- Association of Science

Transcription

Bimonthly magazine of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
May • June 2014
Science Within Reach:
Engaging the Public in Scientific Research
Are you looking for the ultimate
in personalized learning experiences coupled
with unparalleled interactivity?
Whether it’s giving each one of your visitors their own personalized big-screen
gateway to an incredible simulation of the Late Cretaceous in our groundbreaking Be the Dinosaur exhibition or charting a course across the solar system in our upcoming Be the Astronaut, Eureka Exhibits delivers 21st century
experiences geared for today’s interactivity-hungry audiences.
• Exhibit conﬁgurations for all budgets and halls
• Interactive design and consulting services
• Traveling and Permanent installations
Eureka Exhibits, LLC
We don’t just deliver exhibits–
we deliver entire worlds.
Mark Kirby, Operations Director, Eureka Exhibits, LLC
908.644.3477 • [email protected] • www.eurekaexhibits.com
May • June 2014
contents
features
26
Everyone a Scientist?
Opening Scientific
Research to a Broader
Public
46
Teen Scientists: Youth
Doing Rigorous, Authentic
Research at Museums
By Preeti Gupta and Oscar Pineda
By Martin Storksdieck
30
Six Practices for Engaging
Underrepresented
Communities as Citizen
Science Partners
50
Native Science Fellows:
Supporting Native American
Students in Geoscience
Research
By Helen Augare, Bonnie Sachatello-
By Norman Porticella, Flisa
Sawyer, Shelly Valdez, and Melissa
Stevenson, and Jennifer Shirk
Weatherwax
36
52
Bridging the Gaps:
Integrating Citizen
Science Throughout an
Institution
By Christine L. Goforth, Julie M.
Urban, and Julie E. Horvath
There’s a New Lab in Town
By Sara Poirier
departments
5
7 SPOTLIGHTS
the “team sport” of science center
learning
39
Select Resources to
Support and Inspire
Citizen Science
FROM THE CEO
The California Academy of Sciences’ Careers in Science
interns measure and lay out the transects used to guide
sampling of Pacific sand crabs, a vital species in the sandy
beach food web, on Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Photo
by Neal Ramus
6
INBOX
curiouser and Q?rius-er
11 the view from the World Summit
letter to the editor
19 Compiled by Christine L. Goforth and
Jennifer Shirk
21 Powered by the People:
A Citizen Science Sampler
Naba Kumar Mondal, G.S. Rautela,
Emdadul Islam, and Marilyn Hoyt
VIEWPOINTS
are making and tinkering spaces
just a fad, or are they here to stay?
23 WHAT WE LEARNED
44
By Niranjan Gupta, Nikhiles Biswas,
PEOPLE
comings and goings
40
Testing the Waters:
Students in India Monitor
Arsenic Levels
NOTES FROM ASTC
engineering: it’s elementary
Cover: Heidi Ballard (left), associate professor at the
University of California, Davis, and Ken-ichi Ueda, codirector of iNaturalist, participate as citizen scientists in a
biodiversity survey coordinated by the California Academy
of Sciences. Here, they document a red octopus in the tide
pools at Pillar Point reef, south of San Francisco. Photo by
Julie Walters
57 GRANTS AND AWARDS
58 Q&A
Sean Carroll on science and the
silver screen
Dimensions May • June 2014
3
C
GREATEST HIT
OKS
S!
BO
AP
HE
Volume 16, Number 3
EDITORIAL
1, 2,
Volumes s!
ics” from
t hit
30 “class
ap exhibi
Featuring 10 all new che
plus
li
sel
Or
BY: Paul
EDITED
and 3
Anthony (Bud) Rock
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Emily Schuster
EDITOR
Rick Bonney, Margaret Glass, Larry H. Hoffer, Laura Huerta Migus,
Rowena Rae, Christine Ruffo, Kalie Sacco, Jennifer Shirk
CONSULTING EDITORS
Christine Ruffo
PHOTO EDITOR
Cheapbooks
Greatest Hits
Christopher Lotis
COPY EDITOR
Red Velvet Creative
Edited by Paul Orselli
ASTC (2014)
This compilation includes a number of the
highest-rated affordable exhibits from The
Cheapbook, Cheapbook 2, and Cheapbook
3, as well as brand new exhibit ideas. These
books are great for people who want to put
together science exhibits while on a budget
and would like to see what other museums
voted on as the best.
Do you still need the original three volumes?
Get electronic copies of all four Cheapbooks
by ordering our Cheapbooks Greatest Hits
Super Bundle! The classic Cheapbooks that
everybody loves will be more accessible than
ever as PDFs.
Order your PDF copy of the Cheapbooks
Greatest Hits to save big time on exhibits!
#170 Cheapbooks Greatest Hits
(PDF only)
ASTC members/students: $18
Nonmembers: $23
#178 Cheapbooks Greatest Hits
Super Bundle
(includes all four Cheapbooks as
PDF copies)
ASTC members/students: $38
Nonmembers: $45
Visit www.astc.org/pubs for
availability and to order.
ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN
BUSINESS AND ADVERTISING
David Corson
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jessica Evans
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR
To advertise in Dimensions, contact Jessica Evans, (202) 783-7200 x148, [email protected].
Alejandro Asin
PUBLICATIONS ASSISTANT
EDITORIAL ADVISORS
Ganigar Chen
R.L. (Chip) Lindsey
Erika C. Shugart
National Science Museum,
Pathumthani, Thailand
ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum,
Ashland, Oregon, U.S.A.
American Society for Microbiology,
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Jonah Cohen
Rachel Meyer
Julia Tagüeña
The Children’s Museum, West Hartford,
Connecticut, U.S.A.
CuriOdyssey, San Mateo, California,
U.S.A.
Centro de Investigación en Energía,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México, Morelos, Mexico
Ayman Elsayed
Paul Orselli
Planetarium Science Center, Bibliotheca
Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
Paul Orselli Workshop (POW!), Baldwin,
New York, U.S.A.
Harry White
At-Bristol, Bristol, England, U.K.
CONTRIBUTORS
Helen Augare, Elena Baca, Sharon Barry, Jamie Bell, Cynthia Berger, Nikhiles Biswas, Ronald C. Cohen, Geoff Crane,
Heather Deschenes, Cindy H. Encarnación, Diane Frendak, Danielle Garneau, Maureen Gillies, Margaret Glass,
Christine L. Goforth, Niranjan Gupta, Preeti Gupta, Etta Heber, Lila Higgins, Larry H. Hoffer, Julie E. Horvath, Marilyn Hoyt,
Carlin Hsueh, Emdadul Islam, Noble Jayasuriya, Rebecca Johnson, Katie Levedahl, Edith MacDonald, Jennifer Martin,
Mary Mathias, Hooley McLaughlin, Eric Meyer, Naba Kumar Mondal, Trevor Nesbit, Oscar Pineda, Sara Poirier, Norman
Porticella, G.S. Rautela, Anthony (Bud) Rock, Alexandra Rose, Kalie Sacco, Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Sarah Satterthwaite,
Joelle Seligson, Ian Simmons, Jennifer Shirk, Walter Staveloz, Flisa Stevenson, Katie Stofer, Martin Storksdieck,
Kate Storm, Virginia Teige, Julie M. Urban, Shelly Valdez, Melissa Weatherwax, Alison Young, Jennifer Zoffel
Dimensions (ISSN 1528-820X) is published six times a year by the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, 818 Connecticut Avenue NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20006, U.S.A. Copyright © 2014 the Association of
Science-Technology Centers Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Dimensions is intended to keep member institutions apprised of trends, practices, innovations, perspectives, and news of
significance to the science center and museum field. Any paid staff member of an ASTC-member institution can request a
free print or electronic subscription at members.astc.org. For nonmembers, print subscriptions are USD 60/USD 70 outside
the U.S. (electronic: USD 35). For students, print subscriptions are USD 35/USD 45 outside the U.S. (electronic: USD 29).
Students also receive a free subscription to the biweekly INFORMER enewsletter. Students must provide a copy of a valid
student ID. Subscribe at www.astc.org/pubs/dimensions.htm or send name, address, and payment in U.S. dollars to ASTC
at the above address, Attn: Dimensions Subscriptions. For help, call (202) 783-7200 or email [email protected]. Dimensions is
included in EBSCO Publishing’s products. ALTERNATE FORMATS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.
Dimensions is printed on 30% post-consumer paper with environmentally friendly inks. By printing this issue on
recycled paper, ASTC has saved the following resources:
1,185 gallons 131 pounds 258 pounds 1,975,995 BTUs
wastewater solid waste net greenhouse energy
flow saved not generated gases prevented not consumed
Follow us on Twitter: @ScienceCenters (twitter.com/ScienceCenters), like our
Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ScienceCenters), and visit www.astc.org.
To submit ideas for features or departments, contact Emily Schuster, editor, (202) 783-7200 x130,
[email protected]. To see the current editorial calendar, visit www.astc.org/pubs/dimensions/
DimensionsEditorialCalendar.pdf. Email letters to the editor to [email protected] (subject line:
Inbox) or mail them to ASTC at the above address, Attn: Dimensions Inbox. Include your name,
title, and institution. We reserve the right to edit letters for publication.
From the CEO Z
The “Team Sport” of Science
Center Learning
Watching young visitors move among the
exhibits in science centers and museums, I am
often reminded of how my children first learned to
play soccer (or football in most of the world). We
called it “pack ball” because of the way the entire
team tended to follow the ball in unison. Groups
of young people often navigate through our science centers in much the same collective fashion.
This is not surprising, but it creates a challenging
knowledge acquisition environment that must
accommodate both individualized experiences and
the dynamics of small group learning.
The traveling “pack” observes the actions of
the individual and offers an almost immediate,
collective reaction. Does the group enhance or
impede the learning process for the individual?
To what extent is learning a function of individual
engagement, and to what extent is it influenced by
the response of the group? Increasing the number
of individual experiences helps fuel the process
of collective understanding, taking into account
the diverse competencies and perspectives (and
broader social dynamics) that exist within the
group itself.
Scholars have spent considerable time studying
the relationship between individual experience
and small group learning. My thesis here is far less
intellectual. It is only to reflect on our young soccer
Photo by Christopher Anderson
players who learn that team success is achievable
when individuals are given the opportunity to
apply their unique skills and vantage points to
move the ball, collectively, down the field. So too,
we are challenged in science centers to help our
visitors slow down, share their reactions, and take a
participatory role in a collective learning process.
Science centers encourage learning through
engagement and try to maximize individual opportunities. We must also fashion mechanisms for effective small group learning to reach those who tend to
travel with the pack and learn by observation.
I would like to congratulate our ASTC-member institution Technopolis, the Flemish Science
Centre, for a highly successful Science Centre World Summit 2014, held in Mechelen, Belgium, in
March. (See page 11.) Leaders from across our field gathered to engage with each other and with
other global organizations and confirm the commitments set forth in a new Mechelen Declaration
on Public Engagement for a Better World (www.scws2014.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/
Mechelen-Declaration_def.pdf). Our challenge will be to execute our commitments so we may
report our achievements with pride at the 2017 World Summit to be hosted by Miraikan in Tokyo.
Anthony (Bud) Rock ([email protected]) is ASTC’s president and CEO. Visit www.astc.org/blog/category/ceo
to read more From the CEO editorials.
5
inbox
I was pleased to see the March/
April 2014 issue of Dimensions
focusing on agriculture in
science centers. I am a science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM) education
researcher in the AG-STEM
Education Research Lab
re:
g the Futu
in
in the Department of
at
iv
lt
u
C
enters
Science C lture
Agricultural Education
cu
and Agri
and Communication at the
University of Florida (aec.ifas.ufl.edu/
ag-stem-lab). My colleagues and I in the American Association
for Agricultural Education (aaaeonline.org) are working to reemphasize the STEM concepts and skills in agricultural education programs in both formal and informal settings. As I spent
several years at Baltimore’s Maryland Science Center managing their Earth science news exhibit before obtaining my Ph.D.
from Oregon State University in free-choice science education,
my interest continues to be largely in informal contexts such
as science centers and university extension programs.
To that end, I have recently been examining the agriculturerelated content in U.S. science center exhibits. While “agriculture” is rarely explicitly mentioned in exhibits (less than
Bimonthly
iation of
of the Assoc
chnology
Science-Te
Centers
April 2014
N
IN
E R OF T H
E
W
March •
magazine
l or
Gold, Annua ine
Magaz
Quarterly
ry
l catego
or Journa on page 11)
inside
(Details
1% of our sample of titles and descriptions), we found nearly
half of the exhibits were obviously related to agriculture.
Without changing their permanent installations, museums
might relatively easily create museum guides, docent training,
and school programs that could both contextualize STEM
topics in a familiar, current issue such as feeding the growing
population, and reach out to a potential new audience that
could benefit from seeing the agricultural-STEM connections
outside of the classroom.
According to 2013 estimates from the National FFA
Organization (Future Farmers of America), there are at least
700,000 students in U.S. agricultural education programs. Those
students could be agricultural-STEM professionals of the future,
but we must highlight the agricultural-STEM connections in
both formal and informal settings. I hope that science centers
follow the lead of the centers that were featured in the last issue
of Dimensions, take advantage of their existing exhibits and programs, and with a little re-emphasis and reframing, reach out to
a population that may often be overlooked as science learners.
Katie Stofer, research assistant professor of STEM
education, AG-STEM Education Research Lab, Department of
Agricultural Education and Communication, University of Florida,
Gainesville
ADVERTISER INDEX
ASTC Annual Conference..........60
ASTC Marketing Opportunities... 59
ASTC Publications........................ 4
Blue Telescope............................20
Eureka Exhibits..............................2
ExhibitFiles.................................. 55
Exhibits.nl.................................... 56
Imagine Exhibitions.................... 22
Thank You to Our Partners........... 6
6 May • June 2014 Dimensions
ASTC’s Board and staff wish to thank our Partners
for their leadership and generosity.
We are truly grateful for their visionary support.
spotlights
Left: Visitors explore the lab
area of the Smithsonian
National Museum of
Natural History’s new
education center, Q?rius.
Photo by James Di Loreto/
Smithsonian
Below: Visitors to Q?rius
examine and take pictures
of museum specimens.
Photo by James Di Loreto/
Smithsonian
ARE YOU Q?RIUS?
After seven years of development and
evaluation, Q?rius—pronounced “curious” and intended to inspire visitors to
be exactly that—opened last December
at the Smithsonian National Museum
of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Designed for teens, tweens, their families, and educators, this experimental
learning center showcases science,
researchers, and collections.
The 10,000-square-foot (929-squaremeter) space is organized into seven
areas. Base Camp hooks visitors with
short activities based on the senses. The
Field area engages visitors in authentic
scientific activities. For example, they
can use microscopes and hand lenses to
figure out what minerals make up rocks,
or become engaged in a Smithsonian research project on coral reef biodiversity.
One of the most popular areas is the
Collection Zone, which replicates what
the museum is like behind the scenes.
Displayed on walls,
in drawers, and on
countertops are 6,000
specimens representing the museum’s
major scientific
departments. Visitors
can use computers to
access information on specimens that intrigue them. “It feels like a special place,”
says Shari Werb, director for education
and outreach. “Visitors get so excited
and treat the objects so respectfully.”
In the Lab, visitors can interact with
scientists as they work, or sign up for
a citizen science workshop. The 100seat Theater is equipped for webcasts
and live feeds, as well as films and
lectures. The Loft has comfortable seating (designed with the help of a Youth
Advisory Board) where kids can socialize or study specimens. The Studio
provides a flexible space for school
programs and workshops.
As visitors explore Q?rius, they can
create their own digital field notebooks—making notes and drawings, and
collecting materials such as videos of
scientists. Volunteers and researchers
are always on hand to answer questions
and facilitate discovery.
The $15 million gallery, which was
financed with federal funds and private
donations, is both flexible and evolving. Everything is on wheels so that
museum staff can easily move things.
