The Exploratorium is developing the pilot for a Saturday morning science-oriented, live-action, film and animation, national network television series for teens aged 13 to 17. The half-hour show will present everyday science and the process of problem solving in a fast-paced, hip, and challenge-oriented format. Two teams, each of three teenagers, will compete in a series of challenges which require the application of common sense knowledge, observation, experimentation, and problem-solving strategies useful in science. The object is to demonstrate that real-world problem solving makes use of many skills and may have more than one solution. The Exploratorium will administer the project and will be responsible for the science content. Production will be done by Colossal Pictures, a San Francisco production studio experienced in animation and youth-oriented programming.
Children's Television Workshop is producing the second season of "CRO," an animated television series designed to bring informal science education to Saturday morning commercial television's large, demographically diverse audience of children. Each of eight new programs to be broadcast on ABC has the goals of: 1) entertaining six- to eleven-year-old viewers while increasing their familiarity with and interest in basic science and technology principles, 2) stimulating viewers' interest in science and technology by showing that they are not abstractions, but integral parts of daily life, and 3) convincing youth that discovering the workings of science and technology can be fun. In addition to the television series, CTW will develop and distribute a range of supporting materials. These include a twelve-page activity book; a four-color, four-page user's guide for informal science education leaders; two four- color, sixteen-page comic books that include puzzles, brain teasers, and simple experiments; an eight-panel activity poster; and inclusion of "CRO" material in 3-2-1 Contact magazine. Part of the distribution of these materials will be through CTW's partnerships with youth-serving organizations such as YMCA's , 4-H Youth Development Education, and Boys and Girls Clubs. The series also will be released on home video and CTW is considering development of an interactive product based on the series. Key staffing for season two will include Franklin Getchell who will continue from season one as co-principal investigator and Joel Schneider, who will replace Ed Atkins as the other co-principal investigator. Schneider will be responsible for content development of both the television series and of the ancillary materials. Jeffrey Nelson, formerly Executive Producer o f Square One TV, will join "CRO" as Executive Producer.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joel SchneiderFranklin GetchellMarjorie KalinsJeffrey Nelson
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will produce and distribute a half-hour science adventure show for weekly broadcast, primarily on commercial children's radio stations. The series, 'The Kinetic City Super Crew,' is targeted at children 8-10 years old with an emphasis on urban children, girls, minorities, and children with disabilities. The series of 92 programs also will be designed for family listening. The programs revolve around a drama led by child actors and include discussions with scientists and information for at-home experiments. The Co-Principal Investigators will be Jerry Bell and Gerald Wheeler. Bell is Program Director for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education at AAAS and will be responsible for overall management of the project. Wheeler is Program Director for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology and will serve as the Science Content Director for the programs. There also will be a Science Content Team (consisting of Bell, Shirley Malcom and Andrew Ahlgren) that will work closely with Wheeler, the production staff, and the advisors to review show themes, scientists to be interviewed, overall content, and to serve as arbiters for questions related to their respective fields. Bob Hirshon will serve as Executive Produce/Project Director and John Keefe will be Senior Producer.
This project launches the creation of a new class of playground apparatus based on an emerging understanding of how students learn mathematics and science concepts. The equipment will be highly interactive and instrumented, providing opportunities for thoughtful, planned actions that children can evaluate with the aid of instrumentation. The design principles used are applicable to many mathematics and science topics, but this initial demonstration is restricted to creating units which embody some important concepts from classical mechanics. We will create, test, evaluate, and begin the dissemination of units incorporating timing, motion, and force sensor electronics designed to give children real- time, symbolic feedback to reflect their experiences. The first nine months will be devoted to the apparatus design, building, testing, safety evaluation, and formative research. We will install apparatus in three highly varied sites to evaluate the design. In a second phase, improved units will be built for one site and detailed research on student learning undertaken. If we observe the hypothesized learning, the approach we use in mechanics will have broad generalizability. This work could lead to interesting and highly educational apparatus addressing other science fields and useful in a broad range of informal learning environments.
In every drop of water, down at the scale of atoms and molecules, there is a world that can fascinate anyone - ranging from a non-verbal young science student to an ardent science-phobe. The objective of Learning Science Through Guided Discovery: Liquid Water & Molecular Networks is to use advanced technology to provide a window into this submicroscopic world, and thereby allow students to discover by themselves a new world. We are developing a coordinated two-fold approach in which a cycle of hands-on activities, games, and experimentation is followed by a cycle of computer simulations employing the full power of computer animation to "ZOOM" into the depths of his or her newly- discovered world, an interactive experience surpassing that of an OMNIMAX theater. Pairing laboratory experiments with corresponding simulations challenges students to understand multiple representations of concepts. Answers to student questions, resolution of student misconceptions, and eventual personalized student discoveries are all guided by a clear set of "cues" which we build into the computer display. Moreover, the ability to visualize "real-time" dynamic motions allows for student-controlled animated graphic simulations on the molecular scale and interactive guided lessons superior to those afforded by even the most artful of existing texts. While our general approach could be applied to a variety of topics, we have chosen to focus first on water; later we will test the generality of the approach by exploring macromolecules such as proteins and DNA. The simulation sofware we have been developing embodies a simple molecular interaction model but requires leading edge computing in order to (1) apply the model to large enough systems to yield simple and realistic behavior, and (2) animate the result in real time with advanced graphics. Our ultimate goal in this project is not only to help students learn science, but also to help them learn to think like research scientists. By looking at scientific knowledge as a set of useful models - models that are essentially temporary and will inevitably lead to better ones - they can see that science is not a set of facts, but a method for discovering patterns and predictability in an otherwise disordered and unpredictable world. Through mastery of the simulation software, students will gain the self-confidence to embark on their own missions of discovery.
The Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. will produce four half-hour television specials which focus on kids testing and evaluating popular products. This "real world" approach can motivate children to learn science and mathematics concepts and to develop problem-solving skills in the process of tackling everyday consumer problems. The approach is particularly effective with youth who are not print-oriented, who watch a lot of television, and who may find "formal" science and mathematics inaccessible. Outreach materials for viewers and for use in formal classes will extent the impact of the project. The PI and Project Director will be Joyce Newman, Director of Consumer Reports TV. Susan Markowitz, who produced the successful pilot program will be Producer and Edward Groth, a biologist who serves as Consumers Union Associate Technical Director for Public Service Projects, will be the Senior Science Advisor. Susan Isenberg will be a major science education advisor. Ms. Isenberg is an IBM Education Fellow and consultant to a number of New York and New Jersey school districts. She has a B.S. in Science Education, an M.S. in Education, and has been a teacher for 25 years. This core group will work closely with in-house scientists and education experts as well as with an advisory committee established for the project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joyce NewmanEdward GrothSusan Markowitz
Talcott Mountain Science Center, in cooperation with the Urban Schools Learning Network (encompassing a variety of state, regional and national partners), seeks $698,141 in National Science Foundation funds under the Informal Science Education Program for a three year national model for increased minority interest and participation in Informal Science Education Program for a three year national model for increased minority interest and participation in informal science education. The title of this partnership is Project PROMMISE )Promoting Role Model Minorities in Science Education). Over the next three years, Project PROMMISE will produce and broadcast at least 30 distance learning programs for thousands of secondary level students in urban and disadvantaged communities throughout the U.S. These Project PROMMISE broadcasts will bring distinguished minority and women scientists, explorers, astronauts and other figures in touch with urban young people through interactive video programming. Broadcasts will be preceded and followed by hands- on informal science education activities. The project also will broadcast national career exposure, exploration, and mentoring programs to better inform urban minority students of academic and career enrollment in secondary and post-secondary math, science and technology studies and cultural isolation by urban students, teachers and urban informal science education institutions. Major national partners for reform and pre- college minority enrichment are participating in the project, including the Edna McConnell Clark Middle School Change Network, the Museum Satellite Network, PIMMS at Wesleyan, the CT Pre- Engineering Program (CPEP). Private sector support has been gained from United Technologies, CIGNA and Union Carbide.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Donald LaSalleGlenn CassisDaniel Barstow
Digital image processing offers several possible new approaches to the teaching of a variety of mathematical concepts at the middle-school and high-school levels. There is reason to believe that this approach will be successful in reaching some "at-risk" students that other approaches miss. Since digital images can be made to reflect almost any aspect of the real world, some students may have an easier time taking an interest in them than they might with artificial figures or images resulting from other graphics- oriented approaches. Using computer-based tools such as image processing operators, curve-fitting operators, shape analysis operators, and graphical synthesis, students may explore a world of mathematical concepts starting from the psychologically "safe" territory of their own physical and cultural environments. There is reason to hope that this approach will be particularly successful with students from diverse backgrounds, girls and members of minority groups, because the imagery used in experiments can easily be tailored to individual tastes. The work of the project consists of creating detailed designs of the learning modules, implementing them on microcomputers, and evaluating their effectiveness in a variety of ways, using trials with students at Rainier Beach High School, which is an urban public high school having an ethnically diverse student body and a Macintosh computer laboratory.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Steven TanimotoMichele LeBrasseurJames King
Award-winning Scholastic Productions, Inc. proposes to produce 39 fully animated, half hour television programs, based on the successful children's science book series, The Magic School Bus. We are seeking funding for the initial three seasons (13 episodes per season) which will be produced over a four year period. Designed as an informal science education series for PBS, it is targeted primarily for 6-9 year-olds, with special attention given to reaching girls and minority children. The series has clear science pedagogical goals: 1) to motivate children to further science study, 2) to present science facts, concepts and systems, and 3) to inspire positive attitudes towards science and education for students and teachers. Throughout the production, audience research and field testing will ensure that the programming is effectively meeting these goals. The series features a remarkable teacher, Ms. Frizzle, who takes her class on equally remarkable field trips. While other teachers may go to a museum, Ms. Frizzle leads her class onto a yellow school bus that shrinks (along with its students) to the size of a cell to journey through the human body, rocket into outer space, or travel into the eye of a hurricane. Thus, the series makes science tangible and relatable for an audience of children who are still concrete thinkers. We will create a broad outreach program, utilizing the publishing and distribution resources of Scholastic Productions' parent company, Scholastic Inc., (the largest publisher of children's materials in the English-speaking world), and other targeted organizations. Through viewer guides, series publicity and promotion, magazine editorials, community and after-school programs, we expect to reach a large and culturally diverse audience, including minorities frequently not served by PBS.
