Pathways: From The Lab To The Neighborhood: An Interactive Living Exhibit For Advancing STEM Engagement With Urban Systems In Science Museums

这项倡议是马萨诸塞州阿默斯特大学、马萨诸塞州伍斯特的EcoTarium科学博物馆、马萨诸塞州克拉克大学和洛杉矶Loyola Marymount大学的其他科学家和教师沿着新英格兰和加州州的其他六个博物馆的合作。 该项目旨在开发和研究一种模式，将城市系统的科学研究纳入科学博物馆的展品和方案，从这一阶段开始，在EcoTarium的一个新的“城市科学”展览空间。 目标是学习如何协助公民决策和为社区塑造可持续的未来。 这项工作建立在NSF/SBS资助的城市长期研究领域探索（ULTRA-Ex）网络的基础上，该网络是NSF/SBS和NSF/BIO在城市生态领域的一系列奖项之一。 该展览（有四个部分：社区设计;土地利用和土地覆盖;城市生物多样性;城市热岛效应）将包括与城市“替代未来”有关的活动，将根据这项研究的新成果进行更新，并允许参观者回答研究人员将使用的有关其城市环境的调查问题。展览还将包括原型展览与NSF资助的K-12城市生态课程（Loyola Marymount大学的共同PI）的整合，该课程已经在自然中心完成，现在将扩展到科学博物馆。 这项工作的意义包括在城市中的人类/生态相互作用的新研究的重要性日益增加，再加上这项研究的应用，公众参与科学研究（PPSR）和当地的决策和选择。 它由目标受众所在城市的未来愿景驱动。 伍斯特的工作将侧重于接触服务不足的受众，这是伍斯特市大部分地区的特点，并将包括与当地学校和社区团体的伙伴关系。

This initiative is a collaboration of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the EcoTarium science museum in Worcester, MA, other scientists and teachers at Clark University in Massachusetts and at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, along with six other museums in New England and California. The project seeks to develop and study a model that would integrate the science research on urban systems into science museum exhibits and programs, starting in this phase in a new "City Science" exhibit space at the EcoTarium. The goal is to learn how to assist citizens in decision-making and shaping a sustainable future for their communities. The work builds on the NSF/SBS-funded Urban Long-term Research Area Exploratory (ULTRA-Ex) network, one of a set of awards by NSF/SBS and NSF/BIO in the area of urban ecology. The exhibit (with four sections: neighborhood design; land use and land cover; urban biodiversity; urban heat island effect) will include activities related to "alternative futures" of cities, will be designed to be updated as new results from this research are produced and also to allow for visitors to respond to survey questions about their city environment that will be used by the researchers. Deliverables will also include an integration of the prototype exhibits with an NSF-funded K-12 urban ecology curriculum (co-PI from Loyola Marymount University), which has already been done with nature centers and would now expand into science museums. The significance of this work includes the growing importance of new research on human/ecology interaction in cities coupled with applications of this research to Public Participation in Science Research (PPSR) and local decisions and choices. It is driven by the future vision of the cities in which the target audience(s) is located. The work in Worcester will focus on reaching underserved audiences, which characterizes much of the city of Worcester, and will include partnerships with local schools and community groups.