The Maryland Science Center (MSC), in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), and Morgan State University (MSU), has sought the support of the National Institutes of Health SEPA (Science Education Partnership Award) Program to develop "Cellular Universe: The Promise of Stem Cells," a unique exhibition and update center with related programs that highlight the most current science in cell biology and stem cell research. Visitor surveys have shown that science museum visitors are very interested in learning about stem cell research, but know little about the science of stem cells or cell biology, which form the basis of stem cell research. The goal of this project is to help visitors learn about advances in cell biology and stem cells so that they will make informed health-related decisions, explore new career options, and better understand the role of basic and clinical research in health advances that affect people's lives. Topics to be covered include the basic biology of cells, the role of stem cells in human development, current stem cell research and the clinical research process. This exhibition will also address the controversies in stem cell research. Our varied advisory panel, including cell biologists, physiologists, adult and embryonic stem cell researchers and bioethicists, will ensure the objectivity of all content. "Cellular Universe: The Promise of Stem Cells" will be a 3,500 square-foot exhibition to be planned, designed and prototyped in Fall 2006-Winter 2009, and installed in MSC's second-floor human body exhibition hall in Spring 2009. This exhibition will build on the successful model of "BodyLink," our innovative health science update center funded by a 2000 SEPA grant (R25RR015602) and supported by partnerships with JHU and UMB.
Genetics was developed by The Tech staff in collaboration with Stanford University and was funded by the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program. The evaluation documents the impact and effectiveness of the exhibition using timing and tracking observations and exit interviews. It also examines the partnership between The Tech and Stanford University through interviews with graduate students, who conduct programs in the exhibition, and their supervisor (results are not included in this summary).
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Randi KornThe Tech Museum of Innovation
This report summarizes a summative evaluation of Amazing Feats of Aging, an exhibition developed by staff at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon. Patricia McNamara, an independent evaluator, designed this study to document the exhibition's impact on visitors at two locations: its permanent installation at OMSI itself and at the installation of the exhibit's traveling version at the Lafayette Museum of Natural History (LMNH) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Data collection strategies included visitor interviews, self-administered questionnaires and unobtrusive
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Patricia McNamaraOregon Museum of Science and Industry
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), in collaboration with the Small Museum Research Collaborative (SMRC), proposes to create four small bilingual exhibitions in English and Spanish for a national tour to small museums. The exhibitions will focus on current clinical research in nutrition and physical activity and its applications to personal and family wellness. We propose to build four, 700-square-foot traveling exhibitions: two identical exhibitions with a focus on nutrition, and two identical exhibitions with a focus on physical activity. OMSI's SMRC partners bring the experiences and resources of five geographically and thematically diverse small museums to this project. As the lead institution, OMSI brings over 19 years of experience in creating and touring national exhibitions and in collaborative projects with other museums. Front-end, formative, remedial, and summative evaluation will be conducted with family audiences at OMSI and SMRC sites. To extend the visitor experience, OMSI and SMRC will produce related educational materials and programs including a Web site, teachers' guides, small museum staff training, distance-learning programs, and interactive presentations. An SMRC distance-learning network will be created for program dissemination. The project will be developed with the support of local research scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University's (OHSU) General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and other experts in nutrition and fitness research, health care, and education. The project's audience is family and K-5 school group visitors to small science and children's museums in rural and small urban communities nationwide. Latino families are also a priority audience for the project. Each of the four traveling exhibitions will tour to three venues a year for a minimum of eight years. We conservatively estimate that over two million people will visit the exhibitions during their national tours. This project presents a powerful opportunity to reach museum visitors in rural and underserved communities, to invite families to pursue healthy nutrition and physical activity together, and to present and interpret clinical research findings for diverse audiences.
The Nature of Aging project presents the biology of senescence to families and K-12 students through interactive exhibits and museum experiences. Senescence is perhaps the most complex and least understood biological process, yet it is also a universal experience marked by signs we all recognize. Aging has great relevance in the twenty-first century as medical advances and demographic shifts accelerate the growth of our elder population, and scientific research narrows in on the central mysteries of the aging process. In partnership with the Center for Healthy Aging at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and national experts in gerontology research and education, the Nature of Aging project has produced a 2,500-square-foot permanent exhibition, Amazing Feats of Aging, which opened in OMSI-s Life Science Hall in May 2003. A duplicate 2,500 traveling exhibition was also produced and began its national tour in June 2004. The proposed eight-year tour to an average of three venues per year is funded by exhibition rental fees and significantly extends the life and audience of the project. Visitors to the Amazing Feats of Aging exhibition explore comparative aging across the animal kingdom, healthy aging, and the aging of the brain. The exhibition is intended for a family audience, and activities are designed to foster intergenerational interaction. The exhibit experience is enriched by a series of educational materials and programs including a teachers- guide, an interactive website, demonstrations, and activities in OMSI-s Life Science Lab. The Amazing Feats of Aging exhibition was made possible by the contribution of expertise, photographs, video footage, software, prepared slides and specimens from scientists and researchers across the country, including: Aging Concerns, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, OHSU, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Institute on Aging, Oregon Zoo, Portland State University, University ofCalifornia, San Francisco, University of Colorado, Boulder, University of Idaho, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Virginia, and Washington State University.
