Discovery Science Center of Orange County (DSC) is building a "Dynamic Earth" gallery dedicated to improving Earth systems science literacy. This grant funds the purchase and installation of three exhibits developed by Exploratorium, Exhibits Services, a national leader in exhibit design. Tectonic Basin, Rift Zone, and Braided Stream are designed to teach fundamental Earth science concepts, preparing visitors to understand complex concepts from another exhibit, Science On a Sphere, a dramatic visual display developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Volunteer educators delivering supplementary table-top demonstrations reach learners of all types by verbally and visually presenting hands-on activities. This layered, multi-faceted approach (a) improves the quality of informal geosciences education for over 70,000 K-12 students visiting on structured field trips (including 7,000 low-income, minority students participating on scholarship); (b) increases the number and competency of K-12 educators who teach geosciences-related concepts in their classroom by serving as teaching props for 1,000 teachers in professional development workshops onsite; and (c) communicates the importance of the geosciences to the public and increase public literacy regarding Earth system science by serving more than 420,000 visitors of all ages each year. Project effectiveness is evaluated by California State University-Fullerton's Catalyst Center for the Advancement of Research on Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science, which brings together science and math education experts across two colleges and seven departments to advance research in teaching and learning across the entire spectrum of math and science education, including informal education.
Intellectual Merit Numerous studies and reports are raising the alarm: our nation must take immediate and effective action to reverse current trends in science and math achievement. The country’s leaders say that preparing the next generation is nothing short of imperative to our competitiveness in the global economy, protecting national security, and finding solutions to 21st Century challenges. Evidence shows that the situation for students in California is particularly poor, scoring 50th –last- in a national assessment of science comprehension. The pressures to increase test scores under the No Child Left Behind Act has caused most teachers to marginalize science instruction in their classrooms, and in California, 80% of teachers spend less than an hour a week on science topics. This is where a child’s visit to Discovery Science Center of Orange County (DSC) with their school or their family becomes so crucial. Grant funds from National Science Foundation (NSF) supported DSC’s project to improve Earth systems science literacy through the purchase and installation of three exhibits that serve as effective teaching props for understanding fundamental concepts. The exhibits, Braided Stream, Rift Zone, and Tectonic Basin, were developed by Exploratorium, Exhibits Services. Exploratorium is a national leader in exhibit design, and they conduct rigorous evaluation of their exhibits to develop products that have the greatest educational impact. Furthermore, DSC rented these three exhibits as part of a summer exhibition in 2006, and found them to be highly effective teaching tools. Adding them to the permanent collection had a positive impact on Earth systems science literacy. The timing of this request is in conjunction with the development of a new permanent "Dynamic Earth" gallery. DSC installed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Science On a Sphere display; With over 500 datasets, some of the topics on the sphere present complex scientific concepts (such as global climate change) – these three exhibits have been shown to help visitors understand fundamental Earth systems science, preparing them for greater comprehension of more complex topics. Broader Impacts DSC designs exhibits, galleries, and supporting educational programming to reach a diverse group of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. The three exhibits serve visual learners by demonstrating changes to Earth’s surface, and kinesthetic learners through tactile, hands-on experiences. This teaches fundamental Earth science concepts that prepare visitors to understand concepts from NOAA’s Science On a Sphere, a dramatic visual display. Stationed within the "Dynamic Earth" gallery, volunteer educators at table-top demonstrations reach learners of all types by verbally and visually presenting hands-on activities. This layered, multi-faceted approach (a) improves the quality of informal geosciences education for over 70,000 K-12 students visiting on structured field trips annually (including approximately 7,000 low-income, minority students participating on scholarship); (b) increases the number and competency of K-12 educators who teach geosciences-related concepts in their classroom by serving as teaching props for teachers in professional development workshops onsite; and (c) communicates the importance of the geosciences to the public and increase public literacy regarding Earth system science by serving more than 410,000 visitors of all ages each year, 45% of whom are from minority racial/ethnic groups. The proposed project is a vital component of a strategic plan which has helped DSC grow by an annual average of 11%. The effectiveness of the proposed project was evaluated by California State University-Fullerton’s Catalyst Center for the Advancement of Research on Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science, which brings together science and math education experts across two colleges and seven departments to advance research in teaching and learning across the entire spectrum of math and science education, including informal education. Designed to advance research in teaching and learning in science and mathematics in five key areas, research conducted by the Catalyst Center found that this project achieved its goals. Their report concluded, "The purchase and installation of the three supporting exhibits – the Tectonic Basin, the Rift Zone, and the Braided Stream- was a valuable endeavor that will certainly help to augment learner understanding of Earth science concepts in an engaging, hands-on way for years to come. This study validates this conclusion through data and provides evidence for continued support of the use of these displays to further develop interest, comprehension, and critical thinking that is related to geoscience study."
