The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.
The New England Aquarium (NEAq) will develop "Sounds of the Sea", a 2000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit that will provide visitors an opportunity to learn about the importance of sound in the ocean and acoustic oceanography as a tool for research, for such issues as global change. Both natural and anthropogenic sounds will be examined. The goals of the exhibit are to demonstrate the richness of sounds in the ocean, to educate visitors about the physics of sound in the air and under water, and to present current scientific research on the physics and biology of underwater sounds. One of the special features will be real ocean sounds in real time. Visitors will be able to hear sounds picked up by hydrophones in the inner and outer Boston Harbor and view spectral data. The exhibit will reach a broad audience including those with visual and aural impairments. NEAq will collaborate with MIT's Department of Ocean Engineering, the MIT Sea Grant College Program, Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the WGBH Educational Foundation's National Center for Media Accessibility in the development of the exhibit. Supplementary materials for visitors to the exhibit will include an exhibit guide and a web site. Complementary programming for use by formal educators will include pre and post visit materials and special programming for school groups.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William SpitzerJerry SchubelHenrik SchmidtCarolyn Levi
This exhibit will integrate graphics, artifacts, highly interactive electro-mechanical demonstration devices together with state of the art interactive educational computer technology to demonstrate how probability shapes nature. It will draw its examples from a variety of scientific fields including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, and biology. It is planned as a permanent addition to the Museum's exhibition program, but will be designed to facilitate easy reproduction for individual copies or for circulation as a travelling exhibit. Millions of visitors--families, teachers, children form diverse communities--will gain a first hand aesthetic appreciation of the pattern finding process of scientific investigation as well as a better understanding of the usefulness of mathematics in explaining how the natural world works.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
H. Eugene StanleyDouglas SmithEdwin Taylor
"Living on the Edge" will be the name of an exhibit in three editions that will explore multiple edges of boundaries between land and sea, air and sea, ocean bottom and overlying water, and differing water masses. Scientists have become increasingly fascinated by the study of these edges or fronts because of the new understanding it provides regarding such basic principles as the productivity of coast waters, migrations and feeding patterns of marine life, upwelling and downwelling, chlorophyll dynamics, and water quality issues, for example. The educational objectives are to bring an understanding of coastal ocean science and its social implications to broad audiences in museums and aquaria. It will consist of eight mulit-faceted interactive activity centers totally approximately 1500 square feet. Two editions of the exhibit will become part of the permanent displays at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and the Museum of Science in Boston. The third will be a traveling version; the management of which will be handled by the Association of Science and Technology Centers. It will go to 12-15 venues during its three-year tour schedule. It is estimated that a total of 2.5 million will experience this exhibit. A suite of materials will be developed for use by formal educators with all three of the exhibits. These materials will include teacher training materials, exhibit-related modules for on-site interpretive programs, and traveling kits for in-class presentations.