“It’s a dynamic space that will continue
to change,” says Werb. “The whole is
greater than the parts.” —Sharon Barry
Details: Rebecca Bray, chief of experience development, [email protected], qrius.si.edu/visit/what-qrius
7
Z spotlights
Above: The vortex tunnel is a favorite exhibit at the new Bursa Science and
Technology Center. Photo courtesy the Bursa Science and Technology Center
Right: Visitors explore the Big Machine. Photo courtesy the Bursa Science
and Technology Center
LEADING THE WAY IN TURKEY
At the new Bursa Science and Technology Center
in Turkey, even the building has a story to tell. Its
striking architecture was inspired by scientific
concepts such as the structure of an atom. The tunnel connecting the planetarium and first floor was
designed in the helix shape of DNA.
In January, the science center celebrated the
grand opening of its new building, developed by
the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, after operating in a temporary facility for a year. The center’s
mission is to attract young people to science and
technology and to educate the scientists of the future by presenting science in ways that are fun and
accessible. Center staff hopes the new facility will
serve as a model for other cities in Turkey.
The Bursa Science and Technology Center’s
36,597-square-foot (3,400-square-meter) indoor
exhibition space features 270 hands-on exhibits
on a range of scientific disciplines. The space also
includes a video wall, a planetarium, a 3D theater,
simulators, physics and chemistry labs, workshop
areas for robotics and archaeology, and a traveling
exhibition area. The inaugural traveling exhibition, Sultans of Science, celebrates the influential
technologies invented by Muslim scholars of the
Golden Age of Islam (700–1700 CE). It will remain
on display through June. University students serve
as the center’s facilitators.
Opened with an investment of nearly 27 million
Turkish liras (USD 12,057,336), the science center
is the largest and most comprehensive in Turkey.
—S.B.
Details: Rifat Bakan, general manager, rifatbakan@
bursakultur.com, or Esma Nur Ulcay, education
responsible, [email protected],
www.bursabilimmerkezi.org
8
May • June 2014
Dimensions
spotlights Z
NEW SHOWCASE FOR CALIFORNIA’S BIODIVERSITY
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)
has completed a six-year transformation of the
entire museum with the opening of its Gallery of
California Natural Sciences. The 25,000-squarefoot (2,323-square-meter) gallery, which opened
last year in two phases (May and December),
features around 1,000 wildlife species and addresses the theme “Changing California.” Unlike
OMCA’s previous natural sciences gallery, this
one includes humans as part of the landscape.
California is a biodiversity hotspot, one of 34
regions worldwide that has significant biodiversity and is under threat from human actions. The
new gallery focuses on seven sites that showcase
the state’s diversity of wildlife, habitats, climate,
and geology—as well as environmental threats
and conservation efforts. The places are: Oakland
(city with remnants of a woodland habitat), Sutter
Buttes (small volcanic mountain range), Mount
Shasta (volcano), Yosemite (national park), the
Tehachapis (mountainous region north of Los
Angeles), Coachella Valley (desert), and Cordell
Bank National Marine Sanctuary (rocky reef).
Museum staff consulted California scientists
at the outset of the project. “To a person, they said
the most urgent issue is climate change,” says Lori
Fogarty, OMCA’s director. “We’ve tried to balance that problem with the wonder of nature and
encourage visitors to explore California and help
make a difference.” The museum retained most of
its original habitat cases and dioramas, which are
considered works of art, and juxtaposed them with
visual reminders of the human presence, digital
simulations, interactive elements, and opportunities for visitors to express their own ideas. For
example, the Oakland section includes a house
burned by wildfire and a station where visitors can
produce animations about the city’s future.
The cost of the new gallery was $11.4 million.
Funding came from an Oakland bond measure
supporting cultural resources, as well as from the
California Cultural and Historical Endowment, the
(U.S.) National Science Foundation (DRL-0915778),
the (U.S.) National Endowment for the Humanities,
and private donations. —S.B.
Details: Claudia Leung, communications coordinator, [email protected], www.museumca.org
Visitors can view specimens under the microscope in Bird Lab, an interactive feature of the Mount Shasta section in the Gallery of California Natural
Sciences. Photo by Terry Lorant/Oakland Museum of California
9
Z spotlights
Fresh! Farmer’s Market is an imaginative play space where visitors can explore healthy meal choices and awareness of food sources. Photo by Shana Berenzweig
THE MUSEUM NOW KNOWN AS THE THINKERY
Since its founding in 1983, the Austin Children’s
Museum in Texas has evolved along with the
surrounding community. Originally a “museum
without walls,” it settled into its first home in downtown Austin in 1987. A decade later, it moved to a
larger space. Last December, it reopened in its own
building that, at 40,000 square feet (3,716 square
meters), is twice as large as the previous facility.
The museum renamed itself the Thinkery to better
represent its mission—to create innovative learning
experiences that equip and inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers. The museum focuses on science, technology, engineering, art, and
math (STEAM) learning, as well as healthy living.
New innovative exhibitions and programs are
designed to engage children up to age 11. The
Innovator’s Workshop presents kids with a daily challenge such as making a car out of recycled materials.
Kids can investigate color, light, and shadows in the
Light Lab or get wet exploring fluid dynamics in
Currents. Older children can encounter advanced
design challenges in Spark Shop, while younger
children can shop at a farmer’s market in Let’s Grow.
Kitchen Lab provides opportunities to prepare
food and conduct science experiments. An outdoor
area invites kids to scale a universally accessible,
custom-designed climber or just rest under an elm
tree. Daily educational activities facilitated by staff
in several galleries ensure that each visit to the museum is different from the last.
The new building, land, and transition cost
$18 million. Funding was provided by individual,
foundation, and corporate donors along with
federal awards through the New Markets Tax
Credit Program. Major donors included the MFI
Foundation, Kodosky Foundation, RGK Foundation,
St. David’s Foundation, the Lowe Foundation, H-E-B,
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and the J.E. and
L.E. Mabee Foundation. —S.B.
Details: Misty Whited, marketing and communications manager, [email protected], thinkeryaustin.org
10
May • June 2014
Dimensions
notes from astc
THE VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT
From March 17 to 19, 443 science center and museum leaders from 58 countries gathered in Mechelen, Belgium,
for the first Science Centre World
Summit, hosted by Technopolis, the
Flemish Science Centre.
The Summit aimed to mark a
significant new step in the sequence
of World Congresses by becoming
a place for strategic discussions
with like-minded organizations and
potential partners for future collaborations. The fact that 30% of Summit
participants came from outside the
field confirmed for many attendees
that this was a very different kind of
gathering, clearly indicating the right
way forward. A pre-Summit CEO
Forum brought together 100 science
center and museum leaders to discuss
expectations for future partnerships
that could implement the Summit’s
outcomes.
At the Summit, the science
center field put forth the Mechelen
Declaration on Public Engagement
for a Better World, which can be read
in its entirety at www.scws2014.org/
wp-content/uploads/2014/03/MechelenDeclaration_def.pdf.
Clockwise from top left: King Philippe of Belgium
(seated), who came to Mechelen to attend the opening
ceremony of the first Science Centre World Summit,
signs the guest book upon his departure. The Belgian
Royal Family has a long tradition of supporting science,
research, and education. As Erik Jacquemyn (right), host
of the Summit and CEO of Technopolis, mentioned at
the opening ceremony, King Albert I made very clear
statements just before World War I in favor of research as
a tool for economic growth.
Belgian scientist François Englert (right), who shared the
2013 Nobel Prize in Physics with Peter W. Higgs for their
prediction of the Higgs boson, is interviewed by science
writer Graham Farmelo at the opening ceremony.
Englert spoke with great humility about his work and
showed that being successful in science is above all a
question of passion for what you do.
Attendees sign the Mechelen Declaration on Public
Engagement for a Better World. The declaration served
as a guide for discussions throughout the Summit, and
its seven action points were illustrated during several
sessions and events. All participants could express
their priorities by voting through an app. The field now
has a clear mandate to act and measure what we have
achieved.
The Summit was very different from past World
Congresses; one of the main reasons was the inclusion
of strategic sessions that attracted speakers from outside
the field. This laid the groundwork for future partnerships
and led to important exchanges and discussions. (G.S.
Rautela, director general of the National Council of Science
Museums, India, is pictured here.)
11
Z notes
from astc
NOYCE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE NAMES ITS FINAL ROUND OF FELLOWS
The Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI, www.noyceleadership.org) has announced
the 18 participants in its seventh and final round of yearlong sponsored fellowships
for senior-level leaders from science centers, children’s museums, natural history
museums, and related institutions around the globe.
The 18 Noyce Fellows will gain access to knowledge, tools, promising practices,
and professional networks to increase their capacity to manage change, focus outward, engage peers, and form key partnerships. The Fellowship program provides
an action-learning framework via a mix of face-to-face sessions, executive coaching,
peer learning, virtual learning opportunities, and other development strategies over
a year, followed by ongoing alumni activities.
Each participating institution includes a Fellow as well as a Strategic Initiative
Sponsor, who will work closely with the Fellow during the year to develop and
implement a project that builds community engagement. Examples of the current
cohort’s strategic initiatives include strengthening collaborations between science centers and afterschool providers in the United States, integrating visitor and
community voices into educational and exhibit programs in Colombia, leading
the formation of a school-based museum in Thailand, and supporting science and
technology education in schools in the Netherlands.
Since NLI’s inception in 2008, 123 Fellows, representing 91 institutions from 27 nations, have participated in the program. NLI works in partnership with ASTC, Ecsite—
the European Network of Science Centres and Museums, and the Association of
Children’s Museums, with funding from the Noyce Foundation, the Gordon and Betty
Moore Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The 18 Noyce Fellows and their Strategic Initiative Sponsors are listed below (with
ASTC-member institutions marked in bold):
• Afterschool Alliance, Washington, D.C.
Fellow: Anita Krishnamurthi, vice
president for STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] policy
Sponsor: Jennifer Rinehart, vice
president for research and policy
• Arizona Science Center, Phoenix
Fellow: Sharon Kortman, senior vice
president of learning
Sponsor: Chevy Humphrey, president
and CEO
• Conner Prairie Interactive History
Park, Fishers, Indiana
Fellow: Cathryn Ferree, vice president of exhibits, programs, interpretation, and facilities
12
May • June 2014
Dimensions
Sponsor: Ellen Rosenthal, president
and CEO
• Denver Museum of Nature and
Science
Fellow: Scott Sampson, vice president of research and collections, and
chief curator
Sponsor: George Sparks, president
and CEO
• EdVenture Children’s Museum,
Columbia, South Carolina
Fellow: Nikole Williams, vice president of education
Sponsor: Debbie Zvejnieks, board
member
• Great Lakes Science Center,
Cleveland
Fellow: Whitney Owens, vice
president of education
Sponsor: Kirsten Ellenbogen,
president and CEO
• Liberty Science Center, Jersey City
Fellow: Ann Neumann, concept
planning/exhibitions design lead
Sponsor: Paul Hoffman, president
and CEO
• Maloka, Bogota, Colombia
Fellow: Sigrid Falla Morales, deputy director of science and society
Sponsor: Elizabeth Hoyos, president
and CEO
• Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Fellow: Gregor Hagedorn, head of
digital world and information science
Sponsor: Johannes Vogel, director
general
• National Science Museum,
Pathumthani, Thailand
Fellow: Ganigar Chen, director,
Office of the Public Awareness of
Science
Sponsor: Kannikar Wongtongsiri,
vice president
• New Mexico Museum of Natural
History & Science, Albuquerque
Fellow: Alicia Borrego Pierce, deputy
executive director
Sponsor: Charlie Walter, executive
director
• Oregon Museum of Science &
Industry, Portland
Fellow: Jamie Hurd, vice president of
programs
Sponsor: Nancy Stueber, president
notes from astc Z
• San Antonio Children’s Museum
Fellow: Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt,
vice president of education and
visitor experience
Sponsor: Vanessa Lacoss Hurd,
executive director
• Science Center NEMO, Amsterdam,
the Netherlands
Fellow: Marjolein van Breemen, head
of education and manager, Science
Learning Center
Sponsor: Amito Haarhuis, deputy
director
• Science Museum of Minnesota,
St. Paul
Fellow: Joe Imholte, director of
special exhibits and public programs
Sponsor: Paul Martin, senior vice
president of science learning
• Science World British Columbia,
Vancouver, Canada
Fellow: Pauline Finn, vice president
of community engagement
Sponsor: Bryan Tisdall, president
and CEO
•The Tech Museum of Innovation,
San Jose, California
Fellow: Lath Carlson, vice president
of exhibits and content development
Sponsor: Tim Ritchie, president
•The University of the Arts,
Philadelphia
Fellow: Polly McKenna-Cress, director of museum exhibition planning
and design
Co-sponsor: Kirk Pillow, provost,
University of the Arts
Co-sponsor: Dale McCreedy, director
of gender, adult learning, and community engagement, the Franklin
Institute.
Photo courtesy TELUS World of Science–Edmonton
NEW GOVERNING MEMBER APPROVED
The ASTC Board approved TELUS World of Science–Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada, as a new Governing Member in February.
TELUS World of Science’s mission is to create a positive science and technology culture that inspires and motivates people to learn about, and contribute to, science and technology advances that strengthen themselves, their
families, and their community. With 113 full-time staff and a CAD 11,759,000
(USD 10.5 million) budget, the science center operates 109,210 square feet
(10,146 square meters) of indoor exhibition space. In addition to a public observatory, a planetarium theater, and a separate, recently refurbished 3D IMAX
theater, the center currently features five semipermanent gallery areas themed
on space sciences/astronomy, early childhood development, health sciences,
environmental sciences, and forensic sciences. The center celebrates its 30th
year this July.
ASTC’S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS,
DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
ASTC’s Professional Development team has launched a monthly enewsletter, available to staff at ASTC-member institutions. The enewsletter includes
upcoming professional development opportunities, such as webinars, workshops, and forums, plus announcements, news, and more. For more information or to subscribe, contact the ASTC Professional Development team at
[email protected].
13
Z notes
from astc
WORKING TOWARD A NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER IN SRI LANKA
From January 22 to 24, more than 100 Sri
Lankan scientists, educators, communicators, policymakers, and other stakeholders—along with ASTC staff and representatives from ASTC-member science
centers—came together in Battaramulla,
Sri Lanka, for the Coordinating
Workshop for the Establishment of a
National Science Center in Sri Lanka.
The future science center will showcase
the nation’s traditional knowledge,
heritage, biodiversity, and innovations.
Sri Lanka’s Coordinating Secretariat for
Science, Technology, and Innovation
(COSTI) organized the workshop in collaboration with ASTC.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa has accepted and endorsed
COSTI’s proposal to establish a national
science center. In his 2014 budget
speech, Rajapaksa recognized the need
for such a center to promote scientific
knowledge required for the advancement of Sri Lankan society. ASTC has
committed to providing support, assistance, and technical advice to establish
the new science center.
The first two days of the workshop
were allotted for presentations and
group discussion sessions covering the
details involved in establishing a new
science center. On the third day, participants visited the Sri Lanka National
Museum in Colombo and conducted
an observation exercise to evaluate the
public’s perception of the museum.
The (U.S.) National Science
Foundation funded the participation of
the ASTC delegation (DRL-1343466).
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education and
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May • June 2014
Dimensions
Ministry of National Heritage played a
major role in organizing the workshop,
and the Institution of Engineers Sri
Lanka, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects,
Sri Lanka’s National Institute of
Education, the Sri Lanka Medical
Association, and the National Academy
of Sciences of Sri Lanka served as
co-organizers.
