1. Digital Planetariums for Engaging Public Audiences in Global Change Issues
Ka Chun Yu, Rachel Connolly, Ned Gardiner, Healy Hamilton, Kathi Koontz, David McConville, Jessica Sickler, Ryan Wyatt
GSA T115. Climate Literacy
The Worldviews Network is funded by NOAA NA10SEC and NA10SEC

2. Apollo 17: December 7, 1972

3. Apollo 8: December 24, 1968

4. Who is the Worldviews Network?
Funded by NOAA Environmental Literacy Grants NA10SEC & NA10SEC

5. Hayden Planetarium American Museum of Natural History
Credit: Alfred Gracombe

6. California Academy of Sciences
Morrison Planetarium
California Academy of Sciences
Credit:Paul Grimmer

7. Gates Planetarium
Denver Museum of
Nature & Science
Credit: Ka Chun Yu

8. Gates Planetarium Denver Museum of Nature & Science
16.9 m dome diameter 25° tilt,
6  projectors;
120 seats

9. Credit: Dan Neafus

10. Maximizing visual impact …
Viewers feel what they are seeing is happening to them.
Limits on camera movement, editing; use best practices for immersive storytelling.
Also best practices for audience response to data visualizations.
Credit: Dan Neafus
Credit: Ka Chun Yu

11. Bioregional Community Dialogues
Leading our partners and their audiences along pathways of engagement that concretely lead from Seeing to Knowing and Doing.
Seeing Knowing Doing
Dome
presentation
Systems perspective
NGOs, design the future

12. Seeing: Visual Thinking Storytelling at multiple scales
Cosmic
We also focus on visualization of information through a continuous spectrum of the scales of nature, always keeping the local in context with the larger global and cosmic scales.
Global
Bioregional

13. Seeing: Visual Thinking Scientific visualization of ecosystems at multiple scales
Global
One of the most memorable visualizations: various amounts of water on Earth compared to size of Earth.
All
Water
Fresh
Water
Ice

14. Seeing: Visual Thinking Scientific visualization of ecosystems at multiple scales
Regional
And the line between two regions that follow different land management practices. This made an impact on the audience that you really can make a difference through behavioral change.

15. Seeing: Visual Thinking Scientific visualization of ecosystems at multiple scales
Local
The effect of mountain pine beetle attacks on local forest.

16. Knowing: Systems Thinking Planetary Boundaries
“A Safe Operating Space for Humanity”
Rockstrom et al., Sept 2009, Nature, v461, p. 472

17. Resilience of coupled human-natural systems
Design Thinking:
Resilience of coupled human-natural systems
Inspiring examples of projects addressing complex challenges
Resilient communities can:
Anticipate and prepare for change;
Recognize need to adapt;
Using intentional design, can absorb and respond proactively to change.

18. Encouraging dialogue …
Participant discussions with speakers, experts, representatives from NGOs.
Help audiences to remain engaged.
DMNS Water: sharing perspectives on water, conferred on water strategies
CAS Valley Oak: >200 people (policy makers, local tribes, NGOs, educators, scientists) participated in moderated dialogue to determine strategies for “re-oaking”.
Credit: Ka Chun Yu

19. Highlights from Public Response to Shows
Self-reported Learning
51%: Ecological concepts/facts
26%: Human-caused ecological change
23%: Human use of resources
13%: Approaches/groups working on regional issues

20. Highlights from Public Response to Shows
Top Reactions
Thinking about complex Earth systems and interrelationships
Visualizing concepts of time and space
Sense of how small the Earth is

21. Highlights from Public Response to Shows
Immersive Experience
81% reported dome enhanced understanding by …
39%: “gave me perspective…” (connections)
32%: “allowed me to see…” (visuals)
22%: “made me understand…” (learned info)
10%: “It made me feel…” (affective response)

22. Affective Outcomes
10% of respondents: dome presentation promoted an affective response
Inspiration, caring, personal relationship
These audience members ranked statements most frequently:
Feeling the need to take care of Earth
Feeling a sense of the sacred in regards to Earth
Amazement at the beauty of what was shown
These statements were not the dominant takeaways for majority of audience members, but those who did have them ranked them the most significant (even more so than cognitive outcomes).

23. From DMNS Beetle June 2013 event.

24.
Dr. Ka Chun Yu
DMNS

26. Summative Evaluation
Retrospectively understand successes, challenges, and ongoing relevance of this approach for:
Meaningful partnerships between informal science institutions (ISIs) and community organizations
ISI Culture Shift: globally-focused storytelling in real-world, local contexts

27. Greatest Value to ISIs
Building collaboration skills and relationships:
Local people / organizations
Other institutions / leadership team
The importance of the issue addressed in production

28. Challenges to ISIs Time Commitment: Process wasn’t quick or easy
Required a lot of ISI representative
Institutional Buy-in or Capacity
“Under the radar” – fit into existing models
“Creating new” – targeted support for limited resources

29. Contact: Rachel Connolly
Outputs (products)
Distribution channels
Outreach and PD
How you can connect with the Worldviews Network
Support and contacts
Resources, Distribution and Outreach
Contact: Rachel Connolly
NOVA/WGBH Boston

30. 11 programs available, including:
A Global Water Story
Valley Oaks: an Ecological Journey through Time
The Lake Effect: Creating a Resilient Future
Forests, Beetles, and the Cycles of Life
The Hidden Ocean: Visualizing the Conditions for Life
The Search for Water: Replenishing Watersheds in the Texas Drought

31. Programs include: Storyboard narration Uniview Installer file
Alignment with NOAA Climate Literacy framework and NGSS
Dedicated Webpage with resources
Data Sources

32. Complimentary Outreach Program: Worldviews Science Cafes
Cafe Outreach Model +
Bioregional Community Dialogue

33. Distribution: www.worldviews.net
Distribute interactive visualization templates to partners and the public

34. Distribution Timeline
Programs begin rollout in December of on worldviews.net
Professional Development offerings beginning in Jan 2014 (Google Hangouts)
Collection of training videos