Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, lightning, tornadoes, and other natural phenomena occur regularly as an on-going part of the natural environment of our planet. There is a clear need to increase public awareness and knowledge of these natural forces and their impact on human existence. Educating the public about effective, and often simple, strategies for protection, mitigation, and recovery based on the latest scientific knowledge, and encouraging them to personally take action, is critical to reducing human suffering, loss of life, and destruction of property from these deadly
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Bruce W. HallMuseum of Science and Industry
The Maryland Science Center has received a SEPA grant to develop an exhibition, intern program and web site focusing on cell biology and stem cell research. The working title of the exhibition is Cellular Universe. The exhibit is intended to serve the following audiences: Families with children age nine and older; School groups (grades four and up); Adults; 9th grade underserved high school students in three local schools and/or community centers. Topics the exhibit will treat include: Structure and function of cells; Stem cells and their potential, the controversy surrounding stem cell
In April 2001, the Museum of Science in Boston launched the Current Science & Technology Center, an effort to engage public and school audiences in leading edge research and to provide depth and context for science and technology stories in the news within a museum context and through various outreach methods. Health science programming in the CS&T Center is researched, produced and delivered to primarily public audiences in partnership with selected New England area medical and public health schools, teaching hospitals, and biomedical research institutes. This Health Science Education
Starting in January 2006 ROCKMAN ET AL conducted a twelve-week study of the use of the PBS science series, DragonflyTV, in twenty middle grade science classrooms. DragonflyTV is a PBS science series that models science inquiry by presenting real children conducting inquiry investigations into their own science questions. The goal of the TV series is to illuminate the inquiry process and inspire viewers to conduct their own investigations. The participating teachers were provided with DVDs of 36 DragonflyTV programs, an index with the National Science Education Standards correlations, and
The California Academy of Sciences will produce "Water is Life," a 30,383 square-foot permanent exhibit with educational programming. The exhibit is designed to engage the public with the living world of water, to foster environmental stewardship and increase science literacy. Three habitat components -- Philippine Coral Reef, California Coast and Global Rainforests -- are conceptually and experientially linked through "Water Planet," which explores water's physical properties and how they impact living organisms and lead to aquatic diversity. Each component also reinforces the importance of conserving aquatic resources. Educational programming takes "Water is Life" to local schools and community events and onto the World Wide Web, as well as provides venues for formative evaluation of exhibit design elements. The development of lending kits, plus supporting manuals and workshops, will extend the reach of "Water is Life" regionally and nationally. Similarly, instruction manuals and workshops for creating desktop, living reefs will have national impact. The compelling draw of live organisms, hands-on activities, and exhibit enrichment through educational programming provide accessibility to a large, diverse audience. The exhibit will reach over one million annual visitors, and a larger audience will experience distributed educational programs.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Margaret BurkeLinda KulikChristopher AndrewsTerrence GoslinerRobert Jenkins
Chabot Space and Science Center is developing an exhibit of Chinese astronomical artifacts and organizing a United States tour of the exhibit. "Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China" consists of 31 exhibit pieces, including seven large astronomical instruments, chronographs, stone carvings and star maps. Many of these artifacts have never before left China. In order to increase the awareness and understanding of students, teachers and the public about Imperial China's rich astronomical achievements, Chabot will develop a variety of interpretive materials and programs that address interests and learning styles, present scientifically and historically accurate information, and serve both informal and formal educational audiences. These materials will include a planetarium show, an audio tour, special signage, multimedia animations/interactive kiosks, a web site, student activities, community events, a science drama program, activities for the general public and a variety of printed materials. Many components will be developed in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alexandra BarnettCynthia AshleyMichael Reynolds
CoCoRaHS or the Community Collaborative Rain and Hail Study builds on previously funded NSF research on precipitation patterns in the western portion of the US. This award will expand the current citizen science efforts to include those living in the Great Plains including Eastern Colorado, Western Nebraska, Northwest Kansas and Southeast Wyoming. Participants gain experience in data collection and analysis while working with scientists and contributing to a national research study. CoCoRaHS volunteers will learn about the impact of regional weather patterns on agriculture, water resources and environmental quality while collecting rain, hail and snow data. Participants are also invited to take part in other activities to build on the research experience including a series of seminars, field trips and workshops. The project will result in the development of the following materials: graphic depictions of data using ARC-GIS software, a teacher curriculum, an upgraded website and a quarterly newsletter.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Robert CifelliNolan DoeskenSteven Rutledge
The Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museum will develop an integrated framework of exhibits on the science and technology of canals and inland waterways at the National Canal Museum (NCM) in Easton, PA., which will serve as a model for interdisciplinary public education and exhibit programs at other canal history organizations in more than 28 states, primarily east of the Mississippi River. Representatives from major waterway and industrial history sites and museums across the nation will work with NCM staff and a national advisory panel of leading informal science educators to develop, design and disseminate a series of interactive science exhibits that can travel or be replicated in museums, parks and organizations that interpret inland waterways and related industrial sites
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Edward MooneyRobert RuddKelly Austin
The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida, will develop a permanent exhibition and associated educational programs on natural hazards, phenomena that become "natural disasters" when they interact with the human community and its built environment. The exhibition, 9000 square feet in size, will address the science of these phenomena, the science and technology of forecasting and mitigation strategies and techniques. The exhibition features floods, hurricanes, wildfires, lightning, hail, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanoes. The exhibition begins with an overview and a focus on the dynamic earth. It then presents a streetscape of buildings devastated by the phenomena and eight interactive areas dealing with each of the hazards. The concluding sections include a demonstration stage and a series of elements that focus on communications, community preparedness and response and forecasting. Ancillary materials include: a family exhibition guide, teacher preparation materials, classroom materials on forecasting, a distance learning program and a brochure for the public (to be developed by IBHS). Central to the project is MOSI's partnership and campus neighbor, Institute for Business and Home Safety, a nonprofit arm of the insurance industry with a mandate to educating Americans about natural disasters and ways to mitigate loss and suffering. Other partners include FEMA, USGS, Red Cross, NFPA, local schools and community based organizations. The Institute for Learning Innovation will conduct the evaluation, supplemented by action research investigations by the University of South Florida. A local high school emphasizing design and art will participate in the exhibition development process.
Seeing in the Dark will be a prime-time PBS special about stargazing -- described in the proposal as "the interaction between starlight and human beings who have a look for the love of it, whether just learning the constellations or doing amateur astronomy so advanced that it sometimes rivals professional research." The project teaches "hands-on" astronomy drawing heavily on new technology (large, inexpensive "Dobsonian" telescopes; charged-coupled light-sensing devices [CCDs}; and the Internet) that make astronomical observing practical for millions to whom it has previously been at best a remote possibility. The video will be supported by an extensive outreach effort that includes informal, family projects and formal, in-class exercises. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be a major outreach partner. There also is a companion book, "Seeing in the Dark," published by Simon & Schuster.
The Ocean Institute will design, develop, evaluate and install "Sea Floor Science," a 5,200 sq. ft. site-wide exhibition designed in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University. "Sea Floor Science" will provide opportunities for families, students and the general public to use authentic oceanographic equipment, tools and technology to recreate a world of ocean research and discovery. Visitors will experience how oceanographers are exploring the largely unknown sea floor to permit better understanding of the origin of sediments and rocks, paleoclimate reconstruction as evidenced by marine microfossils, and the dynamics of oceanic lithospheres and margins. The project is a new approach to museum exhibits. It will test innovative convertibility solutions that enable public areas to serve as both teaching stations and effective exhibits. It will also implement cost-effective update strategies to keep visitors at the forefront of scientific research. "Sea Floor Science" will reach 4,000,000 people in 22 states including on-site and on-line visitors, multi-state teacher networks, videoconferencing participants, science professionals, and replication sites at science centers and aquaria nationally.
Building on an institution-wide strategic initiative to interpret the process of science for informal learners of all ages, the Museum of Science will work over four years to develop, evaluate and implement a project to communicate the processes of science through weather forecasting. The project is based on the idea that processes involved in short-term weather forecasting are basic to the process of science. MOS proposes to create a 1,800 square foot exhibit, programs for students and teachers, an interactive website, and one-minute television spots aimed at helping people understand weather forecasting. The project is grounded in MOS strategic commitment to engaging people in the activity of science and the use of new technologies. The major component of the project is an exhibition of weather in which visitors will learn how to forecast the weather over the next few hours using different levels of technology, including naked eye observations, data from weather maps, and real-time images from space satellites and ground radar stations. Ancillary programs include educational materials for over 100 WeatherNet schools in New England, an interactive website that will reach several hundred thousand users, and television spots on the process of weather forecasting to be aired on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Over the course of its life the project will engage several million children and adults in the process of science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Cary SneiderMishelle MichaelsDaniel Barstow