Sharing the Challenge Workshops


—by John Anderson, NEAQ and Catherine Cramer, Staff Writer

Engaging people in learning about oceans and ocean sciences is a challenge. Many Americans think little about oceans—let alone ocean science—unless they are planning a beach visit or a fishing trip. But much of ocean scientists’ current research is relevant to our lives no matter where we live. To help spread this knowledge, COSEE-NE is facilitating collaboration between educators and ocean scientists. The goal is to help both groups create more opportunities for ocean science education, through the development of scientifically accurate programs and exhibits.

To foster these partnerships, COSEE-NE hosted a workshop in 2004 titled “Sharing the Challenge of Ocean Science Education.’’ Scientists and educators came from across New England to brainstorm ideas about delivering key messages about ocean science to the public. Among the issues addressed were: misconceptions the public may have about ocean science; the need to train scientists to communicate effectively about ocean science research; and how informal education centers (such as museums and science centers) offer scientists tremendous opportunities to get their messages across to large and diverse audiences.

This year, COSEE-NE is working on encouraging more scientists and informal educators to come together to develop exciting ocean science programs and exhibits for the public. Two recent ``Sharing The Challenge’’ programs are examples of this work.

 

Lobster Literacy Conference

In Maine, there is a long tradition of life lived close to ocean resources. Fishing, shipping, clamming and lobstering are all part of a rich heritage. The Island Institute in Rockland, Maine is a membership-based community development organization working to sustain the islands and communities of the Gulf of Maine. One of their key techniques is to support educational opportunities in island and coastal communities, taking advantage of the increased interest in place-based curricula. More and more teachers are realizing that creating curriculum that connects with students’ lives and their environment is a wonderful way to empower learning.

With the support of COSEE-NE, the Island Institute hosted a " Lobster Literacy Conference” in December, 2004. They brought together teachers, scientists, anthropologists and lobstermen to develop ways to use lobsters to engage students in learning. Participants came from the local communities of Vinalhaven, North Haven, Chebeague Island and Long Island.

Kristin Rohrbach is the 3rd and 4th grade teacher at the Chebeague Island School. ``Lobsters are a really nice way to tie the community in with the school, to make connections, as opposed to only reading stuff out of books, ‘’ she said. Meeting lobstermen and scientists helped Kristin to better understand lobsters’ habitats and their natural history. She is planning to use a small grant from the Island Institute to purchase equipment for her students so that they may raise larval lobsters in their classroom. The students will also interview lobstermen from Chebeague Island and post their interviews on a website with help from students at Bowdoin College.

Kristin enjoyed being able to create these opportunities for her students to be involved in learning about their community. “It will help make science more relevant for them,’’ she said. ``My own science education was sorely lacking. When I did have hands-on, it wasn’t connected to what was around me. Lobsters are part of my students’ community.”

By the end of the two-day conference both scientists and educators were able to leave with plans. Teachers knew how to incorporate what they had learned into their schools and where the resources for those projects within their communities were available. Researchers understood how their work could be integrated into classroom studies and how to establish connections with local teachers who were interested in using their work as a resource.

 

Ocean Observing

This ongoing project began with the question: “Through actual science center exhibits, how can we engage a broad audience in learning about ocean observing systems and the data being gathered?”

Participants include scientists, educators and exhibit developers from the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Exhibit Center, Seacoast Science Center (SSC), New England Aquarium (NEAq), Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS) and Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO).

At the outset, the SSC and the WHOI Exhibit Center each committed to developing an actual exhibit about ocean-observing data. With that interest, the collaborators went to work thinking about how to create effective companion exhibits to meet the needs of each center and appeal to their unique audiences.

The team had two whole-group meetings, coming together to discuss exhibit development and to share knowledge and resources. ``With any exhibit project you need to start off at a broad range and then focus in,’’ said Tracy Fredericks, Special Projects Director at SSC. ``Brainstorming is very helpful. We pretty much walked away from the first meeting with a better idea of what we want to focus on – `seasons of the sea.’ That’s a concept that will work well with our visitors and our mission.’’ Meanwhile, the exhibit developers at the WHOI Exhibit Center began to focus on a topic which suited their context - `a day at the beach’ - which would address questions about physical and biological processes in that environment.

