EARTH Workshop 2003

The Tech Museum Design Challenge | Back to top

• Does temperature/salinity really matter with this activity?
• Content is probably more than just middle school
• Design and inquiry (and technology) are all needed in a science classroom to bring the curriculum alive—design hooks the learner and inquiry empowers them
• Goals: team based, real world problem, lots of potential solutions
• Investigate—Create/re-create—Reflect
• RAFT/ resources and workshops - check for new workshops
• Assessment rubrics—The Tech works with —tech fellows,— which are complete units that include challenges and assessment
• The Tech Museum is more interactive now—exhibits include challenges when possible

Scientific Inquiry | Back to top

Brainstorming | Back to top

1. Make it more inquiry-oriented
2. Make it more quantitative

• Use organisms as focus (floaters/sinkers)—find organisms— habitats through research and create a model
• Compare design to real world applications (ex. Cartesian diver, submarine, SCUBA)
• Explore density measurements through various activities—vary conditions, create —salinometer vehicle—
• Compare buoyancy adaptations of different organisms using different materials (i.e., gas bladder vs. oil-filled)
• Use uniform, measurable weights, measure mass of vehicle, use formulas to calculate density
• Record questions as they arise, use to explore further (ex. question wall)
• Use predictions without testing to explore buoyancy concepts (include predictions regarding differences in water conditions, i.e., Arctic vs. Sea of Cortez)
• Apply constraints to challenge (ex. time, rules, materials, etc.)
• Give each group different sets of materials (size, mass, density) to encourage different solutions
• Incorporate physics and calculate changes using formulas before testing
• Use pre-planning to explore concepts, form hypotheses and brainstorm possible solutions
• Use layers of different density liquids to make challenge more difficult (ex., make vehicle hover at pycnocline, sink below, travel through, etc.)
• Give students a mystery tank (salt instead of fresh) for final testing to introduce new element
• Spread out inquiry over several lessons, devoting more time to each step
• Require each student to bring independent thoughts to challenge/use their own brain before beginning challenge to insure participation
• Use a variety of soda cans to encourage data collection—record guesses first, ask questions regarding why, how, what influences buoyancy
• Decide how open ended the process should be and be prepared to guide the inquiry process
• Design a model to explain the concept to younger audience
• Introduce concept of models (i.e., physical, numerical, conceptual)
• Connect activity to real data (ex., Monterey Canyon, MARS)

Immersion Institute | Back to top

• Life-size displays of ships, ROVs, control rooms
• Mock-up of manned sub and ROV: you walk up onto a ship into a control van; inside, you get the control room audio, computer, countdown
• There are explanations of what the visitor is seeing (hard copy and audio)
• Pre-dive checklist

• Theater experience, live cameras, ROV, and a live web feed
• Each visitor has a computer touchscreen; each display has a sanctuary theme; large-screen video in front of room
• Introductory video that describes the NMS network and shows coastal and underwater video; interpreter takes over at the end to explain program and introduce the ROV Orpheus (in Monterey Bay); sets the stage and gives context
• Can see sandy shore, rocks, and kelp; camera controls can be panned left/right and up/down

• Can play a game while the live video is going on
• Select a species of interest and answer questions; winner announced at the end of every show!

• Are these types of experiences really useful? Why? What parts engage learning?
  • How effective are virtual reality-type games at teaching new information?
  • What distribution methods would be effective? Web or CD?
  • Other interactive experiences using data (web)
    • BBC Blue Planet challenge
    • Finding NEMO coral reef conservation