The Children's Museum of Houston (CMH) and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) collaborated to create and travel a museum exhibit on children's environmental health for a target audience of children 5-10, their parents, caregivers, and teachers. My Home Planet Earth (MHPE) is based on the NIH-funded, interdisciplinary My Health My World educational program developed at BCM and disseminated nationally through Carolina Biological Supply. The aims of the project are to: (1) expand understanding by children (ages 5-10) and their caregivers of the health consequences of human induced changes in the environment and increase their abilities to make healthful decisions through informal self-directed activities in a museum setting; (2) encourage linkages between formal and informal education settings by providing a model for connecting classroom-based curricula to museum-based exhibits and informal learning programs, based on the My Health My World educational materials and the My Home Planet Earth exhibit and support programs; (3) help parents provide additional environmental health-related informal learning experiences for their children, and promote awareness of science and health careers; and (4) partner scientists and educators in the creation of a model environmental health sciences exhibit and support program for the field of family-centered informal learning. The exhibit and support programs are in the process of touring 18 youth museums, science centers and health museums over six years of travel (2002-2008). An estimated 1.5 million visitors will participate in the project by the end of the tour in 2008. In addition to these visitors, 1,000 families will participate in MHPE Family Learning Events, 9,000 teachers will be introduced to the My Health My World curriculum-360 of whom will participate in a day long MHMW workshop, 36 scientists will partner with host museums to enhance the learning and community impact of the project, and 180,000 children will visit the xhibit during a school field experience.
The New York Hall of Science, partnering with biomedical researchers, educators and the Association of Science-Technology Centers, is planning to develop, test, (Phase I) and nationally disseminate (Phase II) a new exhibition titled Molecules and Health. This exhibition will engage middle and high-school students and the general public in inquiry-based learning on the role of molecules in health illness and prevention. The proposed project will be a national model for conveying the molecular basis for health-related sciences, which will be increasing central to research and public understanding in the coming decades. The exhibition will be based upon Marvelous Molecules-the Secret of Life, a permanent exhibition at the Hall of Science, and will include an extensive array of biomedical and health-related exhibits. We will develop pre- and post-visit materials for teachers' use, a family guide through the exhibition, and two Explainer-run demonstrations, as well as a web site to support classroom learning. This exhibition will travel to science centers within the United States through the Association of Science and Technology Centers touring program. We anticipate that 1,000,000 science museum visitors throughout the country will see the Molecules and Health exhibition during the four year dissemination phase. We will share the results of our evaluation and the process of developing this exhibition to the science education field.
The Great Lakes Science Center, in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University (CASE), proposes to develop a permanent exhibition and related programs on biomedical engineering. The successful implementation of this project would allow CASE and GLSC to inform a broad constituency about select biomedical research advancements, applied technologies, and their relevance to society. When the project is completed, we will be able to expose many thousands of visitors each year to the updated exhibition - increasing their interest in and understanding of important science concepts underlying advancements in biomedical technology. The exhibition would encompass approximately 2000 square feet and feature approximately 20 exhibits, most of which would be interactive. The major audiences for the exhibition include families, school groups, and general museum visitors. The BioMedTech exhibition is located on the Science Center's main floor, which places an emphasis on the science and technology of particular importance to Northeast Ohio. The exhibition will be accompanied by educational programming, public programs, and wide dissemination around the region and within the Science Center world. When fully implemented, the project could reach many hundreds of thousands of visitors and garner national attention through dissemination efforts. Visitors to the exhibition and participants in related programs will come to a better understanding of the connections between biology and technology while learning of science and engineering's role in improving the quality of life in our society.
The Tech Museum of Innovation and Stanford University School of Medicine Department of Genetics have established longterm partnership to enable the public to draw connections between modern genetics research and choices they face about their health. Together we will develop, produce, evaluate, and disseminate Life's New Frontier, a dynamic exhibition which will inform the public about the goals and methods of modern genetics. Interactive permanent exhibits and guided learning centers, staffed jointly by museum educators and by working scientists (predominantly Stanford graduate students and postdoctoral fellows), will take the public into the minds and laboratories of scientists who are revolutionizing biomedical science. The exhibition and associated public and school programs will emphasize the emerging discipline of bioinformatics, which is fundamental to the Human Genome Project, gene-based diagnosis, rational drug design, and treatment of disease. Life's New Frontier will open in the summer of 2003 to reach an estimated 1.5 million diverse people annually through museum and online visitation. It will set a new standard for the treatment of cutting-edge science in exhibitions by establishing an infrastructure that permits rapid changes to exhibit content, and creating opportunities for visitors to receive personalized science and health updates after their visit. The exhibition also will serve as a platform to foster continuing personal interaction among middle and high school students, Stanford faculty and students, and the general public. The Tech/Stanford partnership will be maintained through staff liaison positions at each partner institution and will be evaluated to assess its effectiveness. We hope to extend this model to other departments at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and to disseminate it as a model for other science center/university partnerships in biomedical sciences. We anticipate significant outcomes of this partnership: the pblic will be better able to apply the ideas of modern genetics to decisions about their health; and a broad range of students from diverse backgrounds will be inspired to pursue biomedical education and research.
