The Land Information Access Association seeks funds to support planning activities related to "Listening to the River," a project that will ultimately result in a new model for engaging teens and adults in environmental activities that can be transferred to other community groups and institutions. This long-term project focuses on an environmentally and regionally meaningful topic (i.e. watersheds), brings together teens and adults in scientific discovery, transforms these explorations into radio segments and creates a children's museum exhibit. Planning grant activities include: (1) a program summit to build new partnerships with informal-learning organizations and reinforce existing community networks; (2) assessment of the potential for a scalable, model project; and (3) focus and refinement of program goals and objectives.
The Maryland Science Center is producing a 40-minute large format film about the discovery and scientific interpretation of dinosaurs based on fossil finds from the Gobi Desert. The film will follow the summer 2004 expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Mongolian Academy of Science led by paleontologists Dr. Michael Novacek and Dr. Mark Norell. It will present the scientific evidence for how we know what we know about dinosaurs and will examine such questions as what types of dinosaurs roamed the Gobi, what their environment was like, and what they tell us about the evolution of life on Earth. Greg Andorfer will be Executive Producer. The film will be produced by David Clark and co-directed by Clark and Bayley Silleck.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gregory AndorferDavid ClarkJames O'LearyBayley SilleckMichael Novacek
Summerhays Film is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a large-format film and related educational materials to educate Americans about issues related to U.S. territorial waters. The critical strategic impact of the full project, entitled America's Ocean Challenge (AOC), is to measurably increase the American public's understanding and appreciation of our marine heritage, leading to public awareness of personal responsibilities for maintaining ocean health. The goal of the proposed planning phase is to complete planning for a comprehensive ISE program to be delivered in three phases over ten years. The work is being carried out in collaboration with The Ocean Project and supported by an advisory committee of scientists and informal science education specialists. Knight-Williams Research Communication will conduct front-end evaluation.
National Geographic Television requests $1,121,583 (35%) of a total project budget of $3,192,249, to produce a documentary series in 13 half-hour and one hour-long special, "Facing the Wild: The Crittercam Chronicles," with associated informal science education materials and programs. This project will feature the natural histories of some of the Earth's most enigmatic and charismatic marine species, highlight the groundbreaking technology employed to study these extraordinary creatures and celebrate the scientists who devote their lives to understanding marine creatures. The project's goals include: to educate audiences about the vital importance of the world's oceans to the health of the planet; to celebrate the ingenuity of novel technology developed for science and exploration; to illustrate that many tantalizing mysteries remain yet unsolved and a great deal of exciting science and exploration has yet to be done; to provide viewers with scientific role models and help motivate them to pursue careers in science. Employing cutting-edge remote imaging tools, including "crittercam", and National Geographic's trademark storytelling, Facing the Wild's strong conservation message is designed to appeal to a national and global audience. A robust web site, virtual teacher workshops and Student Ocean Conferences will augment the impact of the series.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Greg MarshallKeenan SmartBarbara Flagg
National Geographic Television is producing a large-format, 3D film, "Sea Monsters," about prehistoric marine reptiles. The project will also include formative and summative evaluations, educational materials for home, after-school and classroom use, professional development for educators, an interactive website and innovative outreach to underserved youth. The film will present the current scientific understanding of Mesozoic marine ecosystems and the biology and behavior of prehistoric marine reptiles. The storyline of the films sets paleontological discovery into historical context, and reveals much about the scientific method and process of inquiry. Innovative intercutting between live-action paleontology sequences and photo realistic 3D animation of the reptiles will bring the fossils to life and allow audiences to make connections between the remains that are uncovered and the reptiles' activities, all of which are driven by concrete evidence in the fossil record. Sea Monsters will have a strategic impact on the field of informal science education by using groundbreaking computer-generated imagery technologies, and by demonstrating that a strong, dramatic storyline is a powerful and effective method for communicating scientific concepts. Standards-based lesson plans for the classroom and informal activity guides for families will augment the impact of the film. National Geographic has teamed with leading scientific experts and formal and informal education specialists to inform and advise the project. Multimedia Research and Knight-Williams Research Communication, respectively, will conduct formative and summative research.