Nebraskans for Public Television are producing three programs in the "Reading Rainbow" series that focus on mathematics and developing and implementing a special math outreach effort aimed at parents with a secondary audience of teachers. The programs will take a literature-based approach to mathematics which helps make it possible ". . . for children to have the same authentic experiences with math that they are coming to have with language, social studies, science and the arts." (Read Any good Math Lately? by Whitin and Wilde). The goal of the project is to expand the impact of the "Reading Rainbow" series by: - integrating quality math-oriented books with science and literary selections into the series, and - making quality children's math-oriented books more visible to parents, public librarians, and teachers and to engage children's interest in reading about and exploring math in the real world. The outreach effort will develop a special math effort directed to parents, children, and teachers. A special publication for parents and a teacher guide will be created for the new math-focused programs. The producers will work with the Family Math Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science in training parents and children and will also direct community outreach efforts towards economically and socially disadvantaged families. This effort will engage these families in math related activities through partnerships with community-based organizations and local public television stations involved in PBS's Ready to Learn Project. Partnership organizations include the National Council for Teachers of Math, Girls Inc, The Connecticut Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, EQUALS Family Math Project, and the Weekly Reader Corporation. "Reading Rainbow" partnerships also have been established between three SSI's -- Louisiana, Michigan, and Ohio -- and PBS stations in those states.
Washington Independent Writers is engaged in a planning phase toward publication of Quest?, a 4-page, tabloid sized newspaper about science, technology, and society for children and their families. The target audience is children age 8 to 16, with a focus on the 10-14 year-old age group, along with their parents, teachers, and counselors. A prototype version of the paper has been published locally and distributed through Safeway stores. During the planning phase, the PI and staff will conduct the following activities: Conduct front-end evaluation of the target audience with particular emphasis being given to identifying ways to reach underserved and underrepresented groups; Work with science, technology, and graphics experts to improve the quality of the content and design; Explore traditional and new distribution mechanisms and cooperative arrangements; Create and test interdisciplinary procedures for evaluation; Establish a network of individual, community, corporate, and institutional supporters, including educators, community leaders, scientists, and engineers; Create linkages with schools and school programs; Explore funding sources and sponsorships; Continue building a Board of Advisors.
The Carnegie Science Center (of Carnegie Institute) and Carnegie Mellon University (Center for Light Microscope Imaging and Biotechnology, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, and The Studio for Creative Inquiry) have initiated a collaborative project that portends to change in a dramatic fashion the planetarium theater as a tool for informal science education. After several months of preliminary discussions and, now, the beginning of work, the creative team has been assembled that is defining the vision and executing the program of this exciting project. The vision being formulated is the transformation of The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium into a new visualization environment to achieve an interdisciplinary and interactive group learning experience. We call this new concept the "Group Immersive Visualization Environment (GIVE). GIVE will accomplish much of the impact of virtual reality by combining "three-dimensional" images generated by Evans & Sutherland's Digistar Projection System with real and animated, high-resolution video computer images and multimedia and by providing direct audience-control of program direction via The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium's elaborate 156-seat, electronic response system. While we anticipate the eventual production of a series of programs in a variety of subject fields, the first to utilize GIVE will be "Journey to the Center of the Cell," a 35-minute presentation. The treatment will convey an experience of self-discovery and natural wonder as audiences transport themselves through striking visualizations of the living cell. Production and evaluation of "Journey to the Center of the Cell" and the development of the Group Immersive Visualization Environment will occur under the auspices of staff of The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium, key personnel from Carnegie Mellon University, evaluator Harris H. Shettel, and an Advisory Panel consisting of key planetarium and eductional professionals. Program production packages, incorporating compatible components of "Journey to the Center of the Cell," will be produced, marketed and distributed to public and school planetariums; and a Teacher Resource Kit containing supplementary educational materials in the form of video tapes, CD-ROMS and computer disks wil extend the program's reach into the classroom. Special relationships and viewing times will be offered at The Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium targeting Pittsburgh inner city schools and regional districts containing large percentages of underserved and minority students.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paul OlesD. Lansing TaylorMartin Ratcliffe