The Science Museum of Minnesota will develop "Investigations in Cell Biology," an integrated program that introduces cell, microbiology, and molecular biology to museum audiences through open-access, wet-lab, micro-experiment benches; training and support for school teachers; classes for adults and teens; and a long-term program for local high school youth. The project includes the development, testing, and installation of four micro-experiment benches that introduce visitors to the objectives, tools, and techniques of cell biology experimentation. These benches,"Inside the Cell," "Testing for DNA," "DNA Profile," and "Microbe Control," will be part of "Cell Lab," a 1,500 square-foot open experiment area within the science museum's new core exhibition, "The Human Body," opening December 1999.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Laurie Kleinbaum FinkSusan FlemingJ Newlin
The Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History will develop "Texas Dinosaurs: How Do We Know? -- Regional Dissemination of Science Inquiry Exhibits and Educational Programs on Paleontology." This will be a major permanent and portable exhibition project that will be accompanied by an array of educational programs for formal and informal audiences throughout Texas. The permanent 12,000 sq. ft. exhibit, "Texas Dinosaurs: How Do We Know?", will recreate field and laboratory processes of paleontological research in an inquiry approach to public learning in geology, biology, ecology and mathematics. Portable versions of the exhibit will be distributed to the Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Headquarters, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, the Science Spectrum in Lubbock, the McAllen International Museum, and the El Paso Insights Science Museum -- all in Texas. Regional dissemination of "How Do We Know?" exhibits and educational programs and materials will reach at least 1.5 million people annually, including isolated rural communities in the large geographic region of Texas.