At the second group meeting, in January 2005, UNH researcher Ru Morrison presented his research and brainstormed with the group on how best to incorporate his work into an exhibit. Ru, a bio-optical oceanographer, studies how marine organisms work with light in water. He described many of the data sources available to him and other researchers: more than 1000 current meters that are operating worldwide; Gomoos.org, proving data from buoys which measure salinity and temperature and phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine, including a live update every hour (``The most advanced data collection out there,’’ according to Ru); satellite data, including images of plankton blooms sent back in real time (``You can’t see a whale from outer space but you can see an algal bloom,’’ says Ru); the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem modeling website; and the 4dgeo browser.

The group then talked about which specific exhibit topics to explore — ocean temperature and color; wave and current formation; sand erosion; sediment transport; phytoplankton — and how to incorporate real-time data into each. Detailed exhibit components, such as kinds of interactives and modules, were also discussed.

For the exhibit developers, having a researcher directly involved was a big plus. ``I think I gained the most from listening to the research, how data is collected, seeing slides,’’ said Tracy Fredericks. ``That has helped generate ideas for our display. We’ve also met with Ru at his lab a couple more times and seen videos with him. Having a scientist right there to tell you about what they’re doing is a great opportunity.’’

The informal educators also gained some new understanding about collaborating with researchers. ``We’re all busy and the scientists are busy, so having a list of questions and talking about things up front and saying `I need this’ is helpful,’’ said Tracy. ``Another good question is to try and find out from scientists what the public should learn, from their perspective. That helps scientists to get something out of the process too, not just the exhibit center. Scientists are always gung-ho ready to go when someone is building an exhibit about what they are interested in, and people are anxious to learn more about these topics, so it’s a great combination.’’

Ru Morrison is inspiring in his dedication to outreach, but he isn’t alone. ``I think over the last 10 years, scientific staff have come to believe that education and outreach is more important,’’ said Kathy Patterson, Manager of the WHOI Exhibit Center. ``Their willingness to participate has increased. I want to take advantage of this.’’

Since January, Kathy has held several lunches with scientific staff, inviting them to talk about their work and then discussing ways to tell their story through interactives – exhibits that invite the public to participate. ``We’re thinking about using [an ocean sediment] `core peel’ in a way that the public could touch it and feel it,’’ said Kathy. ``That’s a cool idea. It’s nice to have scientists to come up with ideas for how they can show things.’’

Kathy believes that this willingness to share ideas on the part of scientists indicates a broader shift in the scientific community, and not just in regards to the exhibit development process. ``If we bring up Criterion II (pdf) in this process, scientists may be more likely to contact us (educators) in the future when they are working on proposals,’’ she said, ``especially when we explain that our exhibit is planned to be modular so we can swap new pieces in and out.’’

Collaborating with another science center was also very productive for the participants. ``The brainstorming is really helpful,’’ said Kathy. ``It’s important to see someone else’s perspective on science for the public. Then we come back here and we refine it… you can really start clarifying the focus areas and you get validation of those areas.’’

The SSC had previously wanted to develop a similar exhibit but didn’t have the right resources or backdrop – until now. ``This is a good vehicle to talk about temperature and waves,’’ said Tracy, ``and the research and monitoring that’s going on. I like that it’s about the Gulf of Maine. That’s directly mission-related, and you look out the window and there you are.’’

``I think scientists and even the general public don’t have a good understanding of how much time it takes to make one snippet of science understandable and to link it back to the real science,’’ said Kathy. ``To both make it understandable and also to catch people’s attention is hard. It’s great when it’s successful.’’

Links:
Sharing the Challenge of Ocean Science Education
The Island Institute
Lobster Literacy Conference
University of New Hampshire (UNH)
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Seacoast Science Center (SSC)
New England Aquarium (NEAq)
Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS)
Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO).
the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem modeling website
4dgeo browser
Criterion II (pdf)