In recent years academic, engineering, business, and other fields, have launched major research and development efforts into the study and application of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. In spite of all these efforts and the investment of millions of dollars, the general public has had little access to research findings and knowledge about the application of nanoscience and technology. Several studies have been conducted to assess public knowledge and understanding; they show that a large percentage of the public is not aware of this emerging field (as compared with other fields
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Dawn RoblesTwin Cities Public TelevisionJen HelmsMichelle Phillips
The evaluation research summarized here focuses on science reports developed by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. The reports appear on The NewsHour television broadcasts and are archived as streaming video available on the program's Web site (www.pbs.org/newshour/science), which includes enhanced media resources such as audio Podcasts, RSS feeds, transcripts, teacher lesson plans, background reports, slideshows, and interactives. The project's general intention is to produce positive learning outcomes and attitudes towards STEM topics (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and to foster
WNET is producing "The Human Spark," a multimedia project that includes a four-part television series (4 x 60 min) for national primetime broadcast on PBS, innovative outreach partnerships with museums, an extensive Web site and outreach activities, including a Spanish-language version and companion book. Hosted by Alan Alda, "The Human Spark" will explore the intriguing questions: What makes us human? Can the human spark be found in the differences between us and our closest genetic relative -- the great apes? Is there some place or process unique to the human brain where the human spark resides? And if we can identify it, could we transfer it to machines? The programs will explore these questions through presenting cutting-edge research in a number of scientific disciplines including evolution, genetics, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral science, anthropology, linguistics, AI, robotics and computing. The series will highlight opposing views within each field, and the interdisciplinary nature of science, including its intersection with the humanities. The series will develop a new innovative format, the "muse concept", which involves pairing the host with a different scientific expert throughout each program. The outreach plan is being developed with a consortium of four leading science museums, American Museum of Natural History in New York, Museum of Science in Boston, The Exploratorium in San Francisco, and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, paired with their respective local public television stations. An additional six museums and local broadcasters will be chosen through an RFP process to develop local initiatives around the series. Multimedia Research and Leflein Associates will conduct formative as well as summative evaluations of the series and web.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
William GrantJared LipworthGraham CheddBarbara Flagg
The Science Source Pathways Project will conduct initial work designing and testing a new model for providing news on STEM related topics to the rural and Native American communities in Montana. This project will enhance understanding of how the communication of scientific research reaches and impacts underrepresented audiences. A collaborative model will be developed between the environmental journalism program at the University of Montana and various local television, radio, and online media outlets that are either operated by or reach Native Americans on reservations and throughout the state. Project deliverables include a survey and analysis of current science reporting reaching this audience; and production and testing of prototype science news stories for dissemination on various platforms (print, radio, TV, web). The development of science news pieces will be led by graduate students in the School of Journalism under the careful guidance and mentorship of experienced professors. This project will enhance the communication and amount of STEM content delivered to underserved groups, and provide diverse opportunities for them to engage in STEM related environmental issues that affect their local communities.
In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences project, the University of Colorado at Boulder -- in partnership with the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, and the CU-Boulder Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement -- is building on the work they have done via their NSF research award, A Meta-Design Framework for Participative Software Systems, in which they have been developing participative software systems (PPS) and applications of the framework. Community of Soundscapes will employ newly developed mobile computing and collaborative mapping technology in programs that help users gain greater insights and stake into the shared environment in which they live and visit. Sound Camera, a digital recording device outfitted with GPS mapping software, allows users to collect audio clips of their sonic experiences as they explore their cities, parks and other environments and upload them online onto a digital map through a Web 2.0 application. They can then compose, annotate, and share soundscapes of the places where the sounds were recorded. A Web site will be developed to expand the project's reach to audiences not in the Boulder programs. Professional development training will be provided for collaborators and through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. The educational goals are to promote literacy of PSS and engage the public in personally meaningful activities that benefit environmental education (cognitive goal) and expand environmental awareness (affective goal). The project work and its evaluation processes (by Wells Resources, Inc.) are intended to advance the field of informal science education with respect to PSS and to study how these new technologies might affect shifts in the kinds of experiences various audiences prefer to have.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gerhard FischerElisa GiaccardiGerhard Fischer
The Project Jason Museum Network, comprising a group of some 10 science museums throughout the United States and represented in this proposal by the Franklin Institute, requests partial support of a major experiment in the use of electronic field trips organized by Dr. Robert Ballard and associates at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Over a two week period in May 1989, a series of satellite television transmissions will provide more than 150,000 students at some dozen museums with live, two way interactive TV coverage of a significant underwater archaeological expedition in the central Mediterranean Sea carried out by Dr. Ballard's group. The research expedition will be widely publicized, with public interest and attention similar to that obtained during his explorations of the Titanic. A variety of archaelological, oceanographic, and technological programs will be provided to museums through a Project Jason Satellite Network established for the purpose; participating schools, teachers and school children will already be familiar with the project and its methods through curriculum materials developed by NSTA with support from NSF's Instructional Materials Development program. An extensive evaluation program will accompany the first year's effort, and the Network plans to continue providing material from Project Jason for several additional years. In addition, other forms of distance learning will be investigated and developed using the infrastructure developed for Project Jason. Overall, more than a million individuals will view programs provided by the network in live presentations or later videotapes. Direct cost sharing by the Network Members is more than $3 million, with similar amounts contributed by Dr. Ballard's group at Woods Hole.