Presenters included Anthony (Bud)
Rock, Walter Staveloz, and Laura
Huerta Migus of ASTC; Minda Borun
of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia;
Kevin Crowley and Lauren Allen of the
Learning Research and Development
Center and School of Education,
University of Pittsburgh; Anura de
Silva of the National Zoological
Gardens, Colombo; Sukanya Devarajan,
formerly of the (U.S.) National Science
Foundation; Mohanlal Grero, Sri Lanka’s
deputy minister of education; Lakshman
Jayatileke of the National Education
Commission, Sri Lanka; Mayuri
Munasinghe of the Sri Lanka National
Museum, Colombo; Tim Ritchie of
the Tech Museum of Innovation, San
Jose, California; Tom Rockwell of the
Exploratorium, San Francisco; Dennis
Schatz of the (U.S.) National Science
Foundation and Pacific Science Center,
Seattle; Gillian Thomas of the Patricia
and Phillip Frost Museum of Science,
Miami; Tissa Vitarana, Sri Lanka’s
minster for scientific affairs; and Siril
Wijesundera of the Royal Botanical
Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
ASTC COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE MEMBERSHIP
EXCEEDS 1,000
ASTC Communities of Practice (CoPs)
now have over 1,000 members in the
online ASTC Community (community.
astc.org).
The Public Engagement with
Science CoP recently hosted the
webinar “Reports from the Sackler
Colloquium on the Science of Science
Communication.” Panelists included
Larry Bell from the Museum of Science
in Boston, Erika Shugart from the
American Society for Microbiology, and
Dave Ucko from the consulting firm
Museums + More.
The Making and Tinkering Spaces
in Museums CoP held their regular
biweekly hangouts including spotlights on various maker spaces around
the country and an “ask us anything”
discussion. To view all of these hangouts and past ASTC Professional
Development webinars, visit our Vimeo
page at www.vimeo.com/ASTCprofdev.
ASTC is pleased to announce three
new CoPs: the Citizen Science CoP, the
Early Childhood CoP, and the Exhibits
CoP. To learn how to join the ASTC
Community and ASTC CoPs, visit www.
astc.org/about/pdf/HLhowto.pdf. Have
questions or want to start a new CoP?
Email [email protected].
notes from astc Z
INFORMALSCIENCE.ORG OFFERS FULL-TEXT ACCESS TO JOURNALS
Gaining access to literature has long been a challenge for informal science education (ISE) professionals. There is a large volume of work published
every year that contains knowledge useful for ISE
practice. However, many of these articles are only
available to individuals affiliated with universities
and other research centers.
The Center for Advancement of Informal
Science Education (CAISE) has made available
the EBSCO Education Research Complete database—including article abstracts from more than
2,400 journals, full-text access to articles in more
than 1,000 journals, hundreds of books and monographs, and full text for numerous education-related conference papers. Topics include education
and social science research related to many different informal science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM) learning sectors such as science
museums, aquaria, zoos and botanical gardens,
nature centers, mass media, and more.
To get started, visit InformalScience.org/
research/ebsco. If you are not logged in to
InformalScience.org, you will be asked to log
in or join to view the EBSCO Journal Access
page. (Your InformalScience.org membership is
free.) Begin your EBSCO search with keywords,
or choose from one of the sample links such
as “Citizen Science,” “Public Engagement,” or
“Broader Impacts.” Within your search results,
articles for which full-text access is available will
be indicated with a “Full Text” icon.
The EBSCO Education Research Complete
database complements more than 8,200 Informal
STEM Learning resources available via the
Informal Commons collection on InformalScience.
org, including project descriptions, evaluation
reports, research and evaluation instruments,
research and reference resources, and instructional
materials. The collection is growing daily through
contributions from the field and content acquisition by CAISE.
Access to literature is the latest in a series
of CAISE activities focused on enhancing the
connections and interplay between ISE practice
and learning research, including the creation of a
“roadmap” that will identify themes common to research agenda development initiatives in progress
across the ISE field. CAISE also supports the ISE
Evidence Wiki (InformalScience.org/research/wiki)
as a venue for easy-to-read, community-generated
summaries of evidence that characterize the
outcomes of ISE experiences. In addition, CAISE
offers a Perspectives blog (InformalScience.org/
perspectives) that regularly highlights exemplary
projects and provides a platform for ISE researchers and practitioners to share their work broadly
with the field.
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Z notes
from astc
CITTÀ DELLA SCIENZA: RISING FROM THE ASHES
WELCOME TO ASTC
On March 4, 2013, Città della Scienza (CDS) in Naples, Italy, was tragically
devastated by arson. Now, as part of its plans to build a new sustainable
facility on its previous site, the science center is partnering with ASTC and
the MIT Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the umbrella of the
Italian Embassy in the United States, to create a new Exhibit Fablab. This
space will enable CDS to take on a new function as an “open lab” for the
exploration of new technologies and the development of creative programs
to connect visitors, researchers, and science and technology professionals.
In addition, the Exhibit Fablab will engage university students, researchers,
and museums visitors in developing exhibits.
The Exhibit Fablab will incorporate some experiences, methodologies,
and technologies from the MIT Museum Studio, which the museum describes
as “a place where the art studio, the engineering lab, and public forum combine to create a genuinely 21st-century learning environment, a place where
each student can discover his or her individual genius and voice.”
ASTC will disseminate the results of this cooperation to its members to
help to strengthen international collaboration around the reconstruction of
CDS, enabling institutions to share their expertise with the science center
as it rebuilds.
The following new members were
approved by the ASTC Board in October
2013. Contact information is available in
the About ASTC section of ASTC’s website,
www.astc.org.
SCIENCE CENTER AND MUSEUM
MEMBERS
• Kennedy Space Center Visitor
Complex, Kennedy Space Center,
Florida. Back as an ASTC member
after a four-year hiatus, the visitor
complex brings to life the story of
the U.S. space program. In June
2013, the six-story, $100 million,
90,000-square-foot (8,361-squaremeter) Space Shuttle Atlantis
exhibition made its public debut, with
Atlantis displayed on a 43-degree
angle with its payload doors open.
• Petaluma Wildlife Museum,
FIVE NEW SITES TO EXPLORE INTERSECTIONS
OF SCIENCE AND LITERACY
The National Writing Project (NWP) and ASTC have announced five
new sites in the second round of Intersections partnership awards. The
Intersections initiative is funded through a grant from the (U.S.) National
Science Foundation (DRL–1224161) to support the design of programs in
informal spaces that integrate science and literacy practices.
The five new partnerships are Colorado State University Writing
Project and Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Colorado; Boise State
Writing Project and the Discovery Center of Idaho, Boise; University
of Maine Writing Project and the Maine Discovery Museum, Bangor;
Philadelphia Writing Project and the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Drexel University, Philadelphia; and the Tar River Writing Project and the
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh. These teams will
join exiting Intersections sites in Phoenix; San Diego; Missoula, Montana;
Charlotte, North Carolina; and Pittsburgh in building a U.S.-wide network
of partnerships that integrate science and literacy, create an infusion of
literacy practices in informal settings, and increase exposure of formal educators to STEM-rich learning experiences in science centers and museums.
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May • June 2014
Dimensions
Petaluma, California. The mission of
this museum is to inspire the next
generation through practical environmental education and conservation.
High school students run nearly
every aspect of this 9,000-squarefoot (836-square-meter) facility,
which opened to the public in 1990.
Student docents take wildlife ecology
and museum management courses
to care for and interpret the collection of live and preserved animals, as
well as minerals, artifacts, and fossils.
SUSTAINING MEMBERS
• Andrew Merriell & Associates
LLC, Santa Fe, New Mexico. This
company plans and designs interpretive experiences for visitors to
museums, visitor centers, zoos, and
public gardens. Clients include the
notes from astc Z
At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, visitors encounter Space Shuttle Atlantis in a $100 million exhibition, including more than 60 interactive experiences and simulators. Photo
courtesy the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Bermuda Underwater Exploration
• Michael Holland Productions
and museums in the state of North
Institute, Paget; Mid-Hudson
(MHP), Helena, Montana. MHP is a
Carolina dedicated to inspiring and
Children’s Museum, Poughkeepsie,
creative content studio offering fossil
educating youth and adults in sci-
New York; and the Virginia Air and
reconstruction, specimen mount-
ence and technology.
Space Center, Hampton.
ing, sculpture, and design services
• Boston Productions Inc. (BPI),
Norwood, Massachusetts. BPI
engages audiences through creative
media design, immersive theater
experiences, innovative multimedia,
and interactive audiovisual integration. This returning member counts
to museums and other educational
and public outreach entities. Clients
include the Museum of the Rockies,
Bozeman, Montana, and the
Smithsonian National Museum of
Natural History, Washington, D.C.
• North Carolina Grassroots
ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science
Science Museum Collective,
Center, Burlington, Vermont, among
Raleigh. This collaborative entity is
its clients.
a partnership of 30 science centers
• SAVOR/SMG, West Conshohocken,
Pennsylvania. SMG provides venue
management, marketing, and food
services through SAVOR, the catering division of the company. It manages convention centers, exhibition
halls, stadiums, and performing arts
centers. The company was founded
in 1977.
17
Z notes
from astc
OUR BOARDS IN ACTION: ERIC RUDNEY
Each “Our Boards in Action” column highlights a board member at an ASTC-member
institution, who shares his or her insights and experiences. In this edition, we feature
Eric Rudney, board chair at Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, California.
Rudney is a registered investment advisor with over 30 years of experience in investment planning and asset management for high-net-worth and corporate clients.
What was your experience with science and science museums as a child?
I first visited Chabot Space & Science
Center in elementary school for a field
trip. I remember the excitement and
amazement of the telescopes and learning about science.
but also as a liaison to the community
to share awareness about Chabot. My
firm, Rudney Associates, has sponsored
the Future Friday Speakers Series for
the past four years and has shared these
wonderful evenings with my clients and
professional contacts.
What inspired you to join Chabot’s
board?
I was inspired to join the board through
my connections with Alex Zwissler.
I grew up with Alex, and we went to
Skyline High School and the University
of California, Berkeley, together. Once
he became executive director/CEO of
Chabot, I was encouraged by his leadership and was eager to participate in
promoting Chabot and being a part of a
great organization.
What do you think science center
executives should do to create good
working relationships with their
boards?
I believe that open and transparent communication about the history, foundation, and future direction of the center is
crucial. It is important for science center
executives to be supportive of new ideas
and suggestions and to work collaboratively with the board to keep the center
current and attractive to the community.
How does your professional work
influence the work you do as a board
member?
As a registered investment advisor, I
deal with many clients and different
personalities and demographics of
people on a day-to-day basis. I feel that I
add value as a board member by sharing
my financial opinions and guidance,
In what ways is Chabot’s work meaningful to its community?
Chabot’s mission is to be a place for
students of all ages to learn and be
inspired about the universe and our
planet. Chabot was founded in 1883 and
has a long history of offering visitors
various hands-on exhibits, displays, and
planetarium shows. Chabot has become
Eric Rudney, board chair at Chabot Space & Science
Center.
the Bay Area’s go-to destination for visitors of all ages who want to discover and
learn about space and earth sciences.
Where do you see Chabot headed in
the future?
I believe it is critical for Chabot to
continue to provide new and exciting
exhibits and activities for the community. Currently, Chabot is known as one
of northern California’s leading centers
for informal science education. We need
to focus on new programs and exhibits
to keep that reputation. We are currently
working on new programs such as the
Redwood Environmental Education
Center where students will be able to
camp overnight at Chabot. We are also
developing SpaceTime, an outdoor play
area examining the power of possibility
at the intersection of science and science fiction.
Do you have a board member you’d like to see profiled in a future “Our Boards in Action” column? Please send his
or her name, position, and contact information to [email protected] (subject line: Boards).
18
May • June 2014
Dimensions
people
David Goudy has
announced that he will
retire from his position as
director of the Montshire
Museum of Science,
Norwich, Vermont, in March 2015, after 34
years. During his time at the Montshire,
Goudy accepted the first National Award
for Museum Service at the White House
on the museum’s behalf. Goudy’s replacement has not yet been announced.
After 16 years, Lesley
Lewis will leave her
position as CEO of the
Ontario Science Centre,
Toronto. Before joining
the science center, she was executive
director of the Ontario Heritage
Foundation and the Ontario Human
Rights Commission. Lewis also served as
ASTC’s Board President from 2007 to
2009 and chaired the Fifth Science
Centre World Congress in 2008. Lewis
will remain with the science center until
her successor is named.
atmosphere, making her the 10th administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
She has been serving in an acting capacity
since February 2013. An oceanographer
and former astronaut, Sullivan was the
first U.S. woman to walk in space.
After 39 years with the
Newark Museum, New
Jersey, Mary Sue
Sweeney Price retired
from her position as
director and CEO in May
2013. Price started in
public relations at the
museum in 1975 and
worked her way up to director by 1993.
Steve Kern, former executive director of
the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse,
New York, replaced Price at the Newark
Museum in February.
Consuelo Valdés
Chadwick left her
position as executive
director of Museo
Interactivo Mirador
(MIM), Santiago, Chile, in March.
Patricia Corvalan, senior officer of
finances at MIM, will serve as interim
director while a successor is determined.
David Skorton,
president of Cornell
University in Ithaca, New
York, will become the
next secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D.C., in
July 2015. A cardiologist
who plays the saxophone
and flute, Skorton will combine his love
of the arts and sciences at the world’s
largest museum and research complex.
Skorton, who will succeed G. Wayne
Clough, will be the first physician to lead
the organization and its 13th secretary
since 1846.
The Patricia and Phillip
Frost Museum of Science
in Miami appointed
Eldredge (Biff)
Bermingham to the
newly created position of chief science
officer in February. Bermingham, a
molecular geneticist, was most recently
director of the Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute, Panama City.
In March, the U.S. Senate
confirmed Kathryn
Sullivan, former president and CEO of COSI,
Columbus, Ohio, as under
secretary of commerce for oceans and
Ralph Bosek has retired
from his position as chief
operating officer of the
Museum of Science and
Industry (MOSI), Tampa,
Florida. Bosek previously worked as
redevelopment director for the city of
Temple Terrace, Florida. MOSI’s executive
vice president for operations, Vicki
Ahrens, has assumed his responsibilities.
The Science Museum of
Minnesota (SMM), St.
Paul, recently announced
three staff changes.
Juliette Francis became
SMM’s vice president of
human resources in
November 2013 after
most recently working as
director of human
resources and operations
at College Possible. In
January, SMM promoted
Christine Bauer from
co-director of communications and
public relations to director of marketing.
Also in January, Amy Nelson joined
SMM as director of individual giving.
Nelson most recently served as director
of development at CaringBridge.
In January, Susan
Chicoine stepped down
public relations director
of the Reuben H. Fleet
Science Center, San Diego. Chicoine is
now public relations director for San
Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. Wendy
Grant, marketing and communications
director, will fill her role until a successor is named.
Linda Dackman retired
public information
director at the
Exploratorium, San
Francisco, in November
2013. Dackman has been
named public information director emeritus for
the Exploratorium, and Jenny Slafkosky,
communications manager, is now the
Exploratorium’s primary media contact.
19
Multimedia Experiences
that open up
new worlds
Human Tree, National Museum of Mathematics
“...the most popular installation....that pulls visitors through to the end.”
—NY Times, 8/29/2013
Blue Telescope Studios uses technology, storytelling, and design to
create engaging interactive exhibits and experiences. From multi-touch
and mobile apps to games, quizzes, and social interactives, our
innovative solutions use the latest technology to educate,
communicate, and connect with your visitors.
212-675-7702
studios.blue-telescope.com
INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS
IMMERSIVE MULTIMEDIA
GAMES & SIMULATIONS
ANIMATION & VIDEO
MOBILE APPLICATIONS
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
viewpoints
Do you think the current
surge of making and tinkering
spaces in science centers and
museums is a temporary fad,
or are they here to stay?
Making and tinkering spaces are here to stay. Maker
experiences align with science centers’ core values of creating
hands-on, interactive experiences. They provide real-world
value, teaching visitors tool and materials literacy, providing a
sense of satisfaction at completing a personally relevant project, and engaging visitors in using 21st-century skills. Maker
spaces and activities invite safe exploration of the design process, including failure, iteration, and divergent outcomes. The
skills gained from making and tinkering contribute to college
readiness and help fill the education to employment gap.
