This report presents front-end evaluation findings at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The study was conducted to assist with the formidable task of programming the 110,000-square-foot roadhouse and to provide data for researchers and exhibit designers. Front-end evaluation goals included: (1) determine if pre-existing or natural traffic flow patterns were present in the roundhouse; (2) evaluate visitor interest in proposed research topics; and (3) obtain visitor reactions, insights, attitudes and expectations concerning proposed roundhouse programming.
In this article, Annette Noschka-Roos discusses a study of a computer-supported information system (CIS) touch-screen interactive in the "New Energy Techniques" gallery at the Deutsches Museum. The objective of the study was to gather systematic data on how the medium is used by visitors. Noschka-Roos provides key findings from the study.
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Annette Noschka-RoosVisitor Studies Association
The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA requests NSF support for a three-year model program entitled "Partnerships for Acheiving Careers in Technology and Science" (PACTS). Building upon a successful pilot project involving African-American students and mentors, PACTS aims to foster positive attitudes about science careers and increase students leadership skills and self-estee. Through bi-weekly hands-on science workshops with African-American Scientists as mentors, students will strengthen their understanding of science concepts and enhance their critical thinking skills. On alternate Saturdays, students will participate in college/career workshops. PACTS students will also have the opportunity to tutor younger students, visit science laboratories, and serve as science museum demonstrators. Additional support and encouragment will be provided through a network of community resources involving partnerships among scientists, professional associations, community centers, corporations and a science center. The PACTS model will be disseminated nationally through museum conferences, the national networks of professional associations and corporations, and presentations by PACTS staff to interested organizations in other cities.
"The Connecticut Museum Collaborative for Science Education" is teacher enhancement program that will serve approximately 5,000 middle school teachers (and their students) from throughout Connecticut over a three-year program period. The proposed program has been developed cooperatively by four of Connecticut's Science Museums and Centers (The Discovery Museum, The Maritime Center at Norwalk, Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, and Talcott Mountain Science Center), in consultation with the school districts they serve and the Connecticut Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, the State's leadership organization solely devoted to enhancing education in mathematics, science, and technology. The Collaborative seeks to enliven and enhance the teaching of science, mathematics, and technology by drawing upon the resources of Connecticut's science-rich institutions and related businesses and industry. The proposed project will provide direct services to a core group of 72 middle school teachers and their students in eight urban and suburban school districts at the four participating museums and in their classrooms, as well as teacher training, curriculum development, and networking activities. Larger numbers of teachers and their students will be served through a planned series of interactive video teleconferences. A theme-based approach will be followed in which the unifying theme of "Earth Resource Monitoring" will serve to connect the activities at the four cooperating museums. The central concept of the project is collaboration among museums throughout the state to provide a bridge between science-rich institutions and the schools for teacher enhancement, curriculum improvement, and student enrichment. Special program components involve the participation of business and industry through "Video Field Trips", and parents through a "Family Science" activity. The involvement of the Connecticut Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science and Technolo gy as a member of the "Connecticut Collaborative" provides a direct link for integration of project activities into Connecticut's NSF-funded Statewide Systemic Initiative.
