| |
|
Winter 2002
The
Exploratorium EduNews is sent out in an email text format
four times a year to teachers, school librarians, school administrators,
professional developers, and others involved in K-12 education.
Each issue includes announcements about Exploratorium-produced
Webcasts, print publications, new online resources, and updates
about our initiatives in teaching and learning.
Please
feel free to forward EduNews to your colleagues.
***BREAKING
NEWS
California teachers will be happy to hear that, despite the
current fiscal crisis, Governor Gray Davis has continued the
funding for the Exploratorium's Regional Science Resource
Center in his 2002-2003 budget at same level as last year.
We look forward to working with the Legislature for their
continued support.
CONTENTS
1-Learning Studio
2-New International Project: Center for Informal Learning
and Schools
3-Peter Richards, CTL Senior Artist
4-Antarctica: Scientific Journeys From McMurdo to the Pole
5-2002 Teacher Institute Summer
Institute Program
***DISCOVER
WHAT THE LEARNING STUDIO HAS TO OFFER
The Exploratorium Learning Studio <http://www.exploratorium.edu/ls/>
supports the needs of educators by providing a wide variety
of electronic, multimedia, and print-based learning resources,
including:
--
Online catalog to nationally-circulating collection <http://library.exploratorium.edu/>
--
Guides to Web Information Sources <http://www.exploratorium.edu/ls/infosources/ResGuides.html>
--
Research assistance for reference questions and help in locating
materials outside the collection
The Learning Studio's patrons include alumni of the Exploratorium's
teacher development programs and Educator, Sustaining, and
Associate Members of the Museum <http://www.exploratoriumstore.com/exmempag.html>
***INTERNATIONAL
COLLABORATION BUILDS ON SUCCESS OF "INFORMAL SCIENCE"
CENTERS
Taking a cue from the public's enthusiastic response to "informal
science centers" like science and natural history museums,
zoos, and aquaria, educators in the United States and England
are launching an ambitious collaboration to improve science
teaching and learning. The Exploratorium, King's College,
London, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, are
teaming up to form the Center for Informal Learning and Schools
(CILS), which will integrate the best of the "informal
science learning" with the formal learning that takes
place in schools. The project is being funded by a $10.8 million
grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
During
the past decade, the British and American public have embraced
the proliferation of informal science centers in both countries,
creating a need for educators trained in informal science
instruction and prompting educators to examine the strategies
that make such centers powerful learning venues. CILS aims
to prepare leaders in informal science education, conduct
research, support students pursuing advanced degrees in science
education, and provide professional development opportunities
for science museum staff. The Center, headquartered at the
Exploratorium, will begin operation in summer 2002. As the
CILS project develops, EduNews will provide updates about
it. <http://www.exploratorium.edu/pr/cils.html>
***WELCOME
PETER RICHARDS, SENIOR ARTIST
Peter Richards (prichard@exploratorium.edu),
along with Frank Oppenheimer, started the Exploratorium's
Artist-in-Residence Program which commissions artists to create
works that addressed the intersection between art, science,
and technology. Because of Peter's interest in phenomena,
many of the artists who came to the Exploratorium created
works that utilized natural forces. These include artworks
such as the Sun Painting by Bob Miller, Vortex and The Aeolian
Harp by Doug Hollis, and Meanderings by Michael Brown. Pieces,
such as Recollections by Ed Tannenbaum, incorporate technology
in their design.
With
a background in art, Peter's personal work has been greatly
influenced by his association with the Exploratorium. His
work reflects his interest in public spaces: the way people
behave in public places, natural phenomena, and particularly
the dynamic natural elements that give a place its character
and texture (water, wind, sun, shadows, and tides). Locally,
his most notable work is the Wave Organ, which employs wave
action and tide changes to create musical sounds in a series
of pipes that extend down into the water.
In
1998, Peter took a three-year leave to help with the creation
of a new artist community in Charlotte, North Carolina. Modeled
after the Headlands Art Center in Marin County, California,
among others, this community supports creativity and provides
residencies for up to 24 artists a year. It is housed in a
renovated Presbyterian Church and has machine, wood, and welding
shops, a media and photo lab, many studios (including print
and clay), and an exhibition space.
Peter is returning to the Exploratorium to serve as Senior
Artist in the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). He will
concentrate his efforts on incorporating artists, artmaking
processes, and artistic sensibilities into our educator programs.
***ANTARCTICA:
SCIENTIFIC JOURNEYS FROM MCMURDO TO THE POLE
In December 2001, the Exploratorium sent its own team to the
highest, driest, coldest, windiest, and most empty place on
earth--Antarctica. The Live@ Webcasts took the public on expeditions
and field trips to laboratories throughout Antarctica, as
they interviewed scientists, filmed underwater dives, climbed
a volcano, witnessed a vast desert, and looked in on research
facilities. The Antarctica Web site <http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/antarctica>
includes archives of the Live@ Webcasts, descriptions of current
research projects, and Antarctica climate, geography, natural
history, and explorations.
***2002
TEACHER INSTITUTE SUMMER INSTITUTE PROGRAM
During the summer, the Teacher Institute brings middle and
high school teachers together to work with each other and
with staff physicists and biologists to learn more about science
and mathematics teaching. On a typical day, participants interact
with exhibits, do activities, build small versions of Exploratorium
exhibits, and share teaching strategies. There are also opportunities
to learn to use power tools for building things for the classroom.
Each day consists of 3.5 hours of class and two hours of independent
project or research time. Exploratorium resources such as
the Learning Studio will be available for project research.
Participants
are required to study at the Exploratorium for five-and-one-half
hours each day, Monday through Friday, for four weeks. Each
participant will be awarded a stipend of $1000 after completion.
Three units of credit from San Francisco State University
can be earned through the program. Registration and paying
for credit takes place during the Institute. Applications
will be available in February 2002. Check their program Web
page: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ti/programs/index.html#summer_program
___________________
You
were included in this mailing if you signed up to receive
EduNews or if you are an alumnus of the Exploratorium Teacher
Institute or Institute for Inquiry.
We are no longer sending EduNews in a paper format or through
our listservs.
If you have suggestions for future content or would like to
contact the editors, please email us at: edunews@exploratorium.edu
If
you do not wish to continue receiving EduNews, please let
us know by replying to this message and we will remove you
from the list.
Subscribe here.
|
