NOAA’s Science On a Sphere Education Program Plan Carrie McDougall NOAA Office of Education Science On a Sphere Workshop 2007 Baltimore, MD January 2007

Program History Dr. Sandy McDonald invented SOS ~10 years ago Dave Himes brought it to life Cost of installation dropping making it more affordable for museums, etc. Summer 2004 Maryland Science Center receives NSF funding to install SOS on floor, temporarily, and evaluate visitor reaction  Over 98% of those who viewed SOS rated it as v.g. or excellent  Appropriate that we are having our first official meeting as a network here! 2005 Office of Education begins to offer funding to public science centers with an interest in displaying SOS and NOAA’s content A network of museums and science centers with SOS begins to grow Thanks Jim!

SOS by the numbers There are 12 institutions with SOS installed currently (5 more have their installations scheduled) 15 of these institutions use SOS to teach the public about science These 15 institutions will reach over 8.5 million viewers annually with the content shown on SOS! NOAA has fully funded 12 of these installations and partially supported 1 The Office of Education has invested ~$2.4M over the last 2 years in developing the SOS education program –Funding installations in public science centers and museums –Funding the development and evaluation of content and related exhibits and programs

An Ideal Partnership The general public Data & information Data collection Analysis Scientific Expertise Context & Annotation Audience-appropriate presentation Mass dissemination Collect Feedback from audience Areas of Expertise Trusted provider of science information

Partnership with NASA SOS is a technology that provides a perfect venue for both NOAA & NASA data. The wealth of resources offered by both of these agencies to this effort is unprecedented. NASA offers a lot to NOAA –NASA will push the envelope for content development on SOS –NASA offers expertise NOAA does not have: in working with networks of museums and science centers to create relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Photo credit: Hampton University How to create an informed society? Partnerships with informal science education venues NOAA & NASA resources available How do we make the best of this situation? How do we maximize the impact this technology can have on science education and creating an informed society that understands the interconnectedness of our planet and the interdependency of the planets’ ecosystems?

Why we are having this workshop now… Rapidly growing network –need to look back –look ahead and determine as a network the best course for the future Prepares the newest members of the network for their SOS program Large group: we need to establish a formalized network Multiple content providers, methods for sharing content need to be established A new, and broad funding opportunity is pending for further support of the SOS program –your suggestions and ideas expressed over the next few days will inform that solicitation and the projects that ultimately get funded We need your input about how we (& others) should create future content and evaluate that content

Upcoming Funding Opportunity Installations of Science On a Sphere and other spherical display technologies in public exhibits Content development and evaluation of content for spherical display technologies Time Line 2007 February Publish Funding Announcement April Applications Due (Exact date TBD) May SOS Review panel June Applications selected for funding Sept. 30, 2007 Awards announced What we will fund in 2007

Where is the SOS Education Program headed? Future Direction Increase the # of public exhibits featuring SOS Strengthen network of SOS collaborators and SOS institutions that are enabled to share information and content Conduct a program-wide evaluation: major potential to demonstrate benefits! Develop an understanding of how to create content that is scientifically rigorous, visually stunning, and comprehensible to the general public Build systems or tools that make NOAA and NASA data available for use on SOS and other similar systems Create content that is useable in many different display technologies Promote the use of NOAA-related data to tell compelling and timely Earth System Science stories utilizing these technologies

Technology Intersections In addition to the standard installation of SOS, we are already witnessing the exploration and experimentation of synergistically using SOS with other similar technologies or sharing content between technologies.

Closing You will hear the diversity of uses of SOS here today and I hope this stimulates your thoughts for future uses and new ways of using the sphere to increase scientific and environmental literacy among the public. We have tried to create a workshop that will allow for discussion of topics that we’ve heard you express interest in, as well as new ideas that arise during the meeting. However, the success and usefulness of this workshop is ultimately in your hands. Please let me, John, Manjit or Wendy know if there is anything we can do to make the meeting more productive for you.

Types of Systems There are several systems available Will briefly highlight 3 of them: Science On a Sphere™ Magic Planet ® OmniGlobe ®

Current Partnerships with Spherical Display Systems Community To date, NOAA’s Office of Education has funded nine SOS installations that reach 2.5 million viewers Working with NOAA’s Environmental Visualization Program and other NOAA programs to create a package of NOAA content

Photo credit: Hampton University Power to present Earth System Science in a way that captivates viewers…

Expanding the Partnerships In FY07, Data Visualizations for Educational Use will be one of three funding opportunities issued as part of the Environmental Literacy Grants o Will offer support for installations and content development for these technologies o Your input is critical for informing this announcement Will be hosting a meeting of SOS Users in winter/spring of 2007 Plan to strengthen and expand Science On a Sphere Users Group into a more formal network