Explore awards

AMNH will use NOAA weather satellite data to annotate 72 high definition (HD) video time-series global cloud cover visualizations using thermal infrared brightness temperature data acquired by five geostationary satellites and joined into global mosaics at half-hourly intervals. The HD visualizations will be used in informal and formal education activities and will be made available on the Web. These media pieces will be used for informal education activities at AMNH and 28 other informal science institutions (ISI) around the United States . The target population of visitors to subscribing ISIs is currently ten million and is projected to be over 15 million by the end of the grant. The HD visualizations will be used in formal settings, as well. Fifteen schools throughout New York City with large numbers of new English Language Learners will be targeted and professional development for teachers of ELL students will be provided through programs at AMNH as well. AMNH's effort focuses on weather and climate patterns that will be visible in the cloud-data visualizations. All viewers of the media will learn about general circulation patterns and changes in phase of water associated with the hydrologic cycle.

The SOS Ocean-Atmosphere Literacy Partnership is a collaboration among the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, NY; Maryland Science Center (MSC) in Baltimore, MD; and Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in St. Paul, MN. This collaboration will create two six-minute programs and two 30-minute live presentations for the spherical display systems, including NOAA's Science on a Sphere. The SMM will produce "Ocean-Atmosphere Thermodynamics"; the AMNH will produce, "Tropical Cyclones: Theory, Models, and Observations."

The American Museum of Natural History, in association with several NOAA entities, will be creating a suite of media products employing visualization of Earth-observation data as well as associated professional development programs to expand educational experiences in informal science institutions nationwide. Interactive versions of the visualizations will also be disseminated via the AMNH website. Visualization assets will be distributed to NOAA for utilization on climate.gov and Science on a Sphere. The creation of training programs and educational materials for informal education professionals will enhance the experience and efficacy of the data visualizations as tools to understand and build stewardship of Earth systems.

Discovery Science Center of Orange County (DSC) proposes a cooperative agreement with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to install Science On a Sphere (SOS) spherical display system showing Earth system science in DSC's informal educational science center under Priority 1 of this funding opportunity. With the closest SOS display system located in Northern California, installation of this technology at DSC will provide access to NOAA's data by over 400,000 students, their families and educators from Southern California annually. As partners, DSC will ensure that NOAA data sets are incorporated into educational resources that align with California State Science Standards and will meet NOAA educational plan goals.

The Environmental Scientist-in-Residence Program will leverage NOAA's scientific assets and personnel by combining them with the creativity and educational knowledge of the pioneer hands-on science center. To do this, the program will embed NOAA scientists in a public education laboratory at the Exploratorium. Working closely with youth Explainers, exhibit developers, and Web and interactive media producers at the Exploratorium, NOAA scientists will share instruments, data, and their professional expertise with a variety of public audiences inside the museum and on the Web. At the same time the scientists will gain valuable skills in informal science communication and education. Through cutting-edge iPad displays, screen-based visualizations, data-enriched maps and sensor displays, and innovative interactions with visitors on the museum floor, this learning laboratory will enable NOAA scientists and Exploratorium staff to investigate new hands-on techniques for engaging the public in NOAA's environmental research and monitoring efforts.

Carbon Networks is a three-year collaborative project that aims to improve public understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification and atmospheric carbon dioxide on the environment. It involves three informal education partners - the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii, and the Pacific Science Center in Seattle - working together to provide professional development for staff and local educators, as well as create educational programs and activities for museum visitors using authentic ocean and atmospheric data. The project aims to address the disconnect between scientific evidence and the public's understanding of these impacts by developing and implementing professional development workshops and training programs that connect local ocean and atmospheric data with regional, Pacific, and global systems. The goal is to create meaningful place-based education narratives and activities that help people better understand the evolving narrative and impact of ocean acidification and climate change.