Kate Storm, director of technology and innovation strategic initiatives, COSI, Columbus, Ohio
Making and tinkering spaces and science centers are a
bad marriage. The science center experience depends on a
carefully crafted environment that allows for limited, shortterm experimentation focusing on a particular concept. These
experiences are engineered to inspire the visitor in an instant—
leading to that “Aha!” moment. Making and tinkering spaces
provide for a more slowly developing understanding. I don’t
know if these spaces are here to stay, but if they are, science
centers are definitely on their way out.
Hooley McLaughlin, vice president for science experience and chief
science officer, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto
Some are here to stay, and some aren’t. The ones that are created “because everyone is having one” and end up as glorified
craft tables deserve to disappear. The ones that approach the
topic seriously will persist. Proper making and tinkering spaces
create opportunities for visitors to explore scientific phenomena through their open-ended creativity in a way conventional
exhibits do not. If museums and science centers are serious
Visitors tinker with electrical pathways in the Descargas, Corrientes, y Circuitos: Charges,
Currents, and Circuits exhibit area during a Family Science Night. Photo courtesy Explora
about being hands-on places, they need to be serious about
making—if they aren’t, they are probably didactic, top-down
institutions at heart, just using interactivity as a garnish.
Ian Simmons, science communication director, International Centre
for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
It appears to me that a deficit exists in society to which making
and tinkering are potential solutions. Unstructured playtime
is diminishing, fewer kids have access to basement workshops
or tool benches, and grandmothers who teach us to sew or knit
are no longer the norm. I firmly believe that science centers
are filling a void that hasn’t yet been fully understood.
“Think with your hands” is more than an aphorism; it is a vital
component of learning and brain development. Contrast this
with our increasingly two-dimensional world, and I believe
there is a huge role for science centers.
Jennifer Martin, president and CEO, TELUS Spark, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada
Making and tinkering are not fads. Their presence in science
centers and museums may be a fad for many, but “making” is a
human biological imperative. Making and tinkering spaces in
museums should be fluid, they should grow and contract, they
should be “made” and made again. Elena Baca, educator and external relations coordinator, and
Eric Meyer, educational services director, Explora, Albuquerque,
New Mexico
Visit www.astc.org/blog/category/astc-dimensions/viewpoints for an extended discussion of this question. The above statements represent the
opinions of the individual contributors and not necessarily the views of their institutions or of ASTC.
Tell us: If you could change one thing about the science center and museum field, what would it be? Email
[email protected] (subject line: Viewpoints), or post on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ScienceCenters).
Include your name, title, and institution. Responses may be printed in a future issue and/or on our website. We reserve
the right to edit responses for publication.
21
ing
m
o
C on!
so
PRODUCED BY:
CREATED BY:
SPONSORED BY:
what we learned
Engineering:
It’s Elementary
By Cynthia Berger
Many people think of engineering as an advanced subject you
study in college. But the new U.S. Next Generation Science
Standards (www.nextgenscience.org) make engineering an
important part of elementary instruction. Ioannis Miaoulis,
president and director of the Museum of Science, Boston,
anticipated this trend a decade ago, launching the museum’s
National Center for Technological Literacy and starting the
development of Engineering is Elementary (EiE, www.eie.org),
an inquiry-based engineering curriculum for grades 1–5.
As of March, an estimated 64,600 teachers and 4.8 million students in all 50 U.S. states had used EiE. Teachers can
choose from 20 curriculum units, each focused on a particular
engineering field, such as mechanical or chemical. The units
integrate with science topics commonly taught in elementary
school; they also support English language arts and social
studies through a multicultural storybook that introduces each
unit. EiE also offers professional development workshops to
help elementary teachers—who often have little background
in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—feel
confident teaching engineering.
More than 3,000 hours of research and pilot testing went
into the development of each EiE unit. We learned some great
lessons that we’re applying now as we develop a similar curriculum for out-of-school time programs.
1. Think toward the future—but be grounded in the realities of the classroom today. When we started to develop
EiE 10 years ago, teaching engineering to young children
was a radical goal. We designed materials that were innovative but that could be adopted immediately in classrooms.
2. To make a curriculum that really works, get feedback
from real teachers. Hundreds of classroom teachers
have tested our units in their classrooms and participated
in workshop pilot tests at the museum. Their collective
insights into classroom dynamics have been invaluable.
Two students explore civil engineering by designing and building a bridge model. Photo
courtesy Engineering is Elementary
3. Set the context for a lesson through storytelling. Each
EiE unit starts with a storybook about a child who solves a
real problem through engineering—for example, a child in
India designs a water filter to create a pollution-free habitat
for her pet turtle. Students can be turned off by didactic or
abstract instruction but respond when they understand why
they’re solving a problem—and when they can picture a real
person working through the same challenge.
4. Build evaluation into your development process. We embraced the slogan, “Begin with the end in mind,” identifying learning outcomes first and evaluating the curriculum
against those outcomes.
5. Use the Engineering Design Process (EDP)—it works to
solve engineering problems and lots of other problems,
too! We designed the curriculum to teach children to use
the EDP (Ask–Imagine–Plan–Design–Improve) to work
through engineering challenges. At the same time, we used
this process to develop the curriculum itself and to collect
feedback. We hear from teachers that their students apply
the EDP to many other subjects and to their own lives.
If you would like to write about what your institution has learned from a project in exhibit development, education,
finance, and/or operations, contact us at [email protected] (subject line: What We Learned).
Cynthia Berger ([email protected]) is Engineering is Elementary outreach and communications project manager at the Museum
of Science, Boston.
23
Science by the People
What happens when the public is given the opportunity
to engage meaningfully in authentic scientific research?
Participants may develop a sense of ownership and a deeper
understanding of science, and scientists gain access to
valuable resources and fresh perspectives. As sites for
community engagement, education, and sometimes scientific research itself, science centers, museums, and related
institutions are ideally positioned to connect the public with
authentic research.
In this issue of Dimensions, we examine three ways our field
is doing this work. A major part of the issue is devoted to
citizen science, where volunteers partner with scientists to
investigate real scientific questions. We define citizen science
broadly here to include many different models of public participation in scientific research, whether laypeople are collecting or analyzing data, interpreting results, or determining
research questions. In addition, this issue looks at research
labs housed in museums, and programs that connect youth
to scientists as mentors.
The California Academy of Sciences’ Careers in Science interns measure and lay out the transects used to guide
sampling of Pacific sand crabs, a vital species in the sandy beach food web, on Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Photo
by Neal Ramus
Everyone a Scientist?
Opening Scientific Research
to a Broader Public
By Martin Storksdieck
Scientific research is not reserved to a professional class of paid scientists; in fact, highly specialized
research conducted by trained experts is a relatively new phenomenon. Historically, much scientific
research has been done by “hobbyists” whose main occupation was elsewhere, from running an
abbey (Gregor Mendel) to being a county administrator (Nicolaus Copernicus). However, nonexperts
again are becoming engaged in scientific research.
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May • June 2014
Dimensions
At the Generation Rx Lab in Labs in Life, located within the Life exhibition
at COSI, Columbus, Ohio, students can conduct hands-on biology and
chemistry experiments. The lab is run by scientists from the College of
Pharmacy at the Ohio State University. Photo courtesy COSI
By participating in scientific research, the public
can contribute to scientific knowledge and build a
deeper connection to and a more profound understanding of science. Science centers, museums, and
other informal science education (ISE) institutions
are trusted community resources that can provide
an ideal space for these types of activities.
THE RISE OF CITIZEN SCIENCE
Public participation and civic engagement have been
increasing since the 1960s, influenced by the public’s
broader conception of democratic involvement and
a willingness to challenge the expert paradigm. This
trend has included a movement over the last 25 years
to involve the public in collecting scientific data to
monitor environmental conditions. Out of this movement grew “citizen science,” defined as “projects in
which volunteers partner with scientists to answer realworld questions” by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which was
instrumental in starting and sustaining the idea.
Citizen science now includes about 800 projects that span numerous fields. (See a list at www.
CitizenScience.org.) Participating citizens may
engage in science at various depths, from collecting
observational data to analyzing data sets online to
organizing their own research.
Projects may have a local, national, or international focus, and their goals range considerably. For
example, local environmentalists are monitoring the
water quality of Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada,
to hold officials accountable; citizens in Australia
participated in a national project to identify online
photos of kelp and sea urchins taken by autonomous
underwater vehicles (see page 42); and students and
educators from more than 27,000 schools in 112 countries have contributed more than 121 million environmental measurements through the almost 20-yearold Global Learning and Observations to Benefit
the Environment (GLOBE, www.globe.gov) program.
Many internet-based projects know no national
boundaries—from Foldit (www.fold.it), a game that
allows anyone to find solutions to the three-dimensional structure of proteins, to Zooniverse (www.
zooniverse.org), where citizen scientists can contribute their observational powers to a variety of disciplines, from astronomy to biology and even history.
A few years ago, the term public participation in
scientific research (PPSR) was coined as an umbrella
term to connect different types of projects—including citizen science—that involve laypeople in
research. At that time, citizen science projects were
usually defined as researcher-driven projects to
which the public contributed data. Today, the definition of citizen science has expanded to encompass
the many diverse roles laypeople might undertake
in scientific research—from collecting data to defining research questions—such that citizen science is
now frequently used as an umbrella term instead
of PPSR. However, some practitioners, particularly
those that work with immigrant communities, prefer
to use PPSR because it avoids the politically charged
word “citizen.”
27
Above: Assisted by young scientists, visitors can do their own experiments in the DNA Visitors’ Laboratory at the Deutsches
Museum, Munich. This experience helps them to understand the day-to-day work of a researcher in the lab while gaining
useful knowledge on cell biology, heredity, and genetic engineering. Photo courtesy the Deutsches Museum
Right: Summer camp participants with the New England Aquarium collect nearshore biodiversity census data along the
coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Photo by Danny Badger/New England Aquarium
EFFECTIVE OUTREACH OR VALID SCIENCE?
Citizen science is a complex model for conducting research since it strives toward optimizing two
sometimes conflicting goals: (1) creating a broader
public understanding of research, and (2) providing
valid and useful scientific results. Evidence is now
emerging that citizen science can do both.
Research on science teaching and learning has
affirmed that by actively engaging in authentic scientific research, learners gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the process and nature of
science (NRC, 2005). Research experiences also provide a strong motivational component for in-depth
science learning (NRC, 2009).
Science itself benefits from increased human
resources to get work done more quickly or cheaply, from coding or analyzing data, to gathering
data from locations that would not be accessible
otherwise. In addition, interaction with laypeople
can help scientists gain new perspectives and can
help shape the research agenda. The involvement
of the public in scientific research is not without
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May • June 2014
Dimensions
controversy, and such projects had to overcome initial
concerns about quality and
value. There are certainly
still many open questions on
how to structure citizen science experiences to balance
the interests of participants
with the rigor of publishable
research.
THE ROLE OF SCIENCE
CENTERS AND MUSEUMS
As this issue of Dimensions illustrates, science
centers, museums, and other ISE institutions have
embraced citizen science and have found it to be
compatible with their missions. Science centers
and museums have been struggling to highlight
“science in the making,” despite the fact that their
audiences expect current science to be featured
(Chittendan et al., 2004). Citizen science can provide relevant ways for at least some visitors to connect with current research.
Research on science teaching and learning has
affirmed that by actively engaging in authentic
scientific research, learners gain a deeper
understanding and appreciation of the process
and nature of science.
In addition, many
ISE institutions are
looking to deepen the
visitor experience by
offering their audiences more insights
into the scientific
enterprise that feeds
their content. Public
engagement
with
science can be done
particularly well in
ISE institutions that
are conducting scientific research as part
of their missions. Like
universities,
these
institutions are now
working hard to break
down the barriers
between the units that
create research findings and those that
communicate them to
nonscientists. Many
natural history museums, zoos, aquaria, and planetaria are brimming
with scientists who are, for the most part, underutilized in engaging directly with visitors. Recent
research has shown that programs to engage scientists in education or outreach should not just be
ad hoc, but committed, thoughtful, and oriented
toward sustainability (Selvakumar & Storksdieck,
2013). Citizen science can be an excellent strategy
for connecting resident scientists with visitors in
ways that are beneficial to both.
Additionally, ISE institutions that do not traditionally engage in research, like some science or
nature centers, are either beginning to “import”
research projects into their institutions (like COSI,
Columbus, Ohio (www.cosi.org/exhibits/lab-spaces;
see page 54), or the Deutsches Museum, Munich
(www.deutsches-museum.de/en/exhibitions/newtechnologies/laboratories) or partner with established outside citizen science programs.
Finally, ISE institutions are highly trusted by
the public as neutral places that translate science
in meaningful ways to nonexperts. As a result, they
offer an ideal place for the public to take part in scientific research and to encounter those who professionally engage in it: scientists themselves. n
REFERENCES
Chittendan, D., Farmelo, G., & Lewenstein, B.V. (Eds.) (2004).
Creating connections: Museums and the public understanding of
research. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
National Research Council. (2005). America’s lab report:
Investigations in high school science. Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press.
National Research Council. (2009). Learning science in informal
environments: People, places, and pursuits. Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press.
Selvakumar, M., & Storksdieck, M. (2013). Portal to the Public:
Museum educators collaborating with scientists to engage
museum visitors with current science. Curator: The Museum
Journal 56(1), 69–78.
Martin Storksdieck ([email protected]) is director of the Board on Science Education at the
National Research Council (NRC), Washington, D.C.
29
Six Practices for Engaging
Underrepresented
Communities as Citizen
Science Partners
By Norman Porticella, Flisa Stevenson, and Jennifer Shirk
In 2012, participants at workshops coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, kept asking, “How do we engage more diverse audiences in citizen science at science centers?” ASTC, which sponsored these workshops as part of its Communicating Climate
Change project, with funding from the (U.S.) National Science Foundation (DRL-0813135), heard this
need and, with the Lab of Ornithology, convened a task force to address it. The task force worked to
uncover practices that hold the most promise for positively engaging underrepresented communities—including communities of color, tribal origin, or low socioeconomic status—in citizen science.
The team included citizen science practitioners
and researchers; science center administrators; and
experts on equity, diversity, and inclusion in informal science education (ISE) settings. We spoke with
representatives of 12 science museums, communitybased organizations, and citizen science projects
across the United States to identify six emerging
and effective practices. Though each organization
was involved with citizen science projects, their
insights on inclusivity sometimes came from other
aspects of their programming.
Here, we introduce these practices, which offer
promise for enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in citizen science. For more stories, information, a list of team members and interviewees,
and the full report, see www.CitizenScience.org/
promisingpractices.
1. Develop collaborative partnerships.
Share resources, goals, and control among project
participants and their families, citizen science practitioners, and community leaders. Get to know trusted
community leaders and help them accomplish their
mission. In return, seek their help to make projects
relevant and accessible to their communities.
Similarly, build collaborative partnerships with
participants so they have ownership of programs.
Involve participants in decisions about the project’s content and activities and in presenting the
project to others.
The California Academy of Sciences, San
Francisco, uses a collaborative approach to engage
diverse audiences, exemplified in their Careers
in Science Program (www.calacademy.org/youth
programs/careers-in-science). Youth interns from
underrepresented groups provide input into designing Academy exhibits and programs, some of which
Young girls from the Adelante Chicas program look for birds through a partnership between Tualatin Riverkeepers and Adelante Mujeres, a nonprofit
organization whose mission is to educate and empower Latina women and their families. Photo courtesy Tualatin Riverkeepers
31
Girls from the Adelante Chicas program explore their local river. Photo courtesy Tualatin Riverkeepers
they also help to teach. Through this deep engagement, interns develop ownership in the programs
and come to see themselves as scientists and part
of a larger community. (See page 43 for more on
the California Academy of Sciences’ work with citizen science through Careers in Science and other
programs.)
