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| Paper: |
University / Science Center Exhibit Development Collaboration: Strategies and Lessons Learned |
| Volume: |
389, EPO and a Changing World: Creating Linkages and Expanding Partnerships |
| Page: |
251 |
| Authors: |
Raddick, M.J.; Carliles, S.; Bartelme, L.; Patterson, J. |
| Abstract: |
Through funding from the NSF’s Internship in Public Science Education (IPSE) program, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the Maryland Science Center (MSC) have worked together to create an exhibit based on JHU’s research with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a project to map the universe. The exhibit is a kiosk-based interactive presentation that connects to online data about the sky. It is currently displayed in SpaceLink, an area at the MSC that focuses on current events and research in astronomy. The person primarily responsible for the exhibit was a graduate student in computer science in the JHU Physics and Astronomy department. He worked with an EPO professional in the department and two members of the MSC’s planetarium and exhibit staff to plan the exhibit. The team also worked with a coordinator in the JHU chemistry department, and an external evaluator. Along with increased public understanding of science, our goal was to create and evaluate a sustainable partnership between a research university and a local science center. We are producing an evaluation report discussing our collaboration and detailing lessons learned. We hope that our experience can be a model for other university / science center collaborations in the future. Some lessons that we have learned in our development effort are: start all design decisions with learning goals and objectives, write goals with evaluation in mind, focus on the process of science, and do not underestimate the challenges of working with the web as part of the exhibit technology. |
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