Green City Data is an after-school community service project. Teams of secondary students are trained to inventory urban natural areas selected by regional resource planning agencies to supplement their own data collection efforts. Representatives from seven agencies and educational institutions initiated this project to support development of a system of greenspaces within the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington metropolitan area. This consortium includes expertise in resource management, geography, biology, computer telecommunications, science education and community coordination. These and other community professionals tech students and volunteer team leaders (teachers or other adults) the basics of habitat identification and mapping in the context of regional planning. ***
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gail WhitneyMichael HouckJames GillenJoseph PoracskyEllen Lanier-Phelps
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.
The American Museum of Natural History is developing a 10,000 sq. ft. Hall of Life's Diversity that will interpret biodiversity, what it is, why it matters to humans, why it is under threat, and what can be done to mitigate the current pattern of extinctions. The hall will have the following sections: a) the Crisis Center that will serve as the orientation place for the exhibit and where the core principles of the exhibit will be interpreted, b) four interactive habitat models that depict major ecosystems, c) the Spectrum of Life, in which specimens, models, photographs, and interactive multimedia will be juxtaposed and will serve as a field guide to the array of animal and plant life on the planet, d) a Resource Center that is devoted to educational activities, and e) a theater/classroom space. The intended audience for the exhibit is people of all ages and learning styles. The exhibit will illuminate the crucial role that science plays in our everyday lives and will promote science literacy among adults and children. In addition to the main exhibit, there will be a broad menu of complementary programming including traveling versions of the exhibit, a teacher resource guide, and a teacher-training institute. The exhibit and complementary activities are to be coordinated with New York State's State Systemic Initiative program.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Niles EldredgeSamuel TaylorJoel Cracraft
The California Academy of Science will develop "Chinook: A National Traveling Exhibit on Salmon." The main components will be a 3500 sq. ft. and a 5000 sq. ft. version of an exhibit about salmon ecology and biology, genetic diversity, and the science of species preservation. Futher, components of the exhibit will be reproduced for a 500 sq. ft. exhibit for the new public visitors center at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. The exhibit will focus on the Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon. Several themes from the California Science Frameworks and Benchmarks for Science Literacy serve as the foundation for the interpretation. Benchmarks theme of evolution and the Framework theme of patterns of change are woven throughout the exhibit and are illustrated by salmon life cycles, genetic diversity, and physical adaptations. Benchmarks theme of systems and interactions as well as the Frameworks theme of scale and structure are also incorporated in the interpretive material. The exhibit will be developed by the ichthyologists, educators, and exhibit designers of the California Academy of Science and genetic researcher from the Bodega Marine Laboratory of the University of California at Davis. Thirteen individuals have been selected as project advisors. They bring a diversity of perspectives including expert knowledge of the science concerns (salmon and habitats issues, anthropology) to the educational interests (both formal and informal). The various evaluation studies will be carried by CAS staff member Lisa Mackinney. The complementary materials linking the exhibit with formal education that will be developed are a Teachers Resource Kit and a Chinook Curriculum Guide. The Teachers Resource Kit, available to each host site, will include a slide show, a video tracing the story of salmon fisheries, a special issue of the CAS educator newsletter, sample of fish scales and otoliths, a compilation of resources from government agencies and env ironmental organizations, and a bibliography produced by the CAS Biodiversity Resource Center. The Curriculum Guide will include sixteen hands-on activities using readily available materials to reinforce the educational objectives. A Chinook Family Activity Guide targeted at families with children between the ages of five and ten, will provide parents with specific steps to facilitate discussion what at the exhibit and to suggest follow-up activities to do at home.
The Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association (WETA) is producing and disseminating "Green Technology," a multimedia project that promotes active learning about environmentally beneficial technologies for the home, the workplace, and the community. The objective of the project are to change or consolidate the public's concepts about the fundamental relationships between the environment and technology at the grassroots pocketbook level, to enhance their understanding of the pertinent science and technology, and to provide them with practical information about how to take action for oneself and in the fulfillment of a wider civic responsibility. The components of the project include: o Three one-hour prime time television programs o Community Outreach through the National Community Education Association and their affiliates in 40 states. o Development of community education material including a 30-minute highlight tape to serve as a discussion springboard with accompanying discussion and resource guides. o A Viewer's Newsletter for each program which will include short articles on the basic science and technology explored in the program and a "What You Can Do" section. o A CD-ROM for use by parents and children at home and by students in school. o On-line information clearing house the SOLSTICE, the digital library of energy and environmental resources operated by the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology. o Teacher enhancement materials and activities for middle schools to be disseminated through the Teacher Educator's Network of the Association of Science-Technology Centers. o The National Academy of Engineering will identify engineers who can serve as "on-line consultants" to students and teachers involved in examining specific environmental issues. Richard Thomas, previously Executive Producer for "Mystery of the Senses" and "The World of Chemistry," will be PI and Executive Producer. Principal Content Advisory will be S. William Gouse, chief scientist and President of Energy Systems and Technology at MITRE. William McDonough, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, will be the host of the television series.
The Sound to Mountains exhibit showcases contemporary and emerging watershed issues which affect the Pacific Northwest region. This exhibit addresses the need to focus awareness on non-point pollution for the general public and among Washington State teachers and school children (K-12). This represents one of the major pollution problems affecting the greater Puget Sound region. A school curriculum and visitation program will be developed, along with a Watershed Wonders kit. The components of the Sound to Mountains exhibit include: a freshwater self-discovery laboratory; a lowland waters replication; a life-like conservation trail; an upland mountain stream habitat; and a carved and painted mural depicting the First People story of salmon.
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.