KCTS Television is producing 20 new programs for the third season of "Bill Nye the Science Guy." The series, which has received an enthusiastic public response, will continue to be on PBS stations during the week and syndicated to commercial stations on weekends. The twenty topics for Season range from earth science, to physical science, to life science, to technology and include programs on such diverse subjects as spiders, time, life cycles, inventions, flowers, architecture, computers, probability, invertebrates, and forensics. Outreach activities for the third season are designed an emphasis on reaching out to new audiences, especially girls and children of color. The Season III outreach components consist of: o "The Big News of Science" - a newsletter distributed through youth serving organizations as well as being mailed directly to viewers at home o An at-home science kit - an easy to use kit that enables children and their families to perform science experiments together at home. Two-thirds of the kits to be distributed directly to youth and one-third will be distributed to children participating in afterschool and community programs. o Teacher's Kit - to be distributed to fourth grade teachers nationwide. o Special appearances - As Bill Nye's schedule permits, he will present a live, traveling science demonstration show in selected urban communities. The programs will be based at science museums, community centers, or similar venues and will include an explanation about the science content of the series, and demonstrations of science experiments where children are invited to participate. o A PBS station outreach kit - This material will provide PBS outreach and education staff with programs, tips for developing local science outreach projects, and a list of informal science resources. The staffing for Season III will remain basically the same as it has been for Seasons I and II. Bill Nye will remain as Chief Writer and Host, Elizabeth Brock will continue as Executive Producer, and James McKenna and Erren Gottlieb will remain the series producers.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth BrockJames McKennaErren GottliebWilliam Nye
The Cranbrook Institute of Science will develop "Our Dynamic Earth," a 7000 sq. ft. exhibit that will provide visitors with insight and understanding of the interrelationships of plate tectonics and climate to prehistoric life. This will make up the earth sciences component in their renovated and expanded exhibit area. This section will include four related areas: 1) Plate Tectonics, 2) The Earth's Amazing Climate System, 3) The Earth Evolving Biosphere, and 4) An Ecological Whodunit. Each area will be anchored by an "icon" that will serve as a guiding image for that exhibit and will be supported by a layered interpretation using objects from the collection, workstations with selected databases, simulated scientific investigations, and hot-links to related Internet Sites. Numerous interactives will highlight the use of scientific research tools and methods. A broad menu of complementary educational activities will accompany the exhibit including take-home activities for families; teacher enhancement sessions and materials for students, and experiences for pre- service teachers. Cranbrook is working with the Detroit Public Schools in their science reform effort supported by an NSF Urban Systemic Initiative and with the Michigan Department of Education through its NSF Statewide Systemic Initiative. The exhibit elements will support and reinforce the systemic reform efforts and will be aligned with the science standards.
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
The National Museum of Natural History is producing 3-D and 2-D versions of a large format film on natural history. With a working title of Wonders of Life, the film will explore the diversity of life on Earth and how this diversity came to be. It will examine the biological, geological, and cultural entities that interact in myriad ways to generate, shape, and sustain the enormous biological and cultural diversity of our planet. The film will be supported by outreach material designed to support further exploration of the topic of diversity in both informal and formal settings. An inexpensive family activity guide to be available at venues that show the film will feature engaging and challenging activities for families with children ages ten through 15. A teacher resource guide, distributed free to teachers attending the film with groups of students, will be developed for use in grades 5 through 8. A classroom activity poster will be developed to serve grades 2 through 5. A Wonders of Life home page will support in-depth study of the film's topics. Larry O'Reilly, Director of The Discovery Center Project at the NMNH, will be PI and Executive Producer for the film. The Senior Scientific Advisory Board will be chaired by Dr. Robert S. Hoffman, Senior Scientist and former Assistant Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution. The board also includes Sir David Attenborough, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Margaret Geller, Ivan Hattingh, and Dr. Thomas Lovejoy. Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer, Curator of Paleobiology and former Associate Director for Science at the NMNH, will lead a core team of scientists who will be directly involved in production. The film will be produced by Christopher Parsons and David Douglas will be Director of Photography.
Anchorage Museum of History and Art will used this planning award to develop the script, identify artifacts, and do other preliminary planning activities for and exhibit "Lifting the Fog: Exploration of the North Pacific, 1728 - 1867." The exhibit will be a 5000 to 6000 sq. ft. presentation that will give visitors insights into the scientific discoveries made in the North Pacific during the Russian era of dominance of this area. These Russian lead voyages, which included individuals from a number of European countries, made major findings in biology, hydrography, marine science and technology, geography and cartography, and ethnography. With this planning grant, they will bring together a group of museum professionals representing a diversity of approaches including hands-on science museums, scientists, and historian of science, formal educators, native Alaskans, and an evaluator to refine the plans. Project staff will draft the concept design, draft the label text, develop the specifications for the exhibit design, and develop the catalogue, among other activities. At the end of the twelve month planing period they will have refined their exhibit theme, developed their floor plan and concept design, developed plans for the interactive and hands-on activities, developed the interpretative labels and laid plans for the complementary activities including the catalogue, a curriculum plan, and other adjunct activities such as workshops demonstrating how scientific investigation was carried out in the 19th century.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.