2. Be flexible and adaptive.
A flexible structure is critical for engaging participants with different levels of interest and confidence
in scientific investigation. They may be ready for data
collection, or they may need to start with more familiar activities, like a walk in a park where you model
the passion and skills for effective participation.
The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), Queens,
discovered the need for flexibility when they reached
out to their highly diverse neighborhood to attract
participants to their implementation of the BudBurst
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Dimensions
project, which tracks the timing of plants flowering
and setting fruit (www.budburst.org). The project
unexpectedly attracted many families with young
children, so NYSCI quickly adapted it for a much
broader age range by moving the training outside
and changing activities based on participants’ interests and questions.
Michaela Labriole, NYSCI program manager,
said it took flexibility for the project to be successful. “It’s important to design a project that’s responsive to the participants. That’s especially true when
you’re dealing with diverse groups. You have to get
a little creative if you want people to come who don’t
often participate in these kinds of things.”
3. Sustain genuine and equitable contact.
Having established a commitment to partnerships
and a flexible approach, visit communities in person to learn what benefits they value and how to
Top: Rocking the Boat employs local youth to lead others in building nest boxes and surveying wildlife along the Bronx River.
Photo courtesy Rocking the Boat. Bottom: Celebrate Urban Birds and Nosotros Radio incorporated youth-led greening, art,
and bird monitoring activities into an existing community-based youth development program. Photo courtesy Celebrate
Urban Birds
integrate your project into existing activities. Once
you’ve made connections, maintain them so that
the community’s trust and participation can grow
over time.
For example, Celebrate Urban Birds (CUBs), a
project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (celebrateurbanbirds.org), reached out to Fanny Villarreal,
founder of Nosotros Radio, a Central New York
Spanish language radio program, and a trusted figure in the local community. She agreed to incorporate a greening and bird observation project into her
youth development program, L.A.C.E. (Latino students, Advancement, Commitment, and Excellence).
When asked how she engaged youth in her program, Villarreal responded, “I let them talk. I gave
them control. I asked them, ‘What do you want to do?’”
However, she struggled to articulate the bird project
until CUBs staff visited, explained the program in
Spanish, and demonstrated their passion for it.
The group chose to work in an art park on the
grounds of an abandoned railroad. They created a
bird garden, installed bird feeders, and then documented the birds they saw. The data were entered
into the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National
Audubon Society’s eBird database of bird abundance
and distribution (ebird.org). Villarreal and CUBs have
now worked together for several years and continue
to improve their programs as partners with a common goal of serving disadvantaged communities.
4. Build on what’s familiar.
Citizen science has the capacity to engage the
unique perspectives, knowledge, and skills that
nontraditional communities can bring to today’s
most pressing issues. Create an environment that
not only respects these contributions but ignites
and empowers them.
In addition to working with trusted community
33
Creative thinking and flexibility helped
the New York Hall of Science adapt its
implementation of BudBurst to effectively
engage entire families, including young
children. Photo courtesy the New York Hall
of Science
leaders, hire people from the community; reach
out through bilingual media; involve family and
friends; speak and present materials in languages
spoken at home; provide familiar points of entry
(like arts activities and community events); meet
in familiar locations (like churches, libraries, and
community centers); and use meaningful cultural
references. These practices can help connect the
familiar to the novel and potentially intimidating
citizen science experience.
Hopa Mountain (www.hopamountain.org) and
the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center (bfcc.
edu/native_science_field_center.php) in Montana
emphasize the connection between scientific processes and traditional values and ways of life in their
citizen science programs. They ensure that students
receive grounding in their cultural connection to
plants and animals to learn and understand their
significance, how to care for them, and their uses
before they begin collecting scientific data.
This programming is a natural outgrowth of Hopa
Mountain and the Native Science Field Center’s
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May • June 2014
Dimensions
genuine partnerships with
Native communities. Parents
and representatives from
Native community schools
inform what participants learn
and how they collect data.
Community advisory boards
offer local knowledge, make
connections to resources and
people, and provide feedback
from the community, thereby
keeping the programs relevant and community members engaged. (See pages
50–51 for more about the work
of Hopa Mountain and the
Blackfeet Native Science Field Center.)
5. Provide concrete benefits.
Use your conversations with community members
to find out what’s important to them and align your
project with their needs and goals. While every community is different, our interviews suggested consideration of these program components:
• Safe, educational family activities
• Development of life and job skills
• Food provided at meetings
• Opportunities to improve their community
• Time for professional, academic, and social
networking
• Stronger cultural connections
• Stipends or paid internships
• Funds for partnering organizations.
For example, Rocking the Boat (RTB, www.rocking
theboat.org) in New York City’s South Bronx involves
Use your conversations with community members to find out what’s
important to them and align your project with their needs and goals.
underserved youth in environmental projects such
as reporting bird activity along the Bronx River. To
address family pressures for youth to earn money
during the summer, RTB offers stipends to participants to continue their fieldwork. RTB also hires former participants as program assistants. Students are
empowered by seeing people who look like them in
positions of authority, and they realize jobs are available if they excel in this type of activity.
6. Identify and address barriers.
In addition to using languages spoken in participants’ homes, understand families’ time constraints
when scheduling activities. Access to the internet
and transportation to project sites may also be
needed. Participant literacy, family stress, financial
constraints, and immigration status may all pose
challenges to participation.
Also look within your organization for barriers to
inclusion. If any of the above practices seem particularly unfeasible, ask if organizational beliefs, priorities, or structure might be getting in the way. Then
think about how changes might impact your success
in building true community partnerships.
A watershed stewardship group, Tualatin
Riverkeepers (TRK, www.tualatinriverkeepers.org),
in Tualatin, Oregon, wanted to understand why it
wasn’t attracting a growing Latino community to
its habitat restoration, education, and advocacy
programs. So TRK took training offered by the
Center for Diversity & the Environment, an organization seeking to diversify the U.S. environmental
movement (www.environmentaldiversity.org). TRK
learned some of their staff and board members
believed anyone interested in getting involved with
conservation would do so and communities of color,
due to socioeconomic constraints, don’t have time
to volunteer.
Having dispelled these myths and gained a better
understanding of the community, TRK rebuilt relations with a focus on shared values. Latino engagement soon increased. Monica Smiley, executive
director, says TRK’s relationships changed with one
question. Rather than asking, “Would you like to participate in our program?” they began asking, “What
outcomes and programs do you want that we can
help you achieve?”
For science centers committed to building inclusive community partnerships, the practices we’ve
described will have the greatest impact when the
unique needs of underrepresented audiences are
voiced, made a priority, and used to shape citizen
science project design.
Perhaps the most important theme tying together
the six practices is that they take time. They are part
of a broader effort to establish common ground and
build mutually beneficial and trusting relationships.
You should also allow for initial setbacks and be prepared to learn from missteps as you move forward.
Though these practices may seem challenging,
your science center or museum can be a critical partner in ongoing efforts across the fields of citizen science and ISE to engage new audiences in genuine
scientific investigation.
So when you finish reading this magazine, take
off your museum hat and have a friendly chat with
someone in your community! n
Norman Porticella ([email protected]) is research associate, Program Development and Evaluation,
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Flisa Stevenson ([email protected]) is an
independent engagement strategist consultant. Jennifer Shirk ([email protected]) is content manager for
CitizenScience.org and is also based at the Lab of Ornithology.
35
Bridging the Gaps:
Integrating Citizen Science
Throughout an Institution
By Christine L. Goforth, Julie M. Urban, and Julie E. Horvath
At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS), Raleigh, we’ve made citizen science
a priority, because we recognize its power to teach people about the natural world and the role of
science in their daily lives. The value of the citizen scientist is apparent throughout our museum,
including in our research and collections, educational programs, exhibits, and outdoor facility, Prairie
Ridge Ecostation. We constantly improve our public science offerings to reach out to our visitors and
engage them in scientific experiences (naturalsciences.org/research-collections/citizen-science/
citizen-science-at-the-museum).
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Dimensions
Participants in a Properties of Matter class examine the relative densities of fresh
and salt water in an Investigate Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural
Sciences. Photo by Karen Swain
give public talks in our three-story Daily Planet Theater
to share the results of these citizen science projects
and discuss their other research projects with visitors.
Through these dialogues, visitors actively contribute
to research in progress by sharing their hypotheses
and interpretations of our research.
EXHIBITS
RESEARCH AND COLLECTIONS
The strength of our citizen science program lies
largely in its integration with research conducted
at NCMNS. For decades, our curators have conducted research on our geological and biological
collections from North Carolina and beyond. With
the opening of the Nature Research Center wing in
2012, we added four glass-walled research labs visible to our visitors to highlight museum research
and allow scientists and the public to work together
to solve scientific problems (naturalsciences.org/
nature-research-center).
Researchers in the labs are dedicated to providing
public science opportunities to our visitors and periodically open the labs to collect samples for the Meet
Your (Face) Mites! or the Primate Armpit Microbiome
projects, or to share the biodiversity discovered
through the Arthropods in Your Home project
(naturalsciences.org/research-collections/citizenscience/current-projects). The researchers routinely
Citizen science is integrated throughout NCMNS’s
exhibits. We have one of the first dedicated citizen
science exhibitions, the Citizen Science Center,
where we invite visitors to learn about citizen science and explain how to get involved. Citizen
Science Center visitors participate in projects
through computer stations, cart programs, and
hands-on workshops. For example, visitors might
classify whale calls, identify ladybugs, or go outside
to document the biodiversity around the museum
for our new Natural North Carolina project (www.
iNaturalist.org/projects/natural-north-carolina).
Visitors can browse hundreds of citizen science
opportunities worldwide through our SciStarter
kiosk, an exhibit-friendly version of the SciStarter
website (SciStarter.com). SciStarter developed this
kiosk for NCMNS and is now making it available
to others.
NCMNS also houses public educational
Investigate Labs that offer opportunities for visitors
to get hands-on experience with scientific tools and
techniques and to participate in citizen science projects. For example, our Visualization Investigate Lab
currently features eMammal, a mammal-tracking
project using camera traps. Visitors identify animals from camera trap footage collected at our outdoor Prairie Ridge Ecostation facility, and NCMNS
researchers then analyze the results. To be sure
they’re doing quality work, a trained technician later
double-checks the identifications.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Our educational programs bring citizen science opportunities to students throughout North
Carolina. For example, the Shad in the Classroom
program engages students in ongoing conservation
efforts by having them rear fish in their classrooms
37
FIVE TIPS FOR BUILDING AN
INSTITUTION-WIDE CITIZEN SCIENCE
PROGRAM
There are many ways to integrate citizen
science into your institution, from quick
and simple to more involved and complex.
For those interested in developing, building, and maintaining a strong institutionwide citizen science program, we offer
these suggestions:
1. Make citizen science an institutional priority. You might even write
it into your mission statement to keep
everyone engaged.
2. Designate a citizen science contact
for your facility. Integrating citizen
science throughout a museum or
science center requires cross-departmental communication. Having staff
to bridge the gaps between departments will help you achieve your goals.
3. Provide a dedicated space within
your facility where visitors can
learn about and participate in
citizen science. Consider offering a
cart program if space is limited.
4. Play to your strengths. If you have
researchers, encourage them to
develop citizen science projects based
on their research. If not, hundreds of
citizen science projects are available
for your educators or exhibits staff to
use. For ideas, we recommend browsing the existing citizen science projects
at SciStarter.com.
5. Collaborate with other organizations. Collaborations allow multiple facilities to bring together their
individual strengths. Talk to other
museums and science centers or
local universities when you need help.
Consider joining ASTC’s new Citizen
Science Community of Practice to
help get some of those conversations
started (community.astc.org).
—C.L.G., J.M.U., and J.E.H.
38
May • June 2014
Dimensions
and release them into local rivers, while teaching them about
conservation, ecology, and watersheds. The students collect
basic data on the fish, such as survival rates, and the program
will soon expand to include a genetic analysis component.
Visitors to our Prairie Ridge Ecostation participate in handson, nature-focused citizen science projects while enjoying a
beautiful natural setting in the heart of an urban environment.
For example, visitors can count and identify birds for the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society’s eBird program (ebird.org) or collect and identify water scorpions in the
pond for our Wading for Water Sticks project.
Thanks to a $7 million (U.S.) National Science Foundation
Math and Science Partnership grant (DRL-1319293) awarded in
collaboration with North Carolina State University’s Your Wild
Life program, we are improving our integration of scientific
research and educational programming. The Students Discover
project funds postdoctorates conducting original cutting-edge
research in the museum’s labs and partners them with middle
school teachers participating in the Kenan Fellows program,
which provides research experience and professional development for K–12 teachers in North Carolina (kenanfellows.org).
Together, researchers and teachers will develop curriculum for
new citizen science projects where middle school students will
form hypotheses and collect data. These data will then be used
by the researchers to support their research efforts.
Once these programs have been piloted in North Carolina
schools, we will offer them free of charge to schools worldwide
through the Your Wild Life website (yourwildlife.org). The first
modules are expected to be available later this year, and more
projects will be added as they’re developed.
Integrating strong research into a variety of educational
opportunities throughout NCMNS has allowed us to bring
real science to our visitors on site and online. Citizen science
is a powerful tool that gives visitors an opportunity to learn
by doing while supporting ongoing research efforts worldwide.
We encourage everyone to take advantage of the benefits of
citizen science. n
Christine L. Goforth ([email protected]) is
senior manager of citizen science, Julie M. Urban is assistant
director of the Microbiology and Genomics Lab, and Julie E.
Horvath is director of the Microbiology and Genomics Lab, all
at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.
The museum will be hosting the 2014 ASTC Annual Conference
in October (conference.astc.org).
SELECT RESOURCES TO SUPPORT AND INSPIRE CITIZEN SCIENCE
Compiled by Christine L. Goforth and Jennifer Shirk
Bringing citizen science to your institution is easy! The following resources will help you find or create projects, use them in
educational programs, and provide justification for grants, regardless of your prior level of experience with citizen science.
WEBSITES
• The Incidental Steward:
Public-Participation-in-ScientificResearch), a 2009 Center for
Reflections on Citizen Science (A.
tors, scientists, and others supporting
Advancement of Informal Science
Busch; Yale University Press (2013))
citizen science at any stage, from just
Education (CAISE) Inquiry Group
touches on the motivations and
getting started to evaluating project
Report, surveys different participa-
thought processes of highly engaged
outcomes. ASTC has supported many
tion models and their likely learning
outcomes. B
citizen scientists. B
• CitizenScience.org serves educa-
resources on this site. B
P
T N
• Citizen Science: Public
• SciStarter (SciStarter.com) matches
• The Ecological Society of America
Participation in Environmental
people with projects that suit their
devoted an entire issue of Frontiers
Research (J.L. Dickinson and R.
interests, and is a resource for both
in Ecology and the Environment to
Bonney, eds.; Comstock Publishing
finding projects and recruiting partici-
citizen science in 2012 (www.esajournals.org/toc/fron/10/6). B
Associates (2012)) provides
pants. A kiosk version is available.
P
T
research. B
ukeof.org.uk/documents/guide-tocitizen-science), written by scientists
new project, creating custom data
sheets, managing data submissions
and results, and connecting with
other practitioners. T N
• iNaturalist (iNaturalist.org) invites
• Citizen Science Guide for
and educators at London’s Natural
Families: Taking Part in Real
History Museum and the Natural
Science (G. Landgraf; Huron Street
Environment Research Council’s
Press (2013)) is a compilation
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in
of family-friendly citizen science
2012, covers developing, implement-
projects that features information
citizen scientists to submit sightings
ing, and evaluating citizen science for
about the thought that goes into
of plants, animals, and fungi. Users
biodiversity studies. B
project design and questions driving
may also create their own projects.