The Franklin Institute proposes to establish the Science Learning Network (SLN), a unique online collaborative of science museums, industry and schools to support the teaching and learning of science, mathematics and technology (SMT) in grades K-8. The SLN will integrate the educational resources offered by science/technology centers with the power of telecomputing networking to provide powerful new support for teacher development and science learning. By December 1997 the SLN will develop and evaluate the following: UniVERSE - an online SMT database and software package which will provide interactive capabilities to actively and intelligently assist K-8 classroom teachers in their Internet explorations, much like an electronic "librarian." Online Museum Collaborative - a national consortium of science museums (The Franklin Institute, the Exploratorium, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Museum of Science - Boston, and Science Museum of Minnesota) that will pool their resources and expertise to create online assets and provide ongoing professional development on telecomputing networking for precollege SMT teachers. Online Demonstration Schools - a network of K-8 schools, working in collaboration with consortium museums and Unisys Corporation volunteers as demonstration sites for online teaching and learning in SMT. Over the course of three years, the SLN will provide direct support to 180 teachers and 3,000 K-8 students in the online demonstration schools. Through existing teacher networks, each museum will offer professional development for an additional 200 teachers each year. The Urban Systemic Initiatives in Philadelphia and Miami offer the potential for broader, systemic impact in those cities. By the end of the grant period, the SLN will provide field- tested models of a new kind of online SMT community through the collaboration of science museums with industry and schools. The sustainable impact of the SLN will be assured by UniVERSE's status as a publicly accessible database and software package and the development of the national consortium of online museums, whose network resources will be made available on an ongoing basis to educators. The three-year formative development of the online demonstration schools will contribute vital data to precollegiate school reform in SMT, showing how schools build capacity to become members of the online community and demonstrating how teaching and learning are enhanced by online resources. Unisys Corporation has pledged its support to this project and will provide matching funds for up to 40% of the total NSF award.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BaumannWayne RansomPaul Helfrich
The Education Development Center (EDC) is implementing the national expansion and institutionalization of the Playing to Win (PTW) Network. With the goal of working toward universal technology enfranchisement and prior support from the NSF Informal Science Education Program, the PTW Network currently links close to fifty agencies in a mutually supportive community of neighborhood technology learning centers serving people living in low-income areas who otherwise would have little or no access to computer-based technologies. The purposes of this phase of the project are: - to increase the number of affiliates nationally - to provide effective support for their technology programs and to do so in a planned and thoughtful manner which also is flexible and responsive to the flows, demands, and unforeseen opportunities fro community technology center development -- to move the affiliate membership toward independence and self-governance. Each year of the project, PTW will work in collaboration with the United Neighborhood Centers of America, the Alliance fro Community Media, NTIA-funded programs, FreeNets, and others in three to four target areas of the US to recruitment additional primary affiliates. The goal is to add 20 additional affiliates annually who will be supported by local coordinators and another 30 with subsidized telecommunications support. PTW plans to enrich programmatic content at the centers with special emphasis on math and science. The network will support an on-line math and science program consultant and continue to recruit and support affiliates with a math/science program emphasis. The Co-Principal Investigators for the project will be Myles Gordon, Director of EDC's Center for Learning, Teaching and Technology, and Antonia Stone, Founder of PTW and PI for the previous phases of the project.
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Holly Carter
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA., acting as administrative coordinator for the Issues Laboratory Collaborative (ILC), requests NSF support for five science museums over a three year period to investigate the effectiveness of museum-based programs about controversial issues in science and technology; to develop, test, refine, and disseminate ten educational programs on science issues; and to establish a permanent Science Issues Network that will disseminate materials and methods to all U.S. science museums engaged in issues programs. This project has been formulated for re-submission to the National Science Foundation with guidance from a distinguished panel of scientists who will assist in program development. Approximately two million people will be directly served by ILC programs and exhibits during the three-year period.
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Roree Iris-WilliamsMinda BorunAnn Mintz
Science Museums of Charlotte, Inc. will develop a 5500 square foot traveling exhibit on SCIENCE of FASHION for the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC). Opening in February 1994, SCIENCE of FASHION will tour eight major U.S> cities over thirty-two months, introducing 2.5 million people to principles of chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and technology that drive the textile industry. SCIENCE of FASHION integrates diverse disciplines and will help public explore science in a wholistic manner. Because the subject matter is somewhat unusual fare, SCIENCE of FASHION will help diversify audiences, drawing in population segments, particularly women, who may not normally visit science museums. SCIENCE of FASHION is an eloquent vehicle for science-rich exhibitry which teaches the mathematics of pattern geometry, production statistics, and retail costs, polymer chemistry for engineering new fabrics, the genetics of new natural colors and strong aware fibers, and the sophisticated research, robotics, and computerized technologies that keep America's textile industry at the top international commerce. Rigorous evaluation will ensure a satisfying product that is educationally-effective, durable, and appealing to a broad public audience. SCIENCE of FASHION will be a worthy addition to the rich menu of science fare in SMEC exhibitry.
