With major funding from the National Science Foundation, the Museum Film Network and NOVA/WGBH in conjunction with MacGillivray Freeman Films have produced an IMAX/ OMNIMAX film called Stormchasers. Stormchasers follows scientists as they investigate the dramatic weather effects of monsoons, hurricanes, and tornadoes. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test nonequivalent comparison group design was used with middle school students to evaluate the film and ancillary schoolroom activities. Intact school classes were assigned to one of two treatments: viewing the film only (FILM) and viewing
With major funding from the National Science Foundation, the Museum Film Network and NOVA/WGBH in conjunction with MacGillivray Freeman Films have produced an IMAX/ OMNIMAX film called Stormchasers. Stormchasers follows scientists as they investigate the dramatic weather effects of monsoons, hurricanes, and tornadoes. A quasi-experimental separate-sample pretest/posttest design was used to evaluate the film in its natural theater setting, focusing on the following major outcomes with adult audiences:
• To what extent did the program appeal to adult viewers? • To what extent did the
Field Museum of Natural History requests a $1,467,422 grant from the National Science Foundation in partial support of final planning and implementation of our LIFE OVER TIME exhibit and associated interpretive programs. This 21,000 square foot, permanent exhibit will provide our 1.4 million annual visitors with an understanding of basic evolutionary principles and an overview of the history of life from its origins through present. The exhibit will capitalize on Field Museum's extensive paleontological and biological collections. Developed in collaboration with the Museum's scientific staff, the exhibit development team and many outside consultants, the exhibit will attempt to address complex scientific issues in an informal learning environment. With a projected cost of $5,775,000. LIFE OVER TIME will open in 1994.
The Milwaukee Public Museum will develop two test stations: A Wetland/Wood Station and a Mobile Testing Station that will be used to evaluation how hands-on activities that incorporate scientific tools and methods can be applied to supplement the educational experience of traditional natural history museum dioramas. As a result of the MPM's work, visitors will become engaged in a "field experience" by means of techniques to encourage observing, recording of data, and hypothesizing using tools that a scientists might use to study the natural environment such as a hand lens, radio telemetry receiver, scales, rulers, and/or calipers. Visitors will also have the opportunity to investigate further in the "lab". Here visitors will use such tools as a computer, microscope, measuring grid, and they will be encouraged to experiment, infer, predict, and classify. The intent is to have the visitor discover how scientific information is used to support decisions in every day life. The development of these stations will be accompanied by considerable formative and summative evaluation studies. The results will be disseminated in order that other natural history museums with dioramas may replicate these ideas in order that visitors might move beyond the primary "animal identification" phase in their examination and enjoyment of dioramas.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William HackbarthW. Carl TaylorJames KellyAllen YoungMary Korenic
The Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah will use this planning grant to plan an exhibit called "Canyon Through Time; Reverse Archaeology in the Grand Gulch Region." They will use the knowledge and viewpoint of the several living cultures concerned in telling this story looking at the past, the present, and the future. Breaking from the tradition of presenting only the archaeologist's "voice" in an exhibit, they will have different "voices." Their goal is to give both the local Native Americans and scientists the opportunity to tell the story as they see it. The planning grant will give them the opportunity to bring together individuals representing this diversity of viewpoint to establish the script of the exhibit. The project has the potential for serving as a model for others developing exhibits and projects on archaeological and anthropological themes where it is valuable to bring together this diversity of perspectives.