T N
• Informal Commons (Informal
• Citizen Science Association
Bring Biology to Life, 6–12 (N.
education professionals aggregated
from multiple websites. It includes
Trautmann et al., eds.; NSTA Press
(CitizenScienceAssociation.org)
(2013)) offers flexible classroom
is a new organization that aims to
activities for indoors or outdoors,
support a global, multidisciplinary
designed to make data collection and
community of practice. N
analysis easy. L
• ASTC’s Citizen Science
Community of Practice is just
• Citizen Scientists: Be Part of
REPORTS, JOURNALS, AND GUIDES
P
NETWORKS
• Citizen Science: 15 Lessons that
of resources for informal science
numerous resources related to citizen
science. P T
projects. B
BOOKS
Science.org) is a growing collection
Scientific Discovery from Your
getting started, but early activities
Own Backyard (L.G. Burns; Henry
include sessions at the 2014 ASTC
Scientific Research: Defining
Holt and Company (2012)) covers
Annual Conference in Raleigh, North
the Field and Assessing Its
four seasons of citizen science, with
Carolina, in October, as well as online
Potential for Informal Science
kid-friendly outdoor activities. B
discussion groups. Visit www.astc.
• Public Participation in
B
and the role it increasingly plays in
• Guide to Citizen Science (www.
• CitSci.org offers help setting up a
important context for citizen science
L
Education (InformalScience.org/
org/about/pdf/HLhowto.pdf to learn
research/ic-000-000-001-937/
how to join. N
Background information
P
Project finder
L
Lesson plans
T
Tool or tools to support projects
N
Networking and connecting
Christine L. Goforth ([email protected]) is senior manager of citizen science at the North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, Raleigh. Jennifer Shirk ([email protected]) is content manager for CitizenScience.org and is based at the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
39
Above: Two teachers sample a pond for aquatic invertebrates at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s Nature Gardens during an Educator
Open House. Photo by Mario de Lopez. Bottom right: Oakland High School students use global positioning system (GPS) units and Chabot’s portable CO2
sensors to collect data around their campus. Photo by Katie Noonan.
Powered by the People:
A Citizen Science Sampler
Many people think that cities are devoid of nature,
but scientists at the Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County (NHM) think otherwise. “We are
just as likely to find a new species of insect in Los
Angeles as in the forests of Costa Rica and Brazil—
that is, 100%,” said Brian Brown, NHM entomology
curator. In fact, Los Angeles is located in a biodiversity hotspot, one of 34 scientifically recognized
places on Earth that are home to an incredibly high
level of biodiversity and that suffer high threat from
human actions.
But how do you study biodiversity in a vast
metropolis? “Citizen science is the only feasible
answer,” said Greg Pauly, NHM herpetology curator
and project leader for Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California (RASCals). The public has the
time, capacity, and access to private lands (such as
backyards and schoolyards) that scientists do not.
The fact that scientists have a real need for help is a
key motivator for participants.
40
May • June 2014
Dimensions
But not all urban residents feel comfortable in
nature, let alone equipped to collect data on lizards,
bees, or dare we mention snakes. In an effort to facilitate positive first experiences in nature, NHM educators designed introductory programs that allow
time for wonder and discovery.
NHM educators have found that program participants gain an understanding of biodiversity and
its importance, as well as an increased belief in their
ability to understand and do science. And as Brown
explained, “By understanding urban biodiversity in
Los Angeles . . . we can plan for a city that maximizes
the diversity of life around us, and hopefully this will
influence urban planning around the world.”
Citizen science programming at NHM is supported in part by Time Warner Cable (www.nhm.org/
nature/citizen-science).
Lila Higgins, manager of citizen science and live animals,
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los
Angeles
Left: The public learned about algae and biofuels at Algae Palooza events
held twice annually at the Saint Louis Science Center’s Life Science Lab.
While there, they also picked up algae collection kits. Photo courtesy the
Saint Louis Science Center
sequencing. Participants kept track of their samples
through backyardbiofuels.org. From the samples
submitted, 10 species were identified as good oil
producers and are currently being used in intensive
biofuels research.
Backyard Biofuels not only educated the public
about algae, biofuels, and renewable energy, but
also enabled them to make significant scientific
contributions.
Cindy H. Encarnación, director of life sciences, Saint
Louis Science Center, Missouri
Backyard Biofuels—a collaboration between
the Saint Louis Science Center and the Donald
Danforth Plant Science Center research facility—
enabled the general public to participate in biofuels research by contributing algae samples found
in homes, backyards, and communities. The project
was funded by the (U.S) Department of Energy and
National Science Foundation (IOS-0701919).
In 2010 and 2011, staff distributed more than
2,000 kits containing materials and instructions for
collecting algae, along with data sheets for recording collection site information. Over 400 algae
samples were collected throughout the St. Louis
metropolitan area; a few came from as far as New
Hampshire and Alaska.
Science center staff cultured the algae samples and sent the ones that grew successfully to
the Danforth Center for lipid analysis and DNA
By seeking to identify sources of pollution at
the neighborhood scale rather than citywide, the
Berkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network
(BeACON, beacon.berkeley.edu) hopes to inspire
community members to act to reduce their CO2
emissions. The U.S. National Science Foundation–
funded project (GEO-1035050) is coordinated by
Chabot Space & Science Center and Professor
Ronald C. Cohen’s atmospheric research laboratory
at the University of California, Berkeley.
Scientists have installed “sensors in a box,”
or nodes, in more than 20 locations around the
San Francisco Bay area—many of them on school
buildings. Students and teachers design their own
experiments, using data from their own sites and
other locations, as well as data they collect with
handheld weather meters, CO2 sensors, and global
positioning system (GPS) units they borrow from
Chabot. In addition, Chabot hosts teacher professional development workshops and forums.
Chabot also connects students and teachers
with project scientists, who work alongside them in
near-real time to collect and interpret data. The program gives scientists valuable experience communicating research to the public, a skill commonly
overlooked in academia. The program culminates
with scientists’ visits to participating schools and a
student field trip to university laboratories.
Virginia Teige, Ph.D. candidate, and Ronald C. Cohen,
professor, University of California, Berkeley; Carlin
Hsueh, science instructor, and Etta Heber, director of
education, Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland,
California
41
Held each August, National Science Week is
Australia’s largest festival with 1.5 million people
attending over 1,800 events (www.scienceweek.net.au).
An important component of the week each
year is a national online citizen science project
coordinated by the science unit at the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation.
Last year the project was Explore the Seafloor
(www.exploretheseafloor.net.au), where members
of the public were asked to identify kelp or sea
urchins in images taken by autonomous underwater vehicles. More than 300,000 images from
around Australia’s coastline were processed by
9,300 people. This work is usually done by research
assistants and is both laborious and expensive. The
images are used by researchers to determine the
health and migration of kelp beds and also to monitor urchin population explosions.
The projects are rewarding for the participants,
too. One participant described the experience as “a
great way to give people ownership over their environment and contribute positively.”
Geoff Crane, manager of National Science Week,
Questacon, Australia’s National Science and Technology
Centre, Canberra
The New England Ocean Science Education
Collaborative (NEOSEC) recently completed
a (U.S.) National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration–supported citizen science project
that established a new regional network of summer
camp programs for ages 11 to 14, where campers collect biodiversity census data along the rocky intertidal zone. Key components of the project included
• Establishing a community of practice. The
three-year initiative started with a planning
workshop attended by personnel from the New
England Aquarium, leads at partnering science
center camps at 12 coastal sites from Connecticut
to Maine, and a representative from the Census of
Marine Life (COML).
•Contributing to the Ocean Biogeographic
Information System (OBIS). Data from at least
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May • June 2014
Dimensions
one field day per year, per camp were provided to
OBIS as part of a 10-year study to measure biodiversity in the ocean. A COML researcher worked
with camp leaders to ensure campers followed
proper data collection protocol.
•Increasing ocean literacy among campers.
External evaluation found that participants’ ocean
literacy improved and that they felt empowered
and proud of contributing to a real science project.
• Supporting peer-to-peer exchange of information. Campers participated in a Fall Teen Ocean
Summit, which they helped to design and which
included an experience similar to a scientific
poster session.
Heather Deschenes, manager of youth development
programs, New England Aquarium, Boston
Launched in 2007, Wellington Zoo’s Bush
Builders program is reconnecting urban children
to local wildlife and enabling them to participate
in active conservation, interact with scientists
through weekly hands-on workshops, and become
stewards of their environment. The Community
Trust of Wellington provided start-up funding for
the first year.
At the beginning of the program, students conduct baseline surveys of plants and animals in their
local habitat, and zoo staff assess their knowledge
and attitudes about the local environment. Later, in
partnership with Wellington City Council, students
conduct habitat restoration and planting around
their schools to increase native flora and fauna. At
the conclusion of the program, students monitor the
change in nature around their school, and their attitudes and beliefs are reassessed.
In the inaugural year, data was collected from
over 800 children, and results indicated student
awareness and appreciation of local flora and fauna
had increased dramatically.
Edith MacDonald, Sarah Satterthwaite, and Maureen
Gillies, formerly of the Wellington Zoo, now practice leader
of visitor learning/audience advocacy, science advisor,
and manager of audience engagement, respectively, at the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington
The Epicollect app project RoadkillGarneau
(sites.google.com/site/daniellegarneau/home/
smartphone-apps-for-wildlife-observations) enables
users to log roadkill using their smartphones and
tablets, to assess regional movement patterns of
wildlife. Users upload photos of roadkill along with
data such as location, time of day, species, and the
road’s speed limit. This information can be shared
with wildlife conservation professionals and state
transportation workers. The latter can implement
changes—including establishing fencing, increasing wildlife crossing signage, or reducing speed
limits—to save lives of both humans and wildlife.
So far, the roadkill project has logged at least 520
individuals from 53 unique species in 19 U.S. states.
Raccoon, striped skunk, and gray squirrel top the list
of roadkill animals overall, as well as in northeastern
U.S. regional data. Armadillo was the most commonly logged roadkill in Florida, while in Michigan, deer
was logged most often. Researchers in Austria have
translated the app into German and have used it with
over 300 students in an international collaboration.
Danielle Garneau, associate professor of environmental
science, Center for Earth and Environmental Science,
State University of New York at Plattsburgh
The University of Colorado Museum of Natural
History’s Notes from Nature and the Bees’ Needs
projects highlight the ability of even small museums to use volunteers to implement very different
kinds of citizen science research.
Notes from Nature (notesfromnature.org) engages more than 5,000 volunteers in digitizing biological
collections in natural history museums worldwide.
The project does not explicitly address any single
research question, but it introduces volunteers to
museum collections’ variety, complexity, and relevance in an era of accelerating biodiversity loss.
The Bees’ Needs (beesneeds.colorado.edu) is a
field-based research project in the Northern Front
Range of Colorado. It relies on about 500 volunteers and is focused on answering an explicit
research question: How do landscape attributes
and land management practices influence native
solitary bee and wasp diversity and abundance?
Volunteers collect data on native bee nesting sites
and share findings with each other online and at inperson events.
Alexandra Rose, program manager for citizen science,
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Boulder
The California Academy of Sciences strongly
believes that by actively engaging people of all
ages in citizen science, it is possible to simultaneously conduct critical biodiversity research, inform
management and conservation policy, connect
people to nature, and build a community of scientifically literate stewards (www.calacademy.org/
science/citizen_science).
In one of the Academy’s projects, volunteers
undertake focused surveys in different California
locations to build a comprehensive biodiversity
baseline. This baseline allows researchers to monitor
change in the future and can be compared with the
Academy’s historic collections.
In addition, the Academy is partnering with iNaturalist to encourage people worldwide to use their
smartphones to document organisms around them
and participate in “bioblitzes” of local parks.
The Academy’s Careers in Science Intern program, which targets middle and high school youth
traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, has
been contributing to the National Marine Sanctuaries
Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential
Training for Students (LiMPETS, limpetsmonitoring.
org) since 1996. LiMPETS surveys 33 species in the
rocky intertidal zone and focuses on the Pacific sand
crab in the sandy beach intertidal zone. The LiMPETS
data, all collected by youth, have influenced coastal
monitoring policies in California. The Academy’s
high school interns are the longest consistent contributors to the project and have developed research
questions to analyze using the LiMPETS dataset.
Rebecca Johnson, citizen science research coordinator,
Katie Levedahl, assistant director of youth programs,
and Alison Young, citizen science educator, California
Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
For an extended version of this article, visit
www.astc.org/blog/category/astc-dimensions.
43
Testing the Waters: Students in
India Monitor Arsenic Levels
By Niranjan Gupta, Nikhiles Biswas, Naba Kumar Mondal, G.S. Rautela, Emdadul Islam, and Marilyn Hoyt
In Babur Bagh, a rural community in West Bengal, India, many people use local
ponds for bathing, cooking, and washing utensils. However, arsenic and pathogens such as E. coli are both prevalent in these water sources. Boiling can reduce
the danger of pathogens, but arsenic remains an issue. Arsenic, undetectable by
human senses, poisons the body’s organs and ultimately may cause death.
Since 2009, Bardhaman Science Centre in
Babur Bagh has reshaped its high school
programs to serve the community’s environmental concerns, including water
pollution. These programs have been
developed with coaching from the Birla
Industrial and Technological Museum in
Kolkata, which is one of the larger centers
in India’s National Council of Science
Museums network (ncsm.gov.in).
WATER QUALITY TESTING
The science center offers a week-long
workshop on water quality testing methods and practices to contribute to local
monitoring and introduce high school
students to environmental sciences. The
workshop is offered twice a year, during
the dry and wet seasons, and 50 students
from 10 local schools participate in each
workshop. Students ages 12 to 16 work
in groups of 10, with one student acting
as the group leader and a science center
staff member overseeing their work.
The students use sterilized bottles to
44
May • June 2014
Dimensions
collect water samples from local ponds
and municipal supplies. They then test
the samples for physicochemical properties, like pH, hardness, and dissolved
oxygen, and for contaminants, particularly arsenic and fluorides. Both science
center staff and professors from the
Department of Environmental Science at
the University of Burdwan teach the students and provide laboratory and technical support for the tests.
Test results have shown that some
samples from local ponds contain arsenic
beyond the Bureau of Indian Standards’
permissible limit of 0.05 milligrams per
liter. Students have also discovered that
municipal tap water contains safe levels
of arsenic and fluorides. The students’
findings are shared with municipal
authorities and the University of Burdwan
for further study and remedial measures.
As part of the workshop, students
learn about the effects of arsenic on
people and animals and about remedial
measures that can be done when high
levels are found in the water.
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM
Science center staff designed the high
school programs to engage both youth
and local communities. The student
participants gain an understanding of
the public health issue posed by arsenic
contamination. They also acquire practical skills for scientific investigation,
learn how science can make a difference
in society, and develop an active interest
in science.
A formal evaluation has not been conducted, but during postprogram discussions, students have expressed positive
feelings about the workshop. Echoing the
comments of other students, 10th grader
Rohan Ghosh said, “I now understand
how important it is to monitor arsenic
levels in our water and also how to do it.
I want to pursue a career in science to do
more of such things in the future.”
The science center reports the findings publicly through its bus-mounted
mobile outreach programs and by including the students’ projects in its annual
science fair, which is visited by people
from the local communities.
The water testing program, as well as
others such as a sound pollution program
Above: Bardhaman Science Centre in Babur Bagh, West
Bengal, India. Right: A busy side road leading to Babur
Bagh. Photos courtesy Bardhaman Science Centre
and a workshop on health and hygiene
for adolescent girls, builds relationships
with the district civil administration and
Bardhaman municipality, which also
fund the programs. In addition to delivering critical local research, these programs
attract more government attention to the
science center and to improving civic
amenities in Babur Bagh. For example,
the head of Bardhaman’s civil administration also chairs the science center’s local
advisory committee.
KEY PROGRAM ELEMENTS
Science centers can play catalytic roles
in community research on local issues.
