The California Academy of Sciences produces a science news radio feature "EARTHNEWS" which has aired daily on twelve radio stations in California for nine years. "EARTHNEWS" is a background to regular news and provides in-depth interpretation of science and environmental events to assist the public in understanding what they hear or read. In response to a very large volume of mail from listeners, a quarterly newsletter was created four years ago to announce program schedules, enhance the information presented on the radio, and offer scientists and teachers a written forum for sharing ideas. Positive response from the listening audience suggests that this feature has tremendous potential for reaching a broad national audience. The Columbia Broadcasting System has agreed to air three 60-second "EARTHNEWS" features each week and to distribute these features nationwide via satellite. A total of 156 features will be produced annually, each reaching an estimated national audience of twelve to fifteen million people. The California Academy of Sciences is requesting funding for program research and production to develop this national radio program and to continue production of the newsletter.
The excitement of astrophysical research and discovery is brought into the high school science and mathematics classes through a flexible set of student activities and projects on variable stars. The project includes a computerized database, of 400,000 measurements of brightness of 150 variable stars in five constellations over 25 years, from which students can deduce properties, processes, and evolution of these stars. Students can make additional measurements and discoveries from carefully selected time sequences of 125 35mm slides or from actual measurements from the night sky. A comprehensive student manual and instructional videos make the materials self-contained and easy to use. The teacher manual enables the instructor to adapt the materials to skills, objectives and local curricula. The material can be used in a variety of contexts: traditional mathematics and science classes at both the high school and college level, independent projects, summer institutes, and community science clubs. The material will be field tested in classes and refined through workshops with teachers. A newsletter and a video about amateur astronomers is planned.
The Hansen Planetarium proposes the creation, writing, and production of a 50-minute star theater program, From The Earth To The Stars, and educational chart aimed at informally educating over a million individuals regarding the exploration of our planet, the planets of our solar system, and the stars beyond. The further production of three interactive exhibits is planned to accompany the program. This program will be marketed and distributed at a nominal charge to 250 national planetariums, with 50 additional production packets planned for loan. In this fashion, top-quality, accurate, and timely science education can be guaranteed to a large selection of audiences. In America today there is growing awareness and concern surrounding the serious deficit our society will soon experience in the fields of science and technology. The Hansen Planetarium's goal is to stimulate learning and interest in astronomy and other sciences for students of all ages across the country. Exploration is, perhaps, the human activity in western culture which can most provoke debate, excite intense interest and stimulate scientific and cultural growth. The utilization of expert consultants, in conjunction with Hansen Planetarium staff, will insure this program presents the most current information available about the past, present, and future of exploration. Its interactive format is designed to stimulate a proactive approach to problem solution on the part of the audience as a stimulus to the learning process. The star show format, with its dynamic special effects, will enhance the learning of science in America today.
The ETV Endowment of South Carolina, in an international co-production with Channel Four, London, will produce, promote and distribute a PBS television series "Spaceship Earth", consisting of ten 30 minute programs and an accompanying book on world geography, presented from the perspective of a global understanding of planet Earth. Geography will be viewed as an integrating science, treating physical, biological, and cultural components as interrelated parts of a whole. The series will present a satellite's eye view of the earth, utilizing the best available imagery from satellite, photographic coverage, maps, animation, and computer generated imagery. Program topics will include global systems and remote sensing, patterns of settlement, geologic processes, local impacts of global markets, climatic zones and climatic changes, oceans of the world, rivers and lakes, forests of the world, feast or famine, and ethnicity and technology. The Producers, Nigel Calder and Nicholas Barton, are experienced writers and producers of science book and films. They will be supported by an internationally recognized team of senior consultants and advisors. SPACESHIP EARTH will be complemented by educational materials packages for wide use in formal and informal settings, and U.S. precollege teachers will have unlimited three year off air tape and reuse rights to the series. This series promises to be an engaging and fresh approach to science through global views of geography, with substantial appeal to educators and schools as well as at home viewers. NSF's contribution will be 13% of the total.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ruth SproatNigel CalderNicholas Barton
This proposal requests partial funding for the development of a new paleobiology hall at the University of Nebraska State Museum. This project will give students and the general public a dynamic view of the period of time known as the Age of Reptiles. It emphasizes experience with interactive exhibits that focus on concepts of geologic time, how species adapt and change, relative size, scale and time, the activities of scientists as role models, and it provides reinforcement of these experiences for students in the classroom. This project includes the first use in a museum of SemNet, a software program designed for concept mapping and the representation of knowledge networks, which will be used with a videodisc. Prototypes of all interactive exhibits will undergo formative evaluation to establish maximal audience accessibility, ease of use and educational effectiveness. The exhibit concepts will be disseminated throughout the state of Nebraska through mini- versions, teachers in-service training, and scientist-in- residence programs. This project will also be used as a teaching laboratory for the University of Nebraska's graduate program in Museum Studies.
