The Environmental Scientist-in-Residence Program will leverage NOAA s scientific assets and personnel by combining them with the creativity and educational knowledge of the pioneer hands-on science center. To do this, the program will embed NOAA scientists in a public education laboratory at the Exploratorium. Working closely with youth Explainers, exhibit developers, and Web and interactive media producers at the Exploratorium, NOAA scientists will share instruments, data, and their professional expertise with a variety of public audiences inside the museum and on the Web. At the same time the scientists will gain valuable skills in informal science communication and education. Through cutting-edge iPad displays, screen-based visualizations, data-enriched maps and sensor displays, and innovative interactions with visitors on the museum floor, this learning laboratory will enable NOAA scientists and Exploratorium staff to investigate new hands-on techniques for engaging the public in NOAA s environmental research and monitoring efforts.
C-RISE will create a replicable, customizable model for supporting citizen engagement with scientific data and reasoning to increase community resiliency under conditions of sea level rise and storm surge. Working with NOAA partners, we will design, pilot, and deliver interactive digital learning experiences that use the best available NOAA data and tools to engage participants in the interdependence of humans and the environment, the cycles of observation and experiment that advance science knowledge, and predicted changes for sea level and storm frequency. These scientific concepts and principles will be brought to human scale through real-world planning challenges developed with our city and government partners in Portland and South Portland, Maine. Over the course of the project, thousands of citizens from nearby neighborhoods and middle school students from across Maine’s sixteen counties, will engage with scientific data and forecasts specific to Portland Harbor—Maine’s largest seaport and the second largest oil port on the east coast. Interactive learning experiences for both audiences will be delivered through GMRI’s Cohen Center for Interactive Learning—a state-of-the-art exhibit space—in the context of facilitated conversations designed to emphasize how scientific reasoning is an essential tool for addressing real and pressing community and environmental issues. The learning experiences will also be available through a public web portal, giving all area residents access to the data and forecasts. The C-RISE web portal will be available to other coastal communities with guidance for loading locally relevant NOAA data into the learning experience. An accompanying guide will support community leaders and educators to embed the interactive learning experiences effectively into community conversations around resiliency. This project is aligned with NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan 2015-2035 by forwarding environmental literacy and using emerging technologies.
This project entails the creation of a coordinated colony of robotic bees, RoboBees. Research topics are split between the body, brain, and colony. Each of these research areas is drawn together by the challenges of recreating various functionalities of natural bees. One such example is pollination: Bees coordinate to interact with complex natural systems by using a diversity of sensors, a hierarchy of task delegation, unique communication, and an effective flapping-wing propulsion system. Pollination and other agricultural tasks will serve as challenge thrusts throughout the life of this project. Such tasks require expertise across a broad spectrum of scientific topics. The research team includes experts in biology, computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, and materials science, assembled to address fundamental challenges in developing RoboBees. An integral part of this program is the development of a museum exhibit, in partnership with the Museum of Science, Boston, which will explore the life of a bee and the technologies required to create RoboBees.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Robert WoodRadhika NagpalJ. Gregory MorrisettGu-Yeon WeiJoseph Ayers
Laurel Clark Earth Camp was a set of interconnected programs for Middle and High School students and their teachers that help them develop new perspectives on global change. The project was a partnership of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona Project WET at the University of Arizona, and the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona. Project goals were to: I. Engage students in lifelong learning in STEM disciplines to inform their Earth stewardship practices, career decisions and capacity for innovation; II. Provide teachers with tools and experiences to inspire students to discover the real-world relevancy of STEM disciplines and apply this learning to the pursuit of STEM careers and technological innovation; III. Enhance public awareness of environmental change in the southwestern US and the importance of NASA satellites for recording, understanding and predicting these changes. Over four years, Earth Camp served 132 students and 42 teachers. Program participants understand more about Earth System connectivity and are more aware of their impacts on the environment and how to quantify and reduce these impacts. A post-camp online survey of alumni from previous years indicated that 75% of participants were felt that the camp influenced them to be more interested in STEM careers and 80% were more motivated to do well in their science classes. Teachers in the program were able to implement many of the project activities in their classrooms and most of them were exposed to satellite data for the first time; The project also created a public exhibit “Earth Change from Space” at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and an online tool that allowed students to explore, research and report on global change issues using Google Earth historical imagery.