Night Fire Films is producing a one-hour show for PBS titled "Breaking the Maya Code," based on the book by Dr. Michael D. Coe. "Breaking the Maya Code" will explore the history of the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic script. The 400-year scientific detective story, climaxing in the past thirty years, will be told through footage shot at key locations in Central America, Europe and the United States, together with dramatizations, animation and graphics; archival materials; and interviews with major participants in the decipherment. An outreach campaign, including an extensive web site, will enhance the television viewing experience as well as promote further STEM learning. The program will be produced and directed by David Lebrun; Nicolas Noxon serves as Executive Producer. Michael Coe will serve the project as Principal Advisor, along with an extensive board of advisors of ethnographers, epigraphers, archaeologists, historians, iconographers and others. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the program; Knight-Williams Research will conduct summative evaluation of the project. The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted $550,000 toward this project.
Flood of Mud: The Roanoke River -- Past and Future is a video project examining long-term impacts of historic land clearing and erosion on temperate rivers and their floodplains. The 17-minute video targets youth and adult visitors to the North Carolina Aquariums. The video highlights the NSF-funded research project EAR-0105929, "Modeling the Impacts of Post-settlement Sediment Deposition on Floodplain Vegetation," which applies paleoecological and dendrochronological methods and computer modeling to examine and predict the impact of sedimentation on forest composition, productivity and functioning of the lower Roanoke River in North Carolina.
Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc., is producing a series of twelve radio features for National Public newsmagazines about the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The purpose of this series is to examine the relationships between science and culture as they converge and diverge over issues concerning the Ganga: through (a) examination of the ecology of the river in two key areas; and (b) study of the relationships between scientific and religious attitudes applied to the environmental issues raised in both reaches of the river. The radio series is complemented by a Web site and extensive educational outreach through 11 state Geographic Alliances, an AP Environmental Science module and a pilot Virtual River program developed and tested in collaboration with the Museum of Science in Boston.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Julian Crandall HollickKelly AlleyVinod TareRK SinhaGraham Chapman
Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation is producing three seasons of a regional television series that will enable audiences to explore, appreciate and learn about the relationship between science and everyday life in Northern New England. The project is being developed in collaboration with public television stations in Vermont and New Hampshire and will attract viewers by focusing on content and issues that are of unique interest to this area. It addresses the critical need to improve science literacy in this predominantly rural region of the country. Ancillary materials will be developed for use at home, in the community, and in classrooms and will consist of: Quest "Take-Home" Activity Pages, "In Your Community" Guides, Quest Community Events, and Classroom Lesson Plans and Suggested Activities.
This is a summative evaluation of four exhibit areas: Tot Spot, Outdoor Tot Spot, Lookout Cove and Wave Workshop. All sections were developed with a grant from the National Science Foundation and are themed to "My Place By the Bay."
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Minda BorunRose KellyBay Area Discovery Museum
The California Science Center (CSC) developed the "World of Ecology," a 45,000 sq ft permanent exhibition that involves the large-scale fusion of interactive science exhibits with the immersive live-habitat concept of zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens.The focus for this project is the Extreme Zone, which will explore how species adapt to their environment. It contains four habitats: the Sonoran desert, deep sea hydrothermal vents, polar regions and rocky shores and will include more than 259 terrestrial and aquatic animal and plant species. The overall goal is to communicate that in every ecosystem the physical and living worlds are connected and shaped by the same fundamental ecological principles. It will be achieved through the integration of science center exhibits with immersive habitats on a large scale. This approach provides an interesting model for the science center, museum, zoo and botanical garden fields. The target audience is the 1.6 million annual CSC visitors, 57% of whom are from minority populations, with an emphasis on families, elementary and middle school students. In addition, CSC will enhance the exhibition through outreach programs that serve at-risk students. All audio-visual programs will be available in Spanish as well as English, and a Spanish language audio guide will be produced. Collaboration with the Santa Barbara Zoo will bring valuable expertise as well as enhance prospects for dissemination.
Water Logging is a volunteer water quality monitoring program, that monitors water quality in the Huntington-Northport Bay Complex in Long Island, NY. The goals and objectives of the Water Logging Program are to: 1. Educate and involve the public in water quality assessment and protection. 2. Develop a sense of stewardship among the community in the Huntington-Northport Bay watershed. 3. Screen for water quality impairments and determine long-term water quality trends. 4. Document effects of water quality improvement programs. 5. Provide useful water quality data to interested parties and the public.
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Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County