Five small science museums will form "TEAMS (Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science) Collaborative". The partners include the Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT; The Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC; Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY; Discovery Center Museum, Rockford, IL; and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor, MI. Each museum partner will develop a 1500 sq. ft. (140 m2) traveling exhibit that will include ten to fifteen interactive units and supporting graphics and will circulate to all members of the partnership. The exhibition topics are: AirPlay (Montshire Museum of Science, Dirt (Catawba Science Center), You Can Count On It (Sciencenter), Amusement Park Science (Discovery Center Museum), and Eureka Labs: Science from Head to Toe (Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum). Following the circulation among the consortium members, it is anticipated that the exhibits will circulate more broadly via the Association of Science-Technology Centers Traveling Exhibit's Program. In addition to developing these exhibits, the collaboration has an additional goals 1) focusing on the family audiences by working together to enhance the family science learning through the development of resources that can be used by families that are related to exhibition topics, 2) building institutional expertise in exhibit design, family programming, and evaluation; and 3) conducting research on family learning and sharing results with the field. Complementary materials and activities for teachers will also be developed for each exhibit.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David GoudyCharles TrautmannSarah WolfMike SinclairJames FrenzaCynthia Yao
The Franklin Institute and the Girl Scouts of the USA will develop, implement, and evaluate "Girls at the Center," a family outreach program that will foster girl-centered, learning within the context of the family. Partnerships will be promoted between local science and technology centers and Girl Scout Councils. It is a multi- component program that will increase girls' and their families' understanding of and interest in basic science principles and processes. Consisting of a series of family-oriented activities that coincide with the school year, science/technology centers will serve as the hosts. These museum-based activities will be supplemented by home-based activities. The activities will follow the constructivist theory of education and will cover a broad menu of scientific disciplines including ecology, energy, and human physiology as well as science careers opportunities. They will be linked to the requirements for the Girl Scout recognition (badges) program. It is building on the success of a previously NSF funded project "National Science Partnerships for Girls Scout Councils and Museum" and is expected to reach 75,050 girls and 112,575 adults in 25 sites across the US during the funding period. It will be institutionalized and will continue to operate in those sites as well as expand to other sites after the NSF-funded period.
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.
National Public Radio will produce and distribute a weekly, one-hour program entitled, "Weekly Edition: Science, The Environment, and Technology," which consists of a compilation of the best science stories aired during the previous week on "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered," and "Weekly Edition." Each program will be varied, looking back at the week in science and reviewing main stories. The hour format also will enable the producers to go into greater depth than was done in the daily coverage. They will expand the news pieces with additional interviews and/or out-takes reporters were unable to use on the daily programs. As part of the NPR outreach program, the project will develop "Weekly Science" on "Kids Connection (Science Friday)" as part of the World Wide Web. Each week, that week's program as well as additional science information and bibliographies will be entered on the "Science Friday" homepage. The PI and executive producer for the series will be Anne Gudenkauf, Senior Editor at NPR. Richard Harris and Joe Palca will host the series. Harris has been an on-air host for NPR produced summaries of congressional action on health reform and both have substituted for Ira Flatow on NPR'S TALK OF THE NATION: SCIENCE FRIDAY. The program producer will be Jane Greenhalgh.
The Rhode Island Zoological Society will develop, prototype, install, and evaluate "Habitrek", a 3000 sq. ft. exhibit to be placed in their new Education Center. The center is a circular building and as visitors go through it they will encounter habitat displays of a Urban Providence, Woodlands, Wetlands, and Desert. In addition there will be giant scale replicas of a wormhole, a bat cave, a prairie dog colony, and a stream. Their intent is to use live animals, animal replicas and interactives to shift the visitor's emphasis from simply finding and identifying species to learning about habitats where animals live and where animals and humans often have to interact. In addition to the exhibits, several complementary educational activity packages will be developed. These include a family activity pack of activities that can be completed both at the zoo and in the home. They will relate many natural history stories not obvious from the exhibit alone. To streamline the development process, materials developed by the Bronx Zoo's Habitat Ecology Learning Program (an NSF-supported teacher enhancement activity) will serve as the basis for these family packs. The HELP materials will also serve as the basis for activities developed for use by teachers to complement the already existing Kits in Teaching Elementary Science (KITES) program (another NSF-supported program). The zoo also has cooperative programs with the Rhode Island Girl Scout Council and materials will be modified for their use as well. Of special interest is the attention that is being given to going beyond minimum ADA standards to make the exhibit broadly accessible. Ambient sound will be an important part of all exhibit settings, design considerations will be made for those with limited vision, and sightlines will be consistent with wheelchair standards, are a few examples. The anticipated exhibit opening is early 1998.
