The NASA Night Sky Network and Its Benefit to Museums

j santascoy — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:53:06 +0000

MW2011

Jessica Santascoy, Marni Berendsen, Kenneth Frank, & Vivian White, Astronomical Society of the Pacific; and Victor Yocco, Institute for Learning Innovation, USA

Abstract

Amateur astronomy clubs and their members serve as a key resource for educating the public on astronomical concepts. These include informal education opportunities offered through science centers, planetariums, and museums. In response to amateur astronomers expressing the need for more time and resources to engage in education and public outreach, Sharing the Universe, a project funded by the National Science Foundation, was developed. The project also has a strong research and evaluation component, with research examining the broader issues surrounding amateur astronomers' engagement in education and public outreach, and evaluation looking closely at clubs' adoption of the tools created by the project. The following paper examines the levels of outreach amateur astronomers had been found to engage in prior to the implementation of Sharing the Universe; examines variables that have been identified as possible predictors of amateurs engaging in education in public outreach; discusses the purpose and development of Web-based tools under Sharing the Universe; and concludes with findings from studies examining the barriers and challenges clubs have faced in adopting the Web-based tools.

Preliminary findings suggest varying levels of adoption of these tools by astronomy clubs, with club leaders expressing a desire for increased training on how to use these tools as a means to increase clubs' adoption of the tools.

NSN clubs benefit museums and science centers by providing outreach activities that enhance museum programming. We also hope that museums can use the research on predictors of outreach in order to spur volunteerism.

Keywords: amateur astronomers, Sharing the Universe, public outreach

Program Item Reference:

The NASA Night Sky Network & Its Benefit to Museums

My Ideal City

maurizio — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:05:07 +0000

MW2011

Keywords:

urban planning

Keywords:

virtual worlds

Keywords:

exhibition

Keywords:

curatorial practices

Keywords:

science museums

Abstract:

The MIC (My Ideal City) project aims to encourage a European dimension in the communication of science and technology through museums events targeting the public. More specifically, it supports the networking around the development of a coordinated exhibition in different museums that is using a “virtual worlds” dimension in order to connect urban planning choices and the awareness of citizens about them, as well as an International Conference that will bring together academics and science centres experts to discuss the relationships among urban planning, cyberspace and science events.

The virtual exhibition, focus of the demonstration, provides visitors of each science centre and on the Web with a “virtual worlds” environment that reproduces in alternative and different ways their own city. The visitors have then the opportunity to visit also the different virtual ideal cities of the other partner countries involved in the project. The new cities, the “ideal” ones, enables citizens to re-think their urban environments and the choices done in order to make them as they appear in the virtual environment. The project not only provides citizens with an exhibition able to raise socio-cultural awareness in relation to the urban choices, but also involves them in the planning of the “ideal cities”, giving another contribution to the spread of an open and transparent process of communicating among science (sustainable urban planning), technology (the “virtual” environment), institutions (science centres), and people.
The demonstration focus on detailing how the final result, the virtual exhibition, reflects the project aims, methods, and topics, with particular attention toward the role of different curatorial practices in giving shape to the different ideal cities.

We kindly ask the committee to evaluate the exhibition as it can be downloaded from the website, because it is going to be the focus of the presentation

Type:

Demonstration - show your project

Demonstrations IV

Site:

http://www.myidealcity.eu/

Authors:

Maurizio Teli

Carlo Maiolini

museumsandtheweb.com - science museums

The NASA Night Sky Network and Its Benefit to Museums

Jessica Santascoy, Marni Berendsen, Kenneth Frank, & Vivian White, Astronomical Society of the Pacific; and Victor Yocco, Institute for Learning Innovation, USA

Abstract

My Ideal City