Internships in Public Science Education: Making the Nanoworld Comprehensible

NSF支持的威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校（UW）纳米结构材料和界面材料研究科学与工程中心（MRSEC）和威斯康星州密尔沃基的发现世界（DW）科学博物馆开展了公共科学教育（IPSE）计划的合作实习，该计划有三个基本目标： 1)重点放在实习生的专业发展，并创造未来的领导人在科学传播谁可以弥合科学和公众之间日益扩大的差距; 2）开发有效的博物馆展览和数字视觉媒体有关纳米技术;和3）提高公众的科学素养，通过使用尖端的纳米技术研究解释核心科学概念。 通过UW IPSE计划，来自所有学科的研究生团队与UW MRSEC研究人员和DW人员一起发展他们的科学沟通技能，同时开发和评估他们的团队项目。 这些双人项目包括一个简短的教育视频或一个原型博物馆展览。 除了全国性的影响，这些产品也有助于DW的新建筑在2006年或2007年开放。 该计划影响了大约20名研究生，他们通过发展他们的人际科学沟通技能，他们对纳米技术的技术理解，他们对团队项目媒介的了解以及他们的评估技能，在努力提高公众对科学和纳米技术的理解的同时，拥有非凡的专业发展经验。 此外，实习生有机会通过他们的项目和完成科学教育课程获得科学教育证书。反过来，实习生的外联工作和团队项目产品每年通过博物馆活动、专业讲习班、公共活动、视频传播和博物馆展览影响成千上万的人。

The NSF-supported University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces and the Discovery World (DW) science museum in Milwaukee, WI, carry out a collaborative Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program that has three fundamental goals: 1) to focus on intern professional development and create future leaders in science communication who can bridge the increasing gap between science and the public; 2) to develop effective museum exhibits and digital visual media about nanotechnology; and 3) to improve public science literacy by using cutting-edge nanotechnology research to explain core science concepts. Through the UW IPSE program, a diverse group of graduate students from all disciplines teams with UW MRSEC researchers and DW personnel to develop their science communication skills while simultaneously developing and assessing their team projects. These two-person projects consist of either a short educational video or a prototype museum exhibit. In addition to national impact, these products also contribute to DW's new building to open in 2006 or 2007. The program impacts about 20 graduate students who, through developing their interpersonal science communication skills, their technical understanding about nanotechnology, their knowledge about their team project medium, and their assessment skills, have an exceptional professional development experience while working to increase public understanding of science and nanotechnology. In addition, interns have the opportunity to earn a science education certificate through their project and completion of courses on science education. In turn, the interns' outreach efforts and team project products affect tens of thousands individuals each year through museum events, professional workshops, public events, video dissemination, and museum exhibits.