The New England Aquarium (NEAq) will develop a traveling exhibit and associated programs to focus on parallel scientific and environmental issues facing Lake Victoria (East Africa) and North American fisheries. The NEAq is working in partnership with the national Museums of Kenya (NMK). This project results from NSF supported research on Lake Victoria biodiversity crises and a workshop that involved 70 scientists, policymakers, and resource managers. A 5,000 sq. ft. exhibit "Lake Victoria: Mukasa's Tear" will be developed that will present both the Lake Victoria and North American fisheries issues in six modules including: Biodiversity Then and Now; Changing Life Styles; Lake Victoria Timelines; Fisheries Technology; Global Markets; and Towards the Future. Complementary educational programs will include on-site interpretation, special programs for K-12 classes, teacher workshops and curriculum materials, special events. The exhibit will open at NEAq in 1998 and will begin its national tour in 1999. A second version of the exhibit (which will be funded separately), will be shown in Kenya.
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.
The Self Reliance Foundation in association with the Hispanic Radio Network over a five year period will produce and distribute a variety of daily Spanish-language radio programs on science education topics and follow-up outreach services to network listeners on science education and career opportunities. The applicants will add two science related episodes each week to Buscando La Belleza, the four-minute daily radio series for families that focuses on social issues, work issues, women's rights, and educational and career opportunities. It is carried on 100 stations with a weekly cumulative audience of 2,567,000 listeners. The new episodes will include: 52 role model interviews with Hispanic men and women who have careers in science, mathematics, and technology from technical positions not requiring a college degree to Ph.D.'s engaged in cutting edge research; 26 family involvement episodes with suggestions for parents to build their confidence in helping their children with homework, doing simple science activities with their children at home, encouraging their older children in their studies, and working with schools and community organizations; and 26 academic and career resource/success stories highlighting Hispanic students who have been successful in their pursuit of careers in science, mathematics, and technology. The second series included under the grant is Salvemos Nuestro Planeta, a two-and-a-half minute series that focuses on environmental issues. It currently is carried on 89 radio stations twice a week with a total weekly cumulative audience of 2,494,300. The producers will expand the series to seven original episodes per week with five episodes focusing on science, mathematics, and technology themes: general science literacy, environmental management and technology, computers and information technology, environmental activities for youth, and SMET career opportunities. Outreach will consist of a national Spanish language toll free phone number that will refer listeners to resources related to opportunities for scholarships in science and engineering, activities and resources for parents and children in science education, etc., and in some cases, connect callers to the subject of that days interview. The PI will be Roberto Salazar who has been chief assistant to Vicente Llamas at the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities. He has been involved in numerous science education project for Hispanics and has a background in radio. The Executive Producer will be Jeff Kline. Major science consultants will be Vicente Llamas, Director of the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities, and Estrella Triana, Hispanic Science Education Director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Roberto SalazarGilbert SanchezRobert Russell
The Field Museum will develop a 10,000 sq. ft. exhibit "Life Underground: Foundations of the Biosphere." This exhibit will introduce visitors to underground ecosystems and the importance of soil upon which we all depend. Visitors will be invited to explore the diversity of underground organisms and the vital processes in which they participate. It will consists of three main parts: 1) Underground Expedition, where things will be enlarged 100 times life-size; 2) Changes Over Time, which will highlight the dynamic nature of soil communities and forces of change, and 3) a World Tour, which will compare soil communities from a variety of ecosystems including forests, grasslands, deserts, tundra, among others. The exhibit utilizes ideas and research from all four of the museum's academic disciplines -- botany, zoology, geology and anthropology and will incorporate hundreds of specimens from the museum's botany, mycology, and zoology collections to illustrate the diversity of organisms in and around the soil. Complementary educational programming will be developed and the project is especially targeting rural and inner city residents. School and community programs will extend the exhibit into classrooms, vacant lots, and community centers. The materials developed for use in a formal education setting will be integrated with current objectives of the existing curricula. In addition, on-line access to the content of the exhibit and complementary educational materials will be provided. The scheduled opening date for the exhibit is May, 1998 and during the ten year projected life span of the exhibit and complementary programming, it is expected that more than eight million people will be introduced to "Life Underground."
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TEAM MEMBERS:
M. Frances Muraski-StotzGregory MuellerDebra Moskovits