The Louisiana State Museum and Tulane University/Xavier University Center for Bioenvironmental Research and the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, along with several other research collaborators, designers, evaluators, and the Times-Picayune newspaper are partnering to develop a multi-pronged approach on educating the general public, school children, teachers and public officials on the STEM-related aspects of Hurricane Katrina and its implications for the future of New Orleans and other parts of the country. The major products will be an 8,500 square-foot semi-permanent exhibit, smaller exhibits for Louisiana regional libraries, a comprehensive Web site on hurricanes, a set of studies on informal learning, a case study for public officials about the relevance of science research to policy and planning, teacher workshops, and a workshop for interested exhibit designers from around the country. This project advances the field of informal science education by exploring how museums, universities, and their communities can work together to provide meaningful learning experiences on STEM topics that are critical to solving important community and national issues.
Hurricane Katrina was a reminder of the devastation hurricanes could bring. Though terrifying and disruptive, Hurricane Katrina presented a unique and powerful learning experience. To meet the need to build a resilient nation of prepared citizens, the Hurricanes Science and Society website (www.hurricanescience.org) was created. In addition to this content-rich, multidisciplinary, educational web site, the HSS project also includes classroom activities, a 16-page booklet, and an interactive iBook. The website and its associated educational resources contain content tailored for specific audiences, including K-16 educators and students, the general public, policymakers, and the media. The major goals of the HSS project are to provide foundational science for understanding complex scientific content; inform visitors about current scientific and technological advances; help visitors make good decisions prior to and during a hurricane emergency; as well as make changes and choices in their own lives as a result of new understanding that is based on sound scientific knowledge. While many hurricane websites exist, most target specific aspects of an agency’s work. Hurricane scientists acknowledge the need for a website that serves the broader public and educators. What differentiates the Hurricanes: Science and Society website from existing Internet resources is its comprehensiveness—visitors do not have to leave the site for further information. The website incorporates the science of hurricanes, methods of observing hurricanes, modeling and forecasting of hurricanes, how hurricanes impact society, and how people and communities can prepare for and mitigate the impacts of hurricanes. There is also a hurricane history interactive, hurricane case studies, and a special section for educators. All information presented on the HSS website and its associated educational resources is based solely on published scientific research and has undergone thorough peer review by a panel of scientific experts. The HSS website was launched at the end of October 2010. Through June 2013 the site has received more than 15 million hits and approximately 900,000 page views representing approximately 600,000 to 700,000 visits and more than 400,000 unique visitors. In 2013 the number of visits is approximately double that for the same time period in 2012. In addition to the development and advancement of the HSS website and its educational resources, the HSS Team has also provided professional development to formal and informal educators through various institutes, national and international conferences, and other opportunities, as well as engage 5th grade classrooms along the U.S. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Gulf Coasts. The HSS Team has planned, coordinated, and hosted two webinar series. The first webinar series was hosted in partnership with the National Hurricane Center (NHC), American Meteorological Society (AMS), Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These webinars were geared toward informal science educators, instructors of high school, instructors of undergraduate level courses, other educators, policy makers, emergency management officials, and members of the interested public. Each webinar in this series was designed to provide educators with an opportunity to "meet" some of the top hurricane forecasters and scientists in the country, while learning about their research and being introduced to a range of hurricane related topics. There were 308 participants in the 5-part, 2012 webinar series and 150 participants in the 3-part, 2013 series, with many participants attending multiple webinars in each series. Participants were from 26 U.S. states. In post-webinar surveys, participants highly rated the educational value of the webinars, indicated that the webinars met or exceeded their expectations, and most stated they would participate in an HSS webinar again. The second webinar series was hosted in partnership with the NHC and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) in conjunction with the NHC’s Hurricane Preparedness Week. The 1-hour webinars were also held in the spring of 2012 and 2013. In 2012, approximately 3,500 students at 44 schools in 10 states participated in the webinars. In 2013, approximately 16,000 students from 19 states participated, a 4-fold increase in student attendance from the previous year. During both years, a majority of participants stated that the webinars were above or well above their expectations, they were satisfied or very satisfied with speaker expertise, and they would participate in future webinars. The HSS website and its associated educational resources have been developed by an experienced team of science and outreach professionals at the University of Rhode Island (URI) Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO). Many other people have contributed to the site, including independent scientific reviewers from Federal agencies such as the NHC and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and 14 middle and high school teachers. The Hurricanes: Science and Society project is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Number DRL-0813557.