Literacy Volunteers America of Monroe County and The College of Exploration are developing and implementing a pilot project to target traditionally under-represented ethnic groups who are limited English proficient – many reading and writing in English at the grade 0 - grade 5.5 level. The project goals are for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to use digital photo cameras, digital video cameras, waterproof underwater HD cameras and GPS technologies to geo-locate, explore, observe, record, display and tell stories in English both in words, photos and short HD video clip sequences. Stories will be about the exploration of places like the National Marine Sanctuaries and other areas of the country and coasts where there are scientific observation and monitoring opportunities created and supported by NOAA partners.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at the mouth of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound. Its mission is to inspire people to appreciate and protect the Sound and the global environment. As global climate change increases, extreme storms and sea levels continue to rise and a growing percentage of the 23 million people living within 50 miles of the Sound are directly affected by severe weather events, providing a timely opportunity to educate students, teachers, and the public about community resilience. From 2017-2020, the Aquarium developed and delivered an innovative three-session climate resilience education program to more than 2,000 middle and high school students in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The Sound Resilience student experience began in the classroom, where students learned about the impacts of hurricanes and coastal storms on their communities and used a hands-on “beach in a box” to model the effectiveness of built structures like seawalls and natural resilience features including salt marshes and oyster reefs. Then, during a two-hour research cruise on the Aquarium’s hybrid-electric research vessel, Spirit of the Sound, students collaborated to map their home coastlines from the water: identifying vulnerable locations from apartment buildings to power plants, as well as the existing resilience structures protecting their coast. On the vessel they also stepped into the role of climate scientists, conducting real-time weather and water sampling, including collecting and examining photosynthetic plankton that absorb carbon and help to slow down the effects of climate change. The third program session, back in the classroom, sent students on a design and decision-making journey, in which they compared their collaboratively created resilience map with flood-risk maps of their hometown, then worked together to identify gaps in resilience infrastructure and design a resilience plan for their community. As a result of Sound Resilience – Get on Board!, there were significant gains in students’ understanding of resilience science and their own sense of agency in creating a resilient future for their communities. Participants also reported deeper understanding of, and connection to, the Sound’s coastal ecosystems, which serve to buffer storm waves, sequester carbon, and protect communities from extreme weather and climate change. The Aquarium also developed and delivered a teacher professional development workshop focusing on effective and standards-aligned methods of teaching climate change, resilience, and environmental justice issues. Finally, an interactive experience was created for guests in one of the Aquarium’s most highly trafficked spaces. It includes a series of twenty-foot map projections of Long Island Sound showing present and future vulnerabilities and resilience methods, as well as a touch-screen kiosk where guests can interact with NOAA resources showing the risks that floods and sea level rise pose to their home communities. Although the grant period has ended, the resources created thanks to NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program will live on. The guest experience on the Aquarium floor will continue for the foreseeable future and the student programs—in-person as well as virtual—and teacher workshops will remain available within the Aquarium’s program catalog.

This 2-year program will advance the way informal ocean science education institutions reach underserved/underrepresented families by facilitating and formalizing relationships between informal science education centers and community based organizations. Project teams in five New England communities will collaborate to create a practicable, outdoor ocean-science learning experience specifically designed for families in their shared service area. Building on a needs assessment produced through target-audience focus groups, the program will combine coastal field experiences with web-based interactive and participatory learning activities developed and tested by the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL; www.eol.org/) and the Northeast Regional Association for Coastal and Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS) to support in-field and ongoing learning. Science content will be informed and vetted by NOAA research scientists and work between the science centers and community organizations will be professionally facilitated. Formats and effectiveness will be evaluated by external evaluators and revised throughout the project.

Communities in WV are acutely vulnerable to flooding and are woefully unprepared for their current climate reality, let alone for a future where rainfall and floods are more frequent and intense. Meeting the challenge of building equitable and resilient communities in marginalized and under-resourced areas like West Virginia requires a transformative approach to learning, knowledge production, and action - an approach where communities build skills, confidence, and capacity to assess vulnerabilities, create resilience plans, and participate in planning and decision making. To meet this need, West Virginia University (WVU), WVU Extension, and the WV State Resiliency Office will be engaging with high school-aged youth, their teachers, and communities through the Preparing Agents of Change for Tomorrow (PACT): Building Youth Confidence and Capacity for Climate Resilient Futures in Appalachia project. This three-year project informed by NOAA’s Community Resilience Theory of Change and Climate Resilience Toolkit will cultivate the next generation of problem solvers through a dynamic social and active learning curriculum focused on the fundamentals of disaster and resilience literacy and community resilience planning that is theoretically grounded in intergenerational learning - the transfer of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior from children to parents - where youth can foster collective concern, behavior, and action amongst themselves, their parents, and communities. By increasing the participation of youth in community resilience planning and decision-making, PACT will not only cultivate the next generation of community leaders, problem solvers, and decision-makers but also draw critical attention to much needed community preparedness critical to creating a safer, healthier, more hopeful, and equitable future in West Virginia. The specific objective of PACT is to create a data-driven, evidence-based education and planning program that 1. Guides youth, teachers, families, and communities through a spectrum of disaster and resilience literacy and household preparedness activities, 2. Mentors youth through the process of community flood resilience planning and plan development, and 3. Develops a network of youth resilience ambassadors that participate in resilience planning throughout the state while positively impacting their communities. Through three levels of engagement, PACT will 1. Engage with 35 classrooms and 875 youth across five of West Virginia’s most flood-prone counties through a school enrichment program that provides disaster and resilience literacy lessons and activities; 2. Host three Youth Resilience Ambassador camps that will train 175 youth on assessing community vulnerability and developing community resilience plans; and 3. Host three Youth Resilience Leadership Summits with 140 youth that will present their resilience plans and engage with peers, community, professionals, and elected decision makers. Furthermore, PACT will submit annually updated Youth Resilience Ambassador community resilience plans to the WV State Resiliency Office. Through the PACT project, we anticipate youth driving action in their communities to reduce flood vulnerability and strengthen resilience through participation, becoming the agents of change needed to move the region through an uncertain 21st century.