However, the success of these programs
depends on how well they reflect the community’s real concerns and on the science
center’s networking ability with other
stakeholders, namely local governments,
schools, universities, research institutions,
and the community. Besides funding,
access to appropriate laboratory facilities
and expertise is pivotally important for
both sample testing and data validation.
As the science center field worldwide looks more intently at how to build
two-way streets with the citizens it
serves and with the government agencies whose policies can change citizens’
living environments, India’s National
Council of Science Museums offers a
viable model to address local problems
by initiating formal, high-value research
in science center programs. n
Niranjan Gupta ([email protected]) is project coordinator, and Nikhiles Biswas ([email protected]) is
education officer, both at Bardhaman Science Centre, Babur Bagh, West Bengal, India. Naba Kumar Mondal is associate professor at the Department of Environmental Science, University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India. G.S. Rautela is director general of
the National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata, India. Emdadul Islam is director of the Birla Industrial and Technological
Museum, Kolkata, India. Marilyn Hoyt was formerly CEO at the New York Hall of Science, Queens.
45
Teen Scientists:
Youth Doing Rigorous,
Authentic Research at
Museums
By Preeti Gupta and Oscar Pineda
“I enjoyed every minute of [my museum science experience], and it definitely
opened my eyes to another career choice. Now, when I’m in science class and
my professor talks about his research and his methods . . . I can easily relate, and
sometimes it makes understanding his lesson easier.”
—Science Research Mentoring Program youth alumna
The Science Research Mentoring
Program (SRMP) at the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH),
New York City, addresses the pressing need for innovative out-of-school
approaches to science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) education and preparedness. SRMP provides
high school youth ages 16–18 with the
opportunity to undertake one year of scientific research under the mentorship of
committed, motivated AMNH scientists
(www.amnh.org/learn-teach/grades-9-12/
science-research-mentoring-program).
The mentorship places students in a
research lab or group and trains them to
solve problems just like a working scientist addressing current issues. Immersed
in the life of a lab, youth learn about the
practice and culture of science through
interactions with lab and academic
personnel (e.g., curators, postdoctoral
fellows, graduate and undergraduate
students, lab managers, and interns).
They become familiar with the structure
and dynamics of a research group, the
responsibilities of group members, and
the day-to-day activities of a functional
team. While youth gain technical proficiencies and skills, the mentored experience also builds their confidence as science learners and doers and gives them
valuable insight into STEM careers.
PROGRAM DESIGN
Initially funded by the (U.S.) National
Science Foundation (ITEST DRL0833537), the program is grounded in the
literature and best practices of supporting youth through a mentored research
experience. The program was piloted and
implemented over several years, beginning in 2009, and was informed by both
internal and external evaluations. In the
final SRMP design, students get a comprehensive experience of the multicultural and complex nature of science by
• receiving a minimum of 140 hours of
preparatory coursework in science
content, methodologies, and lab skills
that meet or exceed national science
standards for high school science
achievement
• being immersed in an authentic science research project and mentored
in a two-to-one relationship with the
project scientist for approximately 100
contact hours
• having access to science learning
environments and resources, such as
a research library, scientific databases
and software, lab equipment, museum
Two youth study comparative skull morphology of prehistoric animals using 3D modeling software. Photo courtesy the American Museum of Natural History
collections, fieldwork experiences, and
object-based teaching and learning
• analyzing, summarizing, and presenting their results through a written
report in the style of a scientific journal
article, and a poster and presentation
in the style of scientific conference
communications
• attending activities such as seminars
and advisory sessions.
In addition, the SRMP scientists receive
preparatory resources and training for
teaching and mentoring youth.
A hallmark of SRMP—setting it apart
from less-intensive mentoring programs—
is its emphasis on preparatory courses for
the youth and training for the mentors. The
preparatory work consists of three afterschool courses and a three-week summer
institute that provide a solid foundation
on the science content, methods, equipment, and lab skills necessary to work
in a research lab. Courses are co-taught
by scientists and educators. The mentor
training focuses on key concepts of adolescent psychology, multiple intelligences
pedagogy (see howardgardner.com/
multiple-intelligences),
and
child
protection. This training is key, as it helps
mentors understand youth development
as a continuum.
At the start of the school year, scientists are assigned two to three youth, and
they meet at least four hours per week to
work together on the research project.
Topics include astrophysics, earth and
planetary sciences, paleontology, biodiversity, comparative genomics, and more.
Youth don’t do independent projects, but
rather latch onto the mentor scientist’s
research agenda. Monthly, SRMP staff
lead group advisory sessions with youth
to build cohort and team relationships,
47
The Science Research Mentoring
Program (SRMP) has affected the
museum in two ways. First, the youth
are contributing directly to the research
underway. Second, designing and
implementing SRMP has deepened and
strengthened relationships between the
museum’s science and education faculty.
neighborhood
schools
where
teachers and youth
may not know
about the program. Recruitment
includes visiting
schools throughA Science Research Mentoring Program participant closely examines quartz crystals to study out the year, beginthe geological principles of cleavage and fracture. Photo courtesy the American Museum of ning with those in
Natural History
low-income neighconduct college- and career-preparation borhoods; meeting and talking with stuactivities, and support youth as they write dents; and presenting to school leaders.
their scientific paper and poster.
Where possible, AMNH develops strong
relationships with science teachers,
A GLIMPSE OF SRMP YOUTH
because they share the program inforAMNH recruits high-potential young peo- mation in an ongoing way. Recruitment
ple from across New York City, focusing on collateral includes brochures, videos, and
students from groups underrepresented in website information about the program
STEM fields and who may lack the resourc- and current SRMP students’ work.
es and opportunities to access lab-centered,
out-of-school activities. SRMP has 55–60 LONG-TERM IMPACTS ON THE YOUTH
youth participants per year (70% female SRMP outcomes to date are highly
and 30% male). Averaged over 2010–13, the promising. To begin tracking student
participants’ ethnicity has been 2% Middle outcomes in college and better underEastern, 7% African-American/Black, 9% stand the program’s long-term impacts,
multiracial, 10% Hispanic/Latino, 25% the nonprofit Education Development
Asian/Pacific Islander, and 34% Caucasian/ Center (EDC) surveyed SRMP alumni in
White; 13% declined to respond.
school year 2011–12. EDC also surveyed a
AMNH continues to diversify control group of students who participatits recruitment efforts to include ed in less-intensive AMNH programs.1
Results showed that SRMP alumni
include a significantly higher proportion
of STEM majors in college, appear to be
declaring their majors earlier, and have
higher grades in math and science.
Program alumni now in college
reported that the program had influenced
them to take more advanced science
courses, even in their first and second
years, and to attend extracurricular science activities. They also indicated that
the program had improved their formal
writing and laboratory skills. SRMP students cited the mentoring experience as
the aspect of the program that helped
their academic success in science.
IMPACTS ON THE SCIENTISTS AND
THE MUSEUM
AMNH’s mentors, all active, young
career scientists, are handpicked and
trained to serve as trusted advisors
who will commit to having an enduring
impact on their mentees’ development.
By forming a working relationship with
youth, the scientists learn about pedagogy, youth culture, and student motivation,
strengths, and limitations, as well as the
students’ diverse perspectives and backgrounds. The program offers scientists a
unique opportunity to hone teaching and
1. The non-SRMP students had similar distributions of gender and type of high school attended (public or private). They were voluntary participants in an AMNH youth
afterschool program, so we assumed they had a similar baseline of interest in science. Non-SRMP students tended to be one to two years older than SRMP students.
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Dimensions
supervisory skills—skills that become
increasingly important to their careers.
SRMP has affected the museum in two
ways. First, the youth are contributing
directly to the research underway. Many
of the youth become co-authors on published papers, as well as on abstracts, presentations, and posters submitted to professional conferences. Second, designing
and implementing SRMP has deepened
and strengthened relationships between
AMNH’s science and education faculty.
SCALING UP
Individual programs, no matter how successful and promising, cannot in isolation solve the STEM pipeline shortage. It
is, therefore, critical to grow the number
of institutions supporting successful outof-school STEM programs and increase
their capacity to serve more youth.
In 2013, with support from the
Pinkerton Foundation, AMNH launched
the NYC Science Research Mentoring
Consortium (www.studentresearchnyc.
org) aimed at supporting institutions
around New York City to use the guiding principles of SRMP to start or revise
their own programs. As of January
2014, partners include City University
of New York’s (CUNY) College Now
program at five campuses; the Urban
Barcode Project at Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center;
Wave Hill, a public garden and cultural
center; Polytechnic Institute of New York
University; Columbia University Mind
Brain Behavior Initiative—Neuroscience
Outreach; and Rockefeller University.
All partners received either seed or
scale-up funding to replicate the SRMP
design within their own contexts. The
consortium’s role is to conduct crossinstitutional recruitment and marketing,
provide information about opportunities
and pathways for all programs, develop
new training and materials for consortium mentors, provide college- and
career-readiness support and networking opportunities for mentees and program graduates, and explore a reliable,
nonintrusive method for tracking lowincome students.
Partners find value in the consortium,
because it allows them to share ideas and
challenges, and co-construct and implement solutions. The consortium has
developed citywide awareness of each
program and the available opportunities
for students. In 2013–14, the consortium
partners collectively provided mentored
research opportunities for 152 youth in
grades 10–12 from 68 different schools,
while engaging 77 scientists as mentors
and covering 20 science topics.2
STARTING YOUR OWN
PROGRAM
1. Develop a shared understanding
with and buy-in from the scientists, because they are critical
players in a program’s success.
2. Design the preparatory coursework with a keen understanding
of what the students may lack
in terms of skills and knowledge
necessary for success in a lab
setting. Since the coursework is
done during out-of-school time,
it needs to feel different from
traditional science learning at
school. It should take advantage
of museum resources, access
to behind-the-scenes spaces,
innovative technologies, and
case studies of science research
projects to teach key ideas.
3. Provide stipends for students.
In AMNH’s case, the target audience participates in research
NEXT STEPS
It is critical to develop a rigorous research
agenda around this work. One area of
interest relates to short- and long-term
impacts on youth. Other areas to address
are scale-up and understanding and
documenting how the principles play out
in various contexts. The studies on science research mentoring programs will
contribute to our understanding of how
to better attract youth to and support
them in STEM education and will inform
the overall informal science education
research agenda. n
instead of getting a part-time
job.
4. Provide incentives for the scientists (e.g., pay, lab materials, etc.)
5. Allow at least a half-day of
professional development for
the scientists.
6. Allow time to help students with
scientific writing.
—P.G. and O.P.
2. The 2013–14 year did not include four of the five CUNY campuses and Rockefeller University, since they
joined the consortium in January 2014.
Preeti Gupta ([email protected]) is director of youth learning and research, and Oscar Pineda ([email protected]) is manager of the Science Research Mentoring Program, both at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.
49
Native Science Fellows:
Supporting Native American
Students in Geoscience
Research
By Helen Augare, Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Shelly Valdez, and Melissa Weatherwax
“I don’t want to be another number; I want to get out and do something.” –2013 Native Science Fellow
Hopa Mountain and the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center’s Native Science Fellows program enables Native American students attending high schools, tribal colleges, and universities
throughout Montana to complete fellowships with community-based science organizations (www.
hopamountain.org/NativeScienceFellows.php). Funded by the (U.S.) National Science Foundation
(GEO-1107554), these paid field work and professional experiences are proven to build skills and
pathways to academics and careers in the geosciences. Over the past five years, the program has
increased the number of Native American students (ages 15–35) engaged in community-based
geoscience education and careers, provided role models and work experience for Fellows, and created a network of Native students interested in pursuing science careers along with science professionals who are committed to their success.
PURSUING RESEARCH
The program was initially launched as a way to
continue supporting high school students that
had been involved in the Blackfeet Native Science
Field Center as high school students. (See page 34
to learn more.) Today, the Fellows program is open
to all Native students majoring in the geosciences
throughout Montana. Every year, 20 Fellows are chosen to participate.
The Native Science Fellows have the freedom
to select the science organizations and researchers
that they would like to work with, with help from
program organizers. Partnering organizations have
included the Wilderness Society, National Wildlife
50
May • June 2014
Dimensions
Federation, and Blackfeet Fish and Game.
The undergraduate Fellows, in particular, have
appreciated the informal work environments of local
science-based nonprofits, especially where mentors
encourage them to pursue their own research ideas.
These young Native scientists sometimes introduce
culturally grounded research designs to non-Native
researchers. For example, one student developed her
own study of the impact of fire on traditional plants,
using experiments of her own design in combination with traditional knowledge provided by elders
in her community. One 2014 Fellow commented,
“Incorporating TEK [traditional ecological knowledge] into my discipline allowed it to become my
own project instead of working with a mentor that
has his own agenda. Working with the NSF program
allowed me to choose my own path that was relevant
to my own cultural values.”
PROGRAM IMPACTS
Not surprisingly, the greatest impacts of the Native
Science Fellows program are the personal experiences, connections, and support provided to individual Fellows and their families. These types of
relationships are critical for Native students to feel
a sense of success and connection to a community
structure, especially when they are living away from
their homelands.
“Being away from home and family, and being
able to make it and pay bills—this has been challenging, and the program was a safety net,” a 2014
Fellow said. “You get the [emotional] and financial
support to go on. I can only imagine being away
for school and not having the support system like
NSF. It would be enough to turn students away and
[make them] give up and go home.”
Equally important are the impacts on mentors
and partnering agencies, as well as on the body of
scientific knowledge. One mentor commented, “As
we move forward with the crisis on global change, I
think the Native American view on environmental
science is going to be important to fall back on, and
I’m hoping we can find ways to bring this knowledge [to] contemporary problems. I see the Fellows
program as a vehicle to help [science].”
Even after the fellowship is completed, many
mentors continue to support the Fellows personally, academically, and professionally. More than
95% of Fellows have remained in school, progressing from undergraduate to graduate geoscience
degree programs.
“I don’t think I even knew what graduate school
An undergraduate student explains her research at the Native Science
Fellows annual gathering. Photo by Lisa Lone Fight
was until the Native Science Fellows program,” said
one 2013 Fellow. “I read one of my research papers
to my mom, and she shocked me when she told me,
‘You’re going to be the first woman in our family to
get a Ph.D.’ I hadn’t thought about that, and it was
a big leap to be in this other world and to take this
path. Once she said it, it’s locked in and I’m going
to [do it]. It will change my family in their thinking
about college.” n
Helen Augare ([email protected]) is director of the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center, Browning,
Montana. Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer ([email protected]) is executive director of Hopa
Mountain, Bozeman, Montana. Shelly Valdez is president of Native Pathways, Laguna Pueblo, New
Mexico, and evaluator for the Native Science Fellows program. Melissa Weatherwax is program coordinator of the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center.
51
There’s a New Lab in Town
By Sara Poirier
Your mom may have told you it’s impolite to spit in public, but at the Ontario
Science Centre in Toronto in 2010, thousands of kids—with their moms’ enthusiastic approval—lined up to fill tubes with gobs of saliva.
Called Spit for Science, the CAD 1.3 million (USD 1.2 million) research program led by Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children is looking for the genetic underpinnings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive compulsive
disorder—conditions affecting 3–5% of school-aged children.
Over the course of the study, researchers
collected DNA as well as behavior data
and scores on an attention test from more
than 17,000 children to create one of the
world’s largest databases of behavioral
and cognitive data for children—and a
basis for genetic studies for years to come.
Spit for Science is one of dozens of
52
May • June 2014
Dimensions
studies—from modeling how people swallow to validating new cognitive testing
tools for children with multiple sclerosis—that have been conducted through
the science center’s Research Live!
program (www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/
ResearchLive).
Some 30,000 visitors have participated
since the program began in 2004. They’re
having one-on-one conversations with scientists to see how research impacts their
day-to-day lives, while playing a genuine
role in the process of scientific discovery.