"How Things Fly" is a major new exhibit gallery being produced by the National Air and Space Museum and is scheduled to open in 1995. The goal of this permanent exhibition is to convey, to the broadest possible audience, the essential principles by which aircraft and spacecraft fly. "How Things Fly" represents an important departure from other exhibitions at the Museum in both content and execution. Instead of relying on static displays of historical artifacts, "How Things Fly" will use interactive devices and live demonstrations designedto spark curiosity, invite visitor participation, and provide children and adults with the opportunity to discover for themselves answers to some of their fundamental questions about flight. "How Things Fly" will be the first major exhibiton at the Museum devoted entirely to hands-on learning. It will incorporate some of the best interactive exhibitry ideas from othermuseums, improve upon them where possible, and include a substantial number of original exhibits. While intended to help visitors more fully appreciate the Museum's collection, the cooperative efforts, such as publications, a traveling exhibition, and educational outreach programs, will extend the exhibition's impact across the nation.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara BrennanSteven SoterChristopher StetserDavid RomanowskiJoann Hinkel
The SOUNDPRINT Media Center is producing a series of radio documentaries entitled 'Science and Technology on SOUNDPRINT,' a set of related educational and outreach materials, and multimedia non-broadcast applications. The project will include 16 original science documentaries and 21 programs repackaged as special broadcasts distributed to over 200 public radio stations in the United States, reaching over 750,000 listeners, and ten countries around the world. The programs also will be distributed on Internet Talk Radio. The 16 new Programs will be grouped around three themes: 'The Butterfly Effect' which will bring large scientific concepts describing global change to a more human level, 'Technology and Culture' which will consider the implications of technology, and 'The Consequences of Science' which will look at the broad implications of scientific research. The Executive Producer for the project is Moira Rankin. Neenah Ellis will serve as Senior Producer and will work directly with independent producers in story and script development. The Science Editors will be Ann Finkbeiner, a freelance science writer, and Barbara Culliton, Deputy Editor of 'Nature.'
SOUNDPRINT is requesting $901,273 over 16 months to produce a series of radio documentaries entitled Making Connections: SOUNDPRINT Explores Science and Technology, related educational outreach materials, multimedia non-broadcast applications, and an aggressive distribution plan. Sixteen half-hour original science documentaries, distributed through national Public radio will address three broad areas of science and technology. These include: the limitations and possibilities of scientific achievement; the requirements of sustainability (surviving); and the explanation science offers for human behavior. An additional 21 programs will be repackaged as special broadcasts to be distributed to over 200 public radio stations. Target audiences include middle school and secondary school students, and adults.
LightPower is one of twelve permanent exhibits being developed for the new Orlando Science Center (OSC) in Orlando, Florida. A 4,000 square foot exhibit, LightPower places lasers in their broad scientific context by focusing on light, the electromagnetic spectrum, and on lasers and their applications. Because of the large number of laser-optics research facilities and corporations in the Central Florida region, the exhibit also includes The Optics Workbench, a career-themed activity center which emphasizes careers in optics and in scientific and technical fields that utilize lasers. LightPower is being developed by a partnership that includes the Orlando Science Center, the Orange County Public Schools, and the Center for Research and Education in Electro-Optics and Lasers at the University of Central Florida. The partnership will develop, prototype, and evaluate interactive exhibit components and associated text and labels in English and Spanish; and will develop, evaluate, and distribute hands-on career-related activities in English and Spanish for students and teachers. The goal of the LightPower exhibit is to contribute to the educational infrastructure of the Central Florida region by: - Developing an interactive exhibit that facilitates learning by a diverse public, including African Americans and Latinos, and successfully communicating with both English and Spanish-speaking audiences. - Supporting middle school, junior high, and high school science curricula, and producing and distributing printed materials that detail the relationship between exhibit components and specific curriculum performance standards. - Developing successful hands-on career-related activities for students and teachers in both English and Spanish.