Snow: Museum Exhibit, Educational Outreach, and Learning Research

由于雪为全球约20亿人提供水，并通过其高反照率和绝缘特性在地球气候中发挥重要作用，全球雪资源的持续变化构成了真正和极其昂贵的社会适应/缓解问题。该项目的目标是(1)创造机会，让公众了解雪在气候、水资源和人类生活中所起的重要作用，(2)更好地了解文化如何影响科学、技术、工程、数学(STEM)的非正式学习。成果包括：(A)将访问33个偏远土著村庄的阿拉斯加外展计划；(B)由俄勒冈州科学与工业博物馆(OMSI)制作并在获奖期间在另外两个博物馆展出的2000平方英尺的博物馆雪展览；(C)学习研究，该研究将考察与雪的文化关系的广泛差异如何影响博物馆展览期间的学习。这些组成部分中的每一个都将在工作过程中进行评估。巡回展览预计每年在三个博物馆展出，为期八年，预计累计观众将超过100万。对雪的关注将突出地球系统中一个引人入胜但被低估的部分。该项目旨在教育公众关于雪的知识，并在面临与雪有关的潜在、昂贵和困难的社会决策时产生更有见地和更有思想的公众。通过信息展示、图形、模型和其他材料，该项目将吸引阿拉斯加传统上服务不足的社区(在原住民/偏远村庄)，那里存在着与雪有很强的文化联系，以及美国各地与雪的联系从强到弱的社区。跨越这种文化梯度，该项目将通过口头采访和调查来探索公众对各种类型和设计的非正式科学学习(ISL)展示的反应，试图隔离和控制文化与个人对材料反应的影响。非正式学习理论规定，使用个体观众-内容关系的前端探索来指导展品设计。该项目的研究目标是将这一方法扩展到包括文化参与对主题的影响，以开发更通用的工具来指导和改进设计过程。该项目由阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校与OMSI(俄勒冈科学与工业博物馆)、领导这项研究的COSI(科学与工业中心)终身学习小组和评估者Goldstream小组合作领导。该项目由推进非正式STEM学习计划(AISL)资助，该计划旨在促进对非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括为扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验提供多种途径，推进对非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及加深参与者对更深层次学习的理解。该项目得到了极地计划办公室的共同资助。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With snow providing water for about 2 billion people worldwide and playing a major role in the Earth's climate through its high albedo and insulation properties, on-going alterations in global snow resources pose real and extremely expensive societal adaptation/mitigation problems. The project goals are to (1) create opportunities for the public to learn about the vital role that snow plays in climate, water resources, and human lives, and (2) produce a better understanding of how culture affects informal Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) learning. The deliverables include: (a) an outreach program in Alaska that will visit 33 remote native villages, (b) a 2000 square foot museum exhibit on snow produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and exhibited at two additional museums during the life of the award, and (c) learning research, which will examine how the wide variation of cultural relationships to snow impacts learning during museum exhibits. Each of these components will be evaluated over the course of the work. The travelling exhibit is expected to be shown at three museums per year for eight years, with an anticipated cumulative audience of over one million.The focus on snow will highlight a fascinating yet under-appreciated part of the Earth system. The project aims to educate the public about snow and to produce a more informed and thoughtful public in the face of potential expensive and difficult snow-related societal decisions. Through informative displays, graphics, models, and other material, the project will engage traditionally under-served communities (at Native/remote villages) in Alaska, where a strong cultural connection to snow exists, as well as communities across the U.S. where the connection to snow can range from strong to weak. Across this cultural gradient, the project will explore through oral interviews and surveys the public response to various types and designs of informal science learning (ISL) displays, attempting to isolate and control for the effect of cultural vs. individual response to the materials. Informal learning theory specifies using front-end exploration of individual visitor-content relationships to guide exhibit design. This project's research goal expands that approach to include the effects of cultural engagement with a topic to develop more general tools to guide and improve the design process. The project is led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in collaboration with OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), and the Lifelong Learning Group at COSI (Center of Science and Industry), which leads the research, and the Goldstream Group, the evaluators. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. The project has co-funding support from the Office of Polar Programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.