KY-H.E.R.O.S. (Health Education Rural Outreach Scientists) is a health science education program that partners the largest science center in Kentucky with Science Heroes-- important regional biomedical research scientists. The Science Heroes, their stories and their studies serve as inspiration to our rural audience. The project objectives are to: (1) Convey the relevance of health science research to people's daily lives and promote awareness of healthy lifestyle choices and wellness; (2) Promote understanding of the fundamental principles of the scientifc process and inspire K-12 teachers to incorporate current research into their teaching of health science; and (3) Encourage students to pursue advanced science education and increase awareness of the wide range of health science related careers. The Science Center, working with the distinguished Science Heroes, their research teams and a group of 15 knowledgeable professional advisors will develop the new KY-H.E.R.O.S. science education program. The program will include new hands-on labs and demonstrations, teacher training workshops, career exploration activities, interactive videoconferencing distance learning links, and innovative public programs. Using museum-based exhibits and a wet lab, traveling exhibit components, telelinking (distance learning), an interactive website and printed and electronic materials, we will present information about the work of the Science Heroes and its relevance to the lives of participants. The focus of the program will change every two years to feature three different scientists and their work. A total of nine scientists will be included during the 5 year period covered by the SEPA grant. As the focus changes every two years to a different three scientists, all the programs and exhibits will be changed accordingly. KY-H.E.R.O.S. will be designed to serve audiences composed of school groups on field trips; teachers in workshops; classes in remote areas of the state participatng through videoconferencing; underserved groups including economically disadvantaged, minorities and young women; and the family audience that makes up about 60% of the Science Center's annual attendance. Formative and summative evaluation will be conducted by an outside firm to ensure effectiveness.
This project will partner The Museum with researchers from local health science organizations, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Duke University Medical Center, to create an interactive exhibition and a series of monthly public programs. Investigate Health! will further understanding of children's health issues as visitors: 1) experiment with the science behind these issues, 2) discover that individual choice impacts well being, and 3) explore associated health science careers. The Investigate Health! project will produce a 2,100-square-foot resident exhibit containing hands-on manipulatives, interactive computer programs, a staffed laboratory area, and a resource center. The exhibition will be accessible to children and adults of diverse backgrounds and physical abilities. The 500-square-foot staffed laboratory area within the exhibit, called Health Lab, will give visitors opportunities to interact with Museum staff, health researchers, and teenage volunteers as they use scientific instruments for more in-depth explorations. A resource center within the resident exhibit will provide a comfortable place for visitors to research emerging health-related issues and gather information about accessing health care. The Health Investigator Series, monthly public programs cosponsored by the region's world-renowned medical schools and health research organizations, will bring scientists and health care professionals to speak directly to the public about the frontiers of research influencing children's health and the career opportunities available in their fields of expertise. Investigate Health! will reach more than two and a half million Museum visitors, local teachers, and teenage volunteers who will visit the resident exhibit during its life span (ideally, seven years) and take part in the enriching public presentations connected with it.
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Roy GriffithsTraci ConnorSarah Prather
Through the lens of cardiovascular health and wellness, The Heart of the Matter, a 5,000 square foot exhibition, will explore the science and technology that support medical efforts, advances, and discoveries. In order to promote interest and education in the basic science that underlies the health sciences, The Heart of the Matter draws on the popularity and educational value of the Institute's venerable walk-through Heart exhibition, and increasing and widespread concern over cardiovascular health. The exhibit uses hands-on activities, multimedia experiences, and computer interactives to introduce visitors to concepts of physiology, human biology, and health. For outreach and dissemination purposes, The Heart of the Matter also benefits from collaborative efforts with the American Heart Association and with area hospitals including Drexel University's Hahnemann Hospital and the nursing school of Thomas Jefferson University. With The Franklin Institute's walk-through heart serving as the exhibit's gateway to learning, visitors use the tools and techniques of medicine to investigate the human body and to evaluate their own health-related choices. The Heart of the Matter: 1. Provides visitors with an introduction to basic concepts of human biology and physiology, 2. Introduces visitors to the scientific research and development which is generating new medical techniques and technologies, and 3. Encourage visitors to be proactive in making choices that affect their health.