lasting interest and to present them to the public. The Smithsonian Associates will assess the effectiveness of this approach in two ways. First, a group of five scientists and informal science education experts will review a rough cut of the program to determine if a program can be produced in this manner and effectively convey complex science to a lay audience. Possible members of this group include Bruce Alberts (National Academy of Science), Paula Apsell (WGBH), Robert Hazen (George Mason University), Mary Jane McKinven (PBS), and Maxine Singer (Carnegie Institute). The second gauge of effectiveness will be the acceptance of the program for prime time distribution by PBS and the public reaction to the program. Timothy Ferris is a generalist scholar who has taught in five disciplines - astronomy, English, history, journalism, and philosophy at four universities. He currently is emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He has received the American Institute of Physics prize, the American Association for the Advancement of Science prize, the Klumpke-Roberts prize, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. The television producer will be Catherine Tatge who has produced a wide range of programming for PBS and for CBS Cable. Her productions include Playing With Fire: The Tenth Van Cliburn Piano Competition and the feature film of the New York City Ballet version of The Nutcracker. She was commissioned by the Congress of the United States to direct and produce an historical overview of the U.S. Congress. The PI for the project will be Mara Mayor, Director of The Smithsonian Associates and former Director of the Annenberg/CPB Project which supports the creation of educational resources for a variety of media.