Modern zoological gardens have invested substantial resources in technology to deliver environmental education concepts to visitors. Investment in these media reflects a currently unsubstantiated belief that visitors will both use and learn from these media alongside more traditional and less costly displays. This paper proposes a model that identifies key factors theorized to influence the likelihood of visitors engaging in technology-delivered media. Using data from two case studies of large National Science Foundation-funded projects in zoos, the authors argue key factors in predicting
This report was completed by the Program Evaluation Research Group at Endicott College in October 2013. It describes the outcomes and impacts of a four-year, NSF-funded project called Go Botany: Integrated Tools to Advance Botanical Learning (grant number 0840186). Go Botany focuses on fostering increased interest in and knowledge of botany among youth and adults in New England. This was being done through the creation of an online flora for the region, along with the development of related tools, including PlantShare, and a user-friendly interface for ‘smartphones’. In January 2012, the PI
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Judah LeblangNew England Wild Flower Society
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), with six science centers across the U.S., will develop, implement, and evaluate the National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS), a three-year full-scale development project to increase informal learning opportunities for blind youth in STEM. Through partnerships and companion research, the NCBYS will lead to greater capacity to engage the blind in informal STEM learning. The NCBYS confronts a critical area of need in STEM education, and a priority for the AISL program: the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in STEM. Educators are often unaware of methods to deliver STEM concepts to blind students, and students do not have the experience with which to advocate for accommodations. Many parents of blind students are ill-equipped to provide support or request accessible STEM adaptations. The NCBYS will expose blind youth to non-visual methods that facilitate their involvement in STEM; introduce science centers to additional non-visual methods that facilitate the involvement of the blind in their exhibits; educate parents as to their students' ability to be independent both inside and outside the STEM classroom; provide preservice teachers of blind students with hands-on experience with blind students in STEM; and conduct research to inform a field that is lacking in published material. The NCBYS will a) conduct six regional, two-day science programs for a total of 180 blind youth, one day taking place at a local science center; b) conduct concurrent onsite parent training sessions; c) incorporate preservice teachers of blind students in hands-on activities; and d) perform separate, week-long, advanced-study residential programs for 60 blind high school juniors and seniors focused on the design process and preparation for post-secondary STEM education. The NCBYS will advance knowledge and understanding in informal settings, particularly as they pertain to the underrepresented disability demographic; but it is also expected that benefits realized from the program will translate to formal arenas. The proposed team represents the varied fields that the project seeks to inform, and holds expertise in blindness education, STEM education, museum education, parent outreach, teacher training, disability research, and project management. The initiative is a unique opportunity for science centers and the disability population to collaborate for mutual benefit, with lasting implications in informal STEM delivery, parent engagement, and teacher training. It is also an innovative approach to inspiring problem-solving skills in blind high school students through the design process. A panel of experts in various STEM fields will inform content development. NCBYS advances the discovery and understanding of STEM learning for blind students by integrating significant research alongside interactive programs. The audience includes students and those responsible for delivering STEM content and educational services to blind students. For students, the program will demonstrate their ability to interface with science center activities. Students will also gain mentoring experience through activities paired with younger blind students. Parents and teachers of blind students, as well as science center personnel, will gain understanding in the experiences of the blind in STEM, and steps to facilitate their complete involvement. Older students will pursue design inquiries into STEM at a more advanced level, processes that would be explored in post-secondary pursuits. By engaging these groups, the NCBYS will build infrastructure in the informal and formal arenas. Society benefits from the inclusion of new scientific minds, resulting in a diverse workforce. The possibility for advanced study and eventual employment for blind students also reduces the possibility that they would be dependent upon society for daily care in the future. The results of the proposed project will be disseminated and published broadly through Web sites; e-mail lists; social media; student-developed e-portfolios of the design program; an audio-described video; and presentations at workshops for STEM educators, teachers of blind students, blind consumer groups, researchers in disability education, and museum personnel.
The authors provide an analysis of pairs of children interacting with a multi-touch tabletop exhibit designed to help museum visitors learn about evolution and the tree of life. The exhibit’s aim is to inspire visitors with a sense of wonder at life’s diversity while providing insight into key evolutionary concepts such as common descent. The authors find that children negotiate their interaction with the exhibit in a variety of ways including reactive, articulated, and contemplated exploration. These strategies in turn influence the ways in which children make meaning through their
The Great Lakes Science Center plans to enhance an existing facility by adding the Great Lakes Situation Room. This addition makes innovative use of live theater techniques to provide interactive programming for the visiting audience. The Great Lakes Science Center is a relatively new addition to the Informal Science arena but the visitation has double the expected projections. The programs for the situation room are: Science and Information Technology Show; Great Lakes Data Quest; My Own House Data Quest; and Mathematics All Around Us. These new programs, linked to the Great Lakes Environment and exhibitions throughout the facility will further enable the visitor to actually learn about science, environment, and technology using a unique format and "state of the arts" tools made available by informational technology. This project will impact a large, diverse audience in the Great Lake's area and beyond. It has the potential for replication in other museums and science centers. The goals of this project are to enhance the visitor's experiences and learning while at the science center. The themes for the programs will explore some popular topics among the visiting audience. This is a three-year project that will quintuple the programming capacity of the theater, enhance its role in providing Informal Science Education, provide new active learning experiences and expand the center's capacity for accommodating larger audiences of families and school students. The cost sharing for this award is 66.5% of the projected total budget.