The Calvert Marine Museum will develop an exhibit and complementary programming interpreting the Miocene Age marine life. Treasure from the Cliffs: Exploring Marine Fossils will use the world famous fossils of Calvert Cliffs as the basis for the exhibit. It is their intention to convey a strong sense of the personal process of discovery and the creative component of scientific inquiry to the exhibit visitors. In their words, "The overriding purpose of Treasure from the Cliffs is to model a new paradigm for natural history exhibits: to take a humanistic and holistic approach that recognizes the centrality of imagination to the scientific enterprise, and that engages curiosity and creativity -- as well as intellect -- in the process of science learning." Upon entering the exhibit, a visitor's interest will be peeked by seeing the large, dramatically lit, fossil Great White Shark Tooth. Visitors will get involved in the wonder and process of science at the beginning of the exhibit in the Paleontology Office/Lab and Fossil Identification area. They will then move on to see a replicated section of the Calvert Cliffs and cases illustrating how fossil deposits form. Two recreated Miocene dioramas one of which will include a full-size skeletal reconstruction of the giant fossil Great White Shark come next. Visitors will then be able to investigate on their own in a reading station and a video and demonstration theater. Visitors will exit the exhibit after a section that shows how the modern Chesapeake Bay was formed. This leads them seamlessly into the museum's next exhibit hall Estuary Patuxent: A River and its Life. The museum will develop a series of complementary programs in association with this exhibit to reach a wider audience that will include formal educators among others. They will organize a speakers service, develop a fossil field guide, and produce a video about the Great White Shark.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michael GottfriedS. Curtis BowmanM. Lynne Warren
The Great Lakes Museum of Science, Environment, and Technology will develop a 10,000 sq. ft. exhibit focusing on The Great Lakes Environment. Addressing the core mission of the museum, the exhibit will promote understanding about "the interdependence of scientific, environmental, and technological activities in the Great Lakes Region." The exhibit will focus on the Great Lakes as an ecosystem. By means of interactive activities, visitors will learn how this ecosystem was formed, the web of life it supports, the stresses it receives, and the efforts to restore its health. The Great Lakes Museum is a new 165,000 sq. ft. facility located in downtown Cleveland on the Lake Erie Shore and is scheduled to open in 1996. The exhibit area will cover 50,000 sq. ft. and will be fully accessible. An entire floor will be dedicated to the Great Lakes Environment. Complementary educational programs will consist of the following: take home activity guides to encourage the discovery and exploration of ecosystems in backyards or neighborhoods, pre and post visit activities for school groups, and teacher enhancement activities. Museum staff are participating in the planning process for the Urban Systemic Initiative of Cleveland and activiites and content of exhibits will be developed to complement the curriculum. The museum will develop a menu of activities and databases for electronic networking with homes and schools. They will have video conferencing capabilities to connect the museum with classrooms.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Richard CoyneTimothy LargePauline Fong
Under the Planning Grant Guidelines, the Arizona Science Center will explore "Using Narrative to Introduce Science Concepts to Diverse Audiences at a Science Center." By bringing together a group of experts to review key questions about the uses and structure of narrative, the staff of the science center will 1) develop a strategy and range of approaches to science storytelling, 2) develop ideas for story premises and texts to interest visitors representing diverse populations and including women, people in non-technical occupations and minority families, 3) conduct research to determine visitor's attitudes to these materials in order to learn about the appeal and effectiveness of the narratives. Finally, they will synthesize and broadly disseminate their findings. The discussion will be focused on a comprehensive set of 120 exhibits entitled "How We Live With The Sun." The topics include light and optics; heat, cooling, and convection; weather, electricity; and technologies for harnessing solar energy. These topics represent the physical science that underlies the way people adapt to the desert and the ways in which Arizonans have applied knowledge of science fundamentals to useful ends.
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.
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 Arizona State Museum (ASM) will use this planning grant to further their planning for the educational content of their new prehistoric gallery. This project is titled "Prehistoric Gallery: Planning for Science Education Components". The subject of the planning activity is part of their master plan for facility renovation and interpretation. Two approx. 10,000 square foot exhibit halls are being developed; the first is the recently opened Paths of Life: American Indians of the Southwest. The second, and the subject of this planning project, is Journeys of the Ancestors: Ancient Peoples of the Southwest. The planning activities will consist of 1) travel by the ASM planning committee to seven museums to discuss exhibit philosophy, interpretive strategies, and exhibit techniques; 2) an interpretive design seminar that will bring together a multidisciplinary team of scientists, science educators, exhibit designers, and others to share ideas on the design, content, and educational activities for this new hall; 3) additional a front-end evaluation to test effectiveness of the themes, strategies, and learning activities with different segments of their potential audience; 4) a planning session with area teachers to examine the relationship between the exhibit and the curricular needs.