The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is requesting $370,728 to create a traveling exhibit entitled "How Things Work, which will familiarize students and the general public with the science and engineering behind 15-20 "gadgets" which play vital roles in their everyday lives. A number of the exhibit elements will be based on the work of Dr. Richard Crane. Ancillary materials will be developed for classroom teachers as part of school outreach. An Exhibition Resource Guide will be developed for use by other museum venues, as well as teachers, students and others.
The Museum of Science and Industry will develop "Genetics: Decoding Life," a 4325 sq. ft. permanent exhibit about the basic principles of genetics, the Human Genome Project, new tools and technology to study life, and the biomedical and biotech applications resulting from genetic information. As a result of interacting with this exhibit, visitors will understand the basic principles of genetics, they will become familiar with the role of genes in the development of life, they will learn something about how and why scientists used genetic tools, and visitors will become aware of applications of these principles and the potential social, ethical, medical and economic outcomes. In addition to the exhibit there will be a number of complementary outreach programs. An electronic web site will be created, software used in the exhibit will be modified into a format suitable for use in schools, computers loaded with genetic programs will be loaned to Chicago public school groups, churches and other community agencies, and the content of the exhibit will be used to enhance special Lamaze and prenatal classes held at the museum. Special consideration will be given to developing the relationship between the project personnel and the staff of the Chicago Systemic Initiative. They will work together to produce a school program about genetics that will be suitable for grades 5 to 8. School materials will include a teacher's guide for the exhibit, a program of classroom activities, and materials to be used before and after a trip to the museum to see the exhibit.
Through a collaboration of the DuPage Children's Museum, Argonne National Laboratory, and National-Louis University, a three-element project is being conducted focusing on the following: 1) a research component that studies children's naive perceptions of the phenomena of air and wind energy, 2) an exhibition component that uses the project research to design, develop, and construct a 3- 4,000 square foot "process" oriented exhibition with a 2-story exhibit tower and 12-15 replicable exploratory workstations, 3) a program component that offers explorations for children adapted for museums, preschools and elementary school classrooms. Target audiences include young children and their parents, pre- and in- service early childhood teachers, and museum professionals interested in reaching very young children.
"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.