“Having our children participate directly
in an experiment has led to one of the
more animated dinner conversations in
our house this weekend,” one parent said
of Spit for Science. “I think we covered
sampling, statistics, behavior disorders,
consent to treatment, and DNA!”
In addition, the diversity of Ontario
Science Centre visitors is driving scientists to adapt and ask new kinds of questions. As one participating researcher
from Wilfrid Laurier University pointed
Clockwise from top right: A graduate student in the
Museum of Science’s Living Laboratory program works with
a child participant as his mother (right) observes (photo by
Janna Doherty/Museum of Science); visitors learn about
a study investigating people’s ability to taste fatty acids
(photo courtesy the Denver Museum of Nature & Science);
COSI hosts researchers from three colleges of the Ohio State
University in Labs in Life in its Life exhibition (photo by Robb
McCormick Photography).
out, the science center provides a broader
spectrum of potential research subjects
than the university’s introductory psychology course.
The Ontario Science Centre isn’t the
only place helping research labs go public. A growing number of institutions are
creating a future in which participating
in real scientific research—as subjects,
or more actively as citizen scientists—
becomes an anticipated part of the
science center visitor experience. The
impact on science is real and exciting.
Imagine a global network of museums
serving as a platform to conduct comparative studies across multiple populations.
By incorporating authentic research
and lab spaces into their programming,
science centers position themselves as
research hubs, connecting the public
with scientists and conveying science as
a process instead of just content.
Here’s a quick tour of research taking
place in science centers and museums:
BOSTON
In 2005, the Museum of Science, Boston,
established Living Laboratory within
its Discovery Center, an early childhood
exhibition with 300,000 visitors annually.
Participating scientists from half a
dozen local universities and hospitals
conduct studies focusing on children’s
learning and development, using museum visitors as subjects. Researchers have
reported that working in the museum
helps hone their science communication
skills, and the program has had benefits
for museum staff as well. As program
manager Becki Kipling explained, “My
staff now interacts daily with scientists
who study children’s learning. They recognize child development as a STEM
[science, technology, engineering, and
math] discipline that can inform their
work with families.”
The success of the program drew
(U.S.) National Science Foundation funding (AISL-1113648) to disseminate the
model to other institutions. Members
of the National Living Lab community
have access to program toolkits, training
resources, evaluation tools, and handson activities for educators to use with
caregivers, as well as professional development opportunities for museum and
research professionals.
Institutions interested in creating a lab
in the Living Laboratory model can register at www.livinglab.org. Participating
museums will soon be able to apply for
funding to support their collaborative
efforts through a stipend program.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
Each Saturday, at the Fort Worth Museum
of Science and History’s Research and
Learning Center (based on the Living
Laboratory model), up to three groups
of researchers run experiments with visitors (www.fwmuseum.org/research-andlearning-center). At an activity table, kids
are encouraged to form a hypothesis and
post their own questions on a board.
One study with the University of Texas
at Arlington looked at the impact of listening to music on task performance.
Visitors left with a better idea of how science works and how it applies to them.
Debbie Cockerham, managing director of the Research and Learning Center,
53
TIPS FOR STARTING A
LAB PROGRAM IN YOUR
SCIENCE CENTER
1. Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Look up different programs
online and find out the types
of studies they offer.
2.Establish an internal
review board. Include
science and educational
staff, as well as a senior staff
person to make the final call
on what gets accepted or
The author’s son participates in a study led by Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Researchers tested a new and improved
method for detecting limb swelling in children. Photo by Sara Poirier/Ontario Science Centre
rejected.
3.Context is key. Studies
should be novel, interesting,
and related to the theme of
your exhibit hall or program
area. They should be consistent with your institution’s
goals and strategies.
4.Keep it short. Studies
has been surprised by the overwhelming enthusiasm from visitors. “Museum
guests are really positive about these
opportunities to be part of scientific
research,” she said, “and the investment
they make when they participate helps to
engage them in the learning process.”
should be less than 15
COLUMBUS, OHIO
minutes in duration.
5.Make it easily accessible.
Put your lab or research area
in a visible, public area, not in
a separate closed room.
6.Discuss mutual goals with
researchers up front, and
stand behind them. Many
academics want to get into
their local museum and are
ready to offer the world.
Museums need to know that
they can ask for what they
want and need, and they
don’t have to give constantly.
7. Get started! If you overthink
it, you’ll never launch it.
—S.P.
54
May • June 2014
Dimensions
Labs in Life is a collaboration between
COSI, Columbus, Ohio, and the Ohio
State University. Researchers from Ohio
State apply for a three-year “scientist in
residence” position. The labs are located
in COSI’s Life exhibition (www.cosi.org/
exhibits/life) in three pods, which are
encased in glass so visitors can see the
research going on inside. The longerterm nature of the residency allows for
the installation of high-tech equipment.
Visitors not only participate as subjects, but also take part in workshops
in which they actively help conduct
research. In a current study with Ohio
State’s College of Pharmacy, volunteers
help study the effects of alcohol and drugs
on water fleas. The transparent nature of
the insect allows observers to see their
hearts beating through a microscope.
DENVER
At its citizen science–driven Genetics of
Taste Lab (www.dmns.org/science/museum-scientists/nicole-garneau/the-genetics-lab), the Denver Museum of Nature
& Science seeks to enroll 1,500 visitors a
year to study how human genetics affects
taste and health. The research program
is led by Nicole Garneau, the museum’s
in-house geneticist. However, data collection, gene extraction, sequence analysis, and visitor engagement are carried
out by a cadre of more than 50 volunteer
citizen scientists who have undergone
an extensive 12-week training and certification program with museum scientists
and education staff.
LONDON
The Science Museum, London, offers
museum visitors the chance to participate as subjects in biomedical studies through its Live Science program
(www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us/
new_research_folder/livescience.aspx).
Areas of studies have included epidemiology, genetic anthropology, psychology,
and linguistics. A call for proposals is
posted a year in advance. As with most
programs, projects must obtain approval
from an ethics review board. If accepted,
researchers must commit to working at
least 15–25 hours per week at the museum for up to two months.
MIAMI
Heart Smart (www.miamisci.org/www/
heartsmart.html) is a 500-square-foot
(46-square-meter) traveling exhibition from Miami’s Patricia and Phillip
Frost Museum of Science, which serves
communities
across
Miami-Dade
County. The project’s mission is twofold:
to educate the community about cardiovascular disease and to further the study
of cardiovascular health.
Visitors are invited to take simple
measurements, including blood pressure,
height, and weight, and share personal
health habits. Data, along with demographic information, is collected on an
anonymous basis, and then analyzed by
researchers from the University of Miami.
This tour of research programs in science centers and museums is by no
means complete, but I hope it illustrates
the win-win-win nature of this type of
programming for visitors, researchers,
and science centers.
While these models are all unique,
they share a common purpose: Studies
must provide compelling interactions
that encourage participation and contribute to enhancing and expanding the visitor experience. n
Sara Poirier ([email protected]) is a researcher/programmer at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto. She coordinates the
center’s Research Live! program. Debbie Cockerham of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Texas; Nicole Garneau
of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; Becki Kipling of the Museum of Science, Boston; Carmen Swain of the Ohio State
University; and Kevin von Appen of the Ontario Science Centre contributed to this article.
exhibitFiles is an online community of exhibit practitioners
building a shared collection of exhibition records and
reviews. It’s a place to connect with colleagues, find out
about exhibits, and share your own experiences.
Join the community
• Share your exhibition experiences
• Share your work through case studies
and reviews
traveling exhibitions
• Advertise your exhibitions
• Find exhibitions for your museum
• Ask about our management services
For more information, contact Wendy Hancock at [email protected] or 202.783.7200 x117
55
grants and awards
At the end of 2013, the government
of Flanders (the northern part of
Belgium) awarded a grant of €21.5 million (USD 29,536,700) to Technopolis,
the Flemish Science Centre,
Mechelen. Technopolis will use the
grant to develop a science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) center
for teachers; renew its main exhibition; perform outreach; develop new
educational materials; and operate the
science center. In March, Technopolis
hosted and organized the Science
Centre World Summit 2014, where
science center CEOs, leaders in the
science communication field, policy
makers, representatives from international organizations, and industry
leaders discussed public engagement
for a better world.
The Experimentarium, Copenhagen,
Denmark, has announced three major
donations to its expansion project:
USD 7 million from Aage og Johanne
Louis-Hansen’s Foundation, USD 1.8
million from Ole Kirk’s Foundation
(The Lego Foundation), and USD
900,000 from the Torm Foundation.
The Experimentarium also received
USD 1.7 million from the Egmont
Foundation to develop a Center for
Experiential Learning, and USD 1.68
million for the exhibition/object
theater The Heart and the Chair (in
cooperation with Science North,
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada). In addition, the Nordea Foundation donated
USD 800,000 to support the special
exhibition Winter Sport, developed by
the Experimentarium; VilVite, Bergen,
Norway; Tekniska Museet, Stockholm,
Sweden; and Heureka, Vantaa, Finland.
The exhibition opened on February 7
to coincide with the Winter Olympics
in Sochi.
The Museum of Science, Boston, was
awarded a $2.5 million grant by the
Biogen Idec Foundation at the end of
January, to be distributed over five years.
This is the largest single grant ever
awarded by the Biogen Idec Foundation.
The grant will be used to support the
Hall of Human Life exhibition.
Kidspace, Pasadena, California
received a $400,000 grant from the S.
Mark Taper Foundation in February.
The grant will fund the renovation of
Kidspace’s Early Childhood Learning
Center and the development of accompanying curricula and programming.
The Children’s Museum of New
Hampshire, Dover, was recently awarded
two grants. The Roger R. and Teresa
S. Thompson Endowment Fund has
awarded the museum a $20,000 grant to
subsidize admission costs for lowincome households. In addition, the
Hesed Foundation has granted the
museum $7,500 to support its Early
Childhood Education Initiative,
which provides free or discounted
programming for underserved schools
and families.
Congratulations to the following ASTC
members, who have been announced as
finalists for the Institute of Museum and
Library Services 2014 National Medal
for Museum and Library Service—the
United States’ highest honor awarded to
museums and libraries for service to the
community:
• Amazement Square, Lynchburg,
Virginia
• Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh
• The Children’s Museum of
Indianapolis
• The Children’s Museum at La
Habra, California
• The North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, Raleigh
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum,
Chicago.
Seven of the 10 museums chosen by
readers of USA Today and 10Best as the
Best Museums for Families are ASTC
members. Congratulations to
Indianapolis (#1)
Houston (#2)
• The New Mexico Museum of
Natural History and Science,
Albuquerque (#3)
• Discovery Center Museum,
Rockford, Illinois (#5)
• Explora, Albuquerque (#6)
• The Henry Ford, Dearborn,
Michigan (#8)
• COSI, Columbus, Ohio (#9).
Homeschool.com has named
Howtosmile.org one of the Top 100
Educational Websites for the second
year in a row. Howtosmile.org has been
a major project at the Lawrence Hall
of Science, University of California,
Berkeley, and its partner institutions
since 2008. Founding partners include
ASTC; the Children’s Museum of
Houston; the Exploratorium, San
Francisco; the New York Hall of
Science, Queens; the Science Museum
of Minnesota, St. Paul; the Lawrence
Hall of Science; and the National
Science Digital Library. Several ASTC
members are among the national partners and collaborators, including COSI,
Columbus, Ohio; the Oregon Museum
of Science and Industry, Portland; and
the California Academy of Sciences,
San Francisco.
57
Q&A
Sean Carroll
Interviewed by Joelle Seligson
Ron Howard and Natalie Portman are among the
Hollywood elite whose work has been influenced by Sean
Carroll, theoretical physicist at the California Institute of
Technology. Based in Los Angeles, Carroll counts working with television and movie bigwigs among his many
extracurricular pursuits. The Science and Entertainment
Exchange (www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org), a
program of the (U.S.) National Academy of Sciences, links
Carroll and other experts with entertainment industry
figures who are looking to add a scientific dimension to
their productions. In a recent discussion with Dimensions,
Carroll recounted favorite moments from consulting on box
office smashes, as well as the importance of adding elements of science to unexpected realms.
Can you share examples of problems you’ve helped
Hollywood solve?
My favorite is from the first Thor movie. It’s based on a
race of advanced alien beings, and they live on Asgard, a
planet very far away. How do they get from Asgard to Earth
very quickly? I said, “through a wormhole.” I was told by
Kevin Feige, the president of production at Marvel Studios,
that they can’t use the word “wormhole” because it sounds
“too ’90s.” So I said, “OK, you can call it the Einstein-Rosen
bridge,” which is what wormholes were originally called.
There’s a scene in which Natalie Portman says, “Oh my
goodness, they must’ve come over using an Einstein-Rosen
bridge!” Her intern says, “What is that?” and her mentor says,
“It’s a wormhole.”
Why do you think this type of consulting is important?
It is a high-impact way of getting science into the popular
imagination. Natalie Portman’s character in Thor is maybe
not the most realistic scientist, but she is a strong woman
playing a physicist. Natalie Portman has said in interviews,
“Who knows when some 12-year-old girl is going to see that
movie and say, ‘Hey, she’s a physicist. I could do that’?”
What’s the best way to balance scientific fact with the
needs of filmmakers?
Almost every filmmaker would like to get it right if all else
were equal, but not all else is equal. If you stuck to the laws of
physics, you wouldn’t be making a movie like The Avengers,
which made a billion dollars. From the scientist’s point of
view, it’s important to not think of yourself as a copy editor,
going around saying, “No, you can’t do that.” Say, “I see what
you’re trying to do. Why don’t you try to do it this way?”
What are other important forms of public engagement
when it comes to science?
I think that having scientists who are friendly and accessible
is very important. It’s also important to have nonscientists
who are enthusiastic about their love for science. A couple
weeks ago I had dinner with GZA, one of the rappers from the
Wu-Tang Clan. He turns out to have an absolute fascination for
particle physics and cosmology, and his next album’s going to
be themed on dark matter. I have enormous respect for people
who are reaching out to different communities and trying to
make science have a place at the table.
For a podcast and full transcript of this interview, visit www.astc.org/blog/category/astc-dimensions/q-and-a.
58
May • June 2014
Dimensions
ASTC MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
(ALL THE COOL COMPANIES ARE DOING IT!)
What are your marketing goals? Who do you want to
interact with? What kind of exposure do you want and
when do you want it? What best suits your needs in
order to maximize your marketing budget?
Here’s a sampling of ways you can join ASTC this year:
For the Widest
Overall Exposure:
Lanyards Badge Holders
● Conference Bags
● Exhibit at the Annual Conference
● Advertise:
●● Dimensions: Year-round exposure in ASTC’s awardwinning bimonthly magazine
●● INFORMER: Year-round exposure in ASTC’s biweekly
email newsletter
●● Annual Conference Advertising: Preliminary Program
(June) and Final Program (October)
●
●
For a Targeted
Impact:
Big Screen Day
● Registration Counter
● Planetarium Demo
●
For a High Profile
with a Specific Group:
W:
conference.astc.org
P:
Opening and General Sessions
● Leadership Reception
● CEO Luncheon
● Governing Members Reception
● Development Luncheon
● Networking Receptions
●
202.783.7200
E:
[email protected]
818 Connecticut Avenue NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Address Service Requested
Take your institution
or company to
new heights...
Set your course for ASTC 2014!
Join ASTC and our host
institution, the North Carolina
Museum of Natural Sciences,
in Raleigh, October 18–21,
for a valuable stop on your
professional development
journey this year—ASTC’s
2014 Annual Conference!
Here’s a can’t-miss
special offer: Register
by May 15 using the code
SAVETD2014, and you’ll be
entered into a drawing for one
complimentary conference
registration AND a free, threenight hotel stay during the
conference!
Register at
conference.astc.org,
and get ready to soar
with ASTC 2014!
October 18–21 • Raleigh, NC

- Association of Science

Transcription

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