The idea that there are models in existence for electricity and how to improve its generation and utilization is an important quest in light of our resources. This CRPA project will stimulate the target audience\'s thinking by describing the relationships between electricity, nanoscience, and superconductivity. An audience of 4th-8th graders, parents, and teachers will come away from watching the video with a new sense of science and its possibilities. This project is a collaboration between physics faculty, educators at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, a communications professional, and the Bazillion Pictures of Kansas City, Missouri along with independent evaluators. An animated video of 8-10 minutes is intended to engage, entertain, and provoke thought on how electricity works and how it could be used/generated in nano-molecules to derive superconductivity. Most individuals turn on the electrical switch and use the result without the slightest understanding of how electricity arrived at the switch, how it was generated and what resources are needed for it to be there at the "flip of a switch." Further, most do not consider or have sufficient background knowledge to understand how the efficiency and use of this resource might be improved. This project could bridge this gap which if successful would be highly transformative in the public understanding of science.
SciGirls is a multimedia project designed to encourage and empower more girls to pursue careers in STEM. It is a bold and unique experiment--the first television series on PBS designed specifically for girls aged 8-13. The approach is based on the findings of prior gender research. The television show and the Web site are integrally linked. Episodes are available for distribution on many of the newest digital platforms, e.g., Vimeo and iTunes for downloads, free of charge. SciGirls launched in February 2010 and reaches over 80% of the country. This project will support further research and development to advance SciGirls' online and outreach activities. Specifically, the deliverables include: (1) enhancement of the SciGirls website on pbs.org; (2) maintenance of the SciGirls Educator Networks and outreach to new partners; and (3) R&D on other media platforms. The project's two strategic partners are the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) in Seattle and The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The NGCP links SciGirls with its network of 500 community-based science programs for girls, and The Franklin Institute coordinates an affiliate network of science museums to implement SciGirls' outreach activities. The project will also work with the Girl Scouts of America's new "Girl Scout Leadership Experience" program, which emphasizes STEM learning. The most significant web component is a social networking feature that allows girls who are interested in science to connect with peers across the nation. To date, there have been over 300,000 unique visitors and 20,000 registered "SciGirls."
The PBS NewsHour STEM Learning project is a broadcast and online science journalism and informal science education initiative to report breaking science news and cutting-edge STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) research and researchers to a national audience. The multi-platform project goals are to: (1) increase and improve the knowledge of the audience with respect to science and technology; (2) stimulate the active engagement of the audience with science and technology through interactive tools; and (3)position the PBS NewsHour as a regular destination for in-depth and innovative science reporting; (4) deploy new and creative digital tools to extend the impact of NewsHour science reporting, especially for youth. The PBS NewsHour is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and distributed by PBS to PBS television and radio stations across the country, five nights per week. This project is informed by an expert advisory board and other consultants. Project evaluation will be conducted by City Square Associates. The formative evaluation in year one will employ focus groups of adults from the general audience and teens as well as a quantitative survey online to determine a benchmark of current science knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. The evaluation in year two will test digital components of the project in a usability lab setting to gather information to help improve the quality and effectiveness of these deliverables. The summative evaluation will administer a tracking study with the same population surveyed in the first year. Deliverables include: a minimum of 26 science documentary reports broadcast per year plus additional in-studio interviews and coverage of breaking science news; a revamped website, notably "Science and Tech To Go"; a weekly STEM interview or report online featuring Hari Sreenivasan or other reporters; additional weekly digital STEM reporting; and an expanded and redesigned outreach program for teens and educators including an innovative, cloud-based student editing and content-sharing initiative in collaboration with several science centers. Six new PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs, established in high-need urban schools, will shoot, edit, and post their videos on the web. The PBS NewsHour science reports will be broadcast and featured on the NewsHour iPhone app, as well as disseminated on the NewsHour's YouTube Channel, Disqus and UStream, Hulu.com, with new science material updated daily on the web. The NewsHour is seen by more than 7 million viewers each week, with additional audiences being reached by radio, the Online NewsHour website, podcasts, and other social media. New community-based programs expand the audience farther. The final summative report will outline the impact of the project and identify the strategies and tactic found to be most effective in making use of digital media to support project goals.
