Global Climate Change as Seen by Zoo and Aquarium Visitors reports on the findings of a summer 2011 survey conducted at 15 zoos and aquariums. The study was designed to characterize the readiness of U.S. zoo and aquarium visitors to engage with the issue of global climate change. This included describing visitors' cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral predispositions toward climate change in addition to describing their attitudes and beliefs regarding wildlife, nature, and conservation actions. Results indicate that zoo and aquarium visitors are receptive audiences for climate change
Although informal learning environments have been studied extensively, ours is one of the first studies to quantitatively assess the impact of learning in botanical gardens on students' cognitive achievement. We observed a group of 10th graders participating in a one-day educational intervention on climate change implemented in a botanical garden. The students completed multiple-choice questionnaires in a pre-post-retention test design. Comparing the test scores revealed a significant short-term knowledge gain as well as a long-term knowledge gain. Consequently, our results show the potentials
Mobile technology can be used to scaffold inquiry-based learning, enabling learners to work across settings and times, singly or in collaborative groups. It can expand learners’ opportunities to understand the nature of inquiry whilst they engage with the scientific content of a specific inquiry. This Sharples et al. paper reports on the use of the mobile computer-based inquiry toolkit nQuire. Teachers found the tool useful in helping students to make sense of data from varied settings.
A NOAA scientist-in‐residence program at the Exploratorium was evaluated to determine impacts on front‐line staff (Explainers), visitors, and the scientists involved. A model for hosting scientists at a museum was developed to include a one‐week residency that helped scientists understand the museum followed by a two-week residency during which scientists, working with the Explainers, interacted with visitors in a topic-specific installation space. Data for the evaluation was collected using observations along with interviews and surveys with Exploratorium staff, scientists and visitors
The Ocean Project is pleased to present this latest update on our market research and outreach initiative. In this issue we highlight new insights about the public's interest and understanding of ocean acidification, as well as some very promising findings on the potential for online advertising as the proverbial rising tide that could lift all boats. We also take a look at some of the ways in which our zoo, aquarium, and museum (ZAM) partners are preparing to participate in our planet's biggest celebration of the ocean, World Oceans Day on June 8! We hope you find it all useful as you develop
Socioscientific issues in connection to energy production, use or influence on climate change continue to be at the forefront of local, national, and global debates. The pressing nature of these issues requires citizens not only to understand relevant disciplinary knowledge but also to have the ability to use that knowledge to take action. This paper investigates the work of youth in an after school science program designed to examine socioscientific issues as they took educated action in science by putting on a “green carnival” for their peers and community members in relation to green energy
Approaches to citizen science – an indispensable means of combining ecological research with environmental education and natural history observation – range from community-based monitoring to the use of the internet to “crowd-source” various scientific tasks, from data collection to discovery. With new tools and mechanisms for engaging learners, citizen science pushes the envelope of what ecologists can achieve, both in expanding the potential for spatial ecology research and in supplementing existing, but localized, research programs. The primary impacts of citizen science are seen in
How we communicate the dangers of climate change may influence attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Here we test two pairs of positive and negative framing statements with North American citizen scientists interested in gardening and birdwatching. Mentioning dangers for humans did not increase participants’ interest in taking personal action on climate change, but mentioning dangers for birds was highly effective. Highlighting the positive collective impacts of small behavioral changes also increased participants’ interest in taking personal action. These results suggest that while some dire