The Challenger Center for Space Science Education located in Alexandria, Virginia, a nonprofit organization with a mission to increase the number of youth interested in science and space, is requesting $303,170 over two years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a new scenario for its Challenger Learning Centers. Located in science centers. museums and schools around the country. Learning Centers house equipment and educational programming for hands-on training during a simulated mission. Scenarios use mathematics, science and problem-solving skills to provide participants with simulated experiences of working in a space laboratory and a "Mission control" laboratory. Challenger Center requests assistance and partnership from NSF to develop, field test, implement and evaluate a new scenario on the environment, "Mission to Planet Earth" scenario. This project will involve collaboration of expert scientists, educators, Challenger staff, and science museum professionals. Annually more than 180,000 students and between 10,000 and 15,000 adults will participate in the scenario at Learning Centers, using space as a format for learning about environmental issues. Challenger is working on the preliminary planning stage between June and December 1991. Two years of funding are requested from NSF beginning in January 1992.
"Stormchasers" is a 35-minute, IMAX/OMNIMAX film to be produced, exhibited, and distributed by the Museum Film Network, NOVA/WGBH Boston, and MacGillivray Freeman Films-the same team responsible for the critically acclaimed film "To the Limit." "Stormchasers" is a tale of scientific discovery and natural wonder that will take audiences on a journey around the planet to encounter the origins of the earth's weather patterns, to experience our most extreme storms (monsoons, hurricanes, blizzards and tornadoes,) and to witness scientists who study and predict weather events. Using a combination of conventional IMAX documentary filmmaking methods, computer animation, and unique photography, the film will depict the intricate relationship between the drama of nature and the efforts of humans to pursue the systematic understanding of the natural world. The film and its ancillary materials will be offered to the 34 space theaters located at U.S. science museums in 1994-1995. Educational materials will be developed to extend the film's reach into the classroom. Special viewing programs will be offered at science museums, targeting minority, disadvantaged, and female youth and their teachers.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jeffrey KirschPaula ApsellSusanne SimpsonBarbara Flagg
The scientific community is challenged by the need to reach out to students who have traditionally not been attracted to engineering and the sciences. This project would provide a link between the University of Michigan and the teachers and students of secondary education in the State of Michigan with an initial emphasis on southeast Michigan, through the creation of a range of computer services which will provide interactive access to current weather and climate change information. Taking advantage of a unique computer network capacity within the State of Michigan named MichNet which provides local phone ports in virtually every major city in the state, and the resources available to the university community via the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) UNIDATA program, this project would provide secondary schools with access to a state-of-the-art interactive weather information system. The real-time data available via the system, supplemented by interactive computer modules designed in collaboration with earth science teachers, will provide animated background information on a range of climate and weather related topics. While the principal objective of this project will be to provide educationally stimulating interactive computer systems and electronic weather and climate modules for application in inner city Detroit and its environs, the unique nature of the available computer networking will allow virtually every school system in the state to have access. Subsequently successful completion of this project could eventually make the same systems available to other cities and states.
Three successful marine science curricula and teacher training packages, For Sea, Mare, and Living in Water, developed by the Marine Science Center, the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, will be refined and enhanced in preparation for the production of two, multimedia compact discs (CD ROM). Advances in CD ROM technology coupled with increasing accessibility to the technology, make the compact disc an effective tool for curriculum development, utilization, and distribution. The compact disc will contain all text and graphic images from the three curricular projects; and, a comprehensive indexing system allowing materials to be utilized in a variety of manners, including thematically and topically, to effect curriculum integration. Training will be provided to an existing cadre of teacher trainers to maximize the implementation of the new curriculum and CD ROM disc.
Public Television station WQED/Pittsburgh, in partnership with five medical research and clinical centers, proposes to develop, test and distribute a national biomedical video education program based on "The Universe Within," a planned PBS series. The project is intended to bring scientists and clinicians into closer contact with pre-college students to study human body systems and increase career interest in the life sciences. Designed to improve science education and literacy, the project will also enhance overall appreciation of achievements in biomedicine. Using advanced television, photographic and animation techniques, the project will create a collection of educational tools for use by science and health teachers as well as by scientific investigators and clinicians. These modules will demonstrate how most of the body's primary systems function and how they can be kept healthy. The approach will combine visual and print curriculum materials with the personal presence of medical scientists, thus providing an opportunity for students to develop interest, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This flexible educational package can be updated as important new changes occur in medical science, thus extending the life of costly materials. In addition, through multiple narration tracks, the video elements can be customized for various levels of age and grade instruction.