"Human +" is a collaboration among the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), NSF Quality of Life Technology Engineering Research Center (QoLT ERC) of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), and the Institute for Learning Innovation. The project will engage engineers, educators, designers, and people with disabilities in a process of participatory design to create a 2,500 square foot traveling exhibition entitled "Human +". The STEM content is engineering, specifically the extraordinary technological advances being made to enhance human abilities. The project is making three significant contributions to the Informal Science Education (ISE) field: 1) It is a model of close integration of an NSF-funded engineering research center into an ISE project. (2) It engages people with disabilities, both as participants and audiences. (3) It broadens engagement with engineering as a participatory, creative, and socially important ISE undertaking. Project deliverables are: (1) a model for participatory design of ISE activities to generate innovation among engineers, people with disabilities, ISE professionals, and designers; and 2) a 2,500 square-foot traveling exhibition engaging the public in the science, technology, and social issues of human enhancement. Front-end evaluation will be conducted by OMSI to explore pre-existing knowledge and attitudes, integrating significant numbers of people with disabilities including veterans, young people, and older people. Formative evaluation will likewise be integrated with the participatory design process, with prototypes being tested both by audiences and by the core "Human +" participatory design team. Summative evaluation by Institute for Learning Innovation will address both the effectiveness of the participatory design process and the effectiveness of the exhibition in addressing the National Academy for Engineering goals for public understanding of engineering as a creative and socially engaged field. An estimated 700,000 visitors will experience the "Human +" exhibition at OMSI and NYSCI. In addition, OMSI will tour the exhibition through its extensive and diverse network of science centers, with 24 science centers having expressed interest as potential host sites. The Science Friday webcast/podcast will reach an estimated 1.3 million listeners. Public audiences will engage in the topic of engineering and better understand its importance to human existence through experiencing one compelling research area. The project team will work with the Veterans Administration and DARPA to engage veterans with disabilities both as participants and as audiences. The exhibit with its human-focused content will also stimulate interest among older adults and promote the engineering field to groups underrepresented in engineering such as people with disabilities, girls, and minority youth. The project places cutting-edge technology and engineering practice in a profoundly personal context. "Human +" will contribute to the empowerment of the great majority of people who have, or will have, disabilities during their lifetime and for those of us who care for people with disabilities.
WGBH is requesting funds to produce a four-hour NOVA television special with accompanying Web and outreach activities about the pervasive role of materials in our lives. The overarching goals of the project are to: 1) enhance public engagement in and understanding of materials science, including appreciation of its effects on society; 2) promote collaboration among educators, scientists and community-based organizations to reach a broad audience; and 3) create effective methods of expanding informal science learning that can be evaluated for their lasting impact on the field. The mini-series, "STUFF: The Materials that Shape our World," will offer an appreciation of the human and scientific factors that drive innovation in materials science, from ancient breakthroughs to today's explosion of biological and nanomaterials. The four episodes, themed around "Stronger," "Smaller," "Smarter" and "Cleaner" will provide a clear focus on the interdisciplinary nature of materials science and showcase dramatic stories of past inventions and exciting new discoveries. The NOVA team in association with the Materials Research Society (MRS) will produce the series. The "STUFF" series is anticipated to be broadcast on PBS in the fall of 2008. WGBH and MRS will work with local PBS stations to train local scientists in public outreach. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the project components, and Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the series and the outreach efforts.
This project is designed to bridge the "public understanding of science" radio model with a "public engagement with science" approach using a new public media tool - the "Public Insight Network". Radiolab, an innovative hour-long radio program has developed a highly innovative and successful format over the past 5 years that fosters interest and understanding in STEM based on audiences' natural curiosity. It has exposed non-science attentive listeners to transformative STEM concepts such as Stochasticity (physics, statistics, neuroscience), Musical Language (behavioral science, neurology, acoustics) and Space (mathematics, astronomy, technology, engineering). This project will expand the model using innovative online strategies that will connect listeners with working scientists, with each other and with the Radiolab hosts. This new model is grounded in the direct interaction of audiences and scientists which positions listeners as active creators and curators of content rather than passive recipients. The target audience is young adults 18 years old and above. Key organizational partners are The Public Insight Network (and their affiliation with the National Academies of Science), American Public Media, the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Brooklyn College. Project deliverables include 30 hour-long Radiolab programs for broadcast on public radio stations; interactive, user generated articles for the web site; live online chats, engagement "apps" for mobile smart phones; and live events at college campuses and science centers. In addition, the project will implement a mentorship program to train college-aged underrepresented students that have demonstrated an interest in science and/or science journalism. Formative evaluation will gather actionable information from audiences and scientists than can inform the design of the deliverables.The summative evaluation will assess the success of the strategy for engaging audiences in ongoing science learning. Audiences are projected to increase from the current base of 1 million radio listeners per season and 2 million podcast downloads per month. The intended learning outcomes for the audience include their gaining greater knowledge and exposure to current scientific research, and increased engagement by becoming participatory learners through online interactions with science professionals and other listeners.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen HorneJad AbumradRobert KrulwichSoren Wheeler