Explore awards
Use the filter menu and interactive map to explore the past competitions offered and grants awarded through the Environmental Literacy Program.
To learn more about project findings and outcomes, view the summaries of our grantees’ summative evaluation reports.
Science-on-a-Sphere Programming: Presenting NOAA Science at the Maryland Science Center, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and in the National Traveling Exhibition "Water Planet"
Using the relative strengths of each museum, the Science On a Sphere® Partnership between the Maryland Science Center and the Science Museum of Minnesota has developed two complementary exhibit approaches to Science On a Sphere® (SOS). Audiences interacting with SOS are able to observe global connections in geophysical phenomena not possible with any two dimensional representation of the Earth. The goal of the project is for museum visitors, particularly underserved audiences, to comprehend how human activities are influencing global processes now and might do so in the future. The project also tests new partnership models for working with NOAA and other science research organizations to broaden the educational impact on all groups.
Science-on-a-Sphere Installation: Presenting NOAA Science at the Maryland Science Center, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and in the National Traveling Exhibition "Water Planet"
This award supports the installation of a Science On a Sphere® in two museums comprising the SOS Partnership®, a collaboration between the Maryland Science Center ( Baltimore ) and the Science Museum of Minnesota ( St. Paul ). Each of the two museum installations will take advantage of the wide variety of NOAA data sets that Science On a Sphere® (SOS) projects onto a six-foot sphere, creating unique, animated, whole-planet views of real-time, past and forecasted, weather, climate and geophysical processes, and many other dramatic visualizations of the whole Earth.
Building and Distributing SciGuides and Science Objects
In 2004, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) embarked on a cooperative agreement with the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS) to develop a series of education products for teachers corresponding to topics aligned to NOAA’s mission. The products--called Science Objects and SciGuides--address teacher professional development needs, and provide classroom resources. The agreement includes both evaluative components and a means for dissemination. The topics are drawn from science education standards, specifically a draft Oceans map AAAS produced that is modeled after the benchmark maps found in the Atlas of Science Literacy (2001). The topics are also informed by the National Science Educations Standards (1996). The topics were selected to support the curriculum at the high school level. These topics were in turn aligned to science research produced by NOAA scientists. Several months after the cooperative agreement was formalized, NSTA and the NOAA Office of Education and Sustainable Development agreed to a work order to produce a single SciGuide at the middle school level that will draw on topics found in the AAAS Weather and Climate map. Production for this SciGuide is due to start in June 2005 and will be completed in November 2005. To ensure topic choices, NSTA standards experts proposed a list from which to choose. Its experts also concentrated their analysis of the maps to the grade bands that interested each line office – high school for the NOS and middle school for the OESD. The universe of topics is far from exhausted. NSTA would like to expand on these partnerships to plan, implement, and evaluate two additional Science Objects and two SciGuides at the middle level, which will be disseminated through two Symposia that take place at NSTA conventions in fall 2006 and spring 2007. The additional development will fill in two of the gaps left open in the maps, and equip even more science educators to better teach the science of the NOAA, namely oceans, coasts, charting and navigation, weather, energy flow through an ecosystem, and climate. This partnership will bring NSTA educational professionals and master teachers together in an ongoing working relationship with NOAA scientists, writers, content experts, and communications professionals.
Expanding Capacity of the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI)
The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) is working with The Marine Mammal Center, Knology, and the Frameworks Institute to build national capacity for evidence-based climate communication through innovative training programs and a community of practice that engages educators, scientists, community activists, and communities of color. Nearly two-thirds of Americans talk about climate change only occasionally or not at all, resulting in a lack of action to address one of the most critical issues of our time. The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation has worked for more than a decade to advance the science and practice of effective public communication around climate change by developing, evaluating, and deploying communications tools that employ both cutting-edge climate science and communication research to increase both knowledge of climate change and a willingness to engage in climate action. The network’s community of practice offers resources, events, and activities to support members’ social, emotional, and intellectual growth, sustaining their long-term commitment to activate the public around climate action. Despite many successes and impact shown through previous programs, gaps still exist in the availability of these messages to communities across the country, and an intentional focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion is critical to ensure that communications and proposed solutions are accessible and appropriate for marginalized communities. New lessons connecting justice, equity, diversity and inclusion will be developed and tested by a justice and equity team, as well as outside experts. These new lessons will be included in all training programs, including an existing online course focused on building awareness for climate communicators, and a new virtual and in-person training course for climate communication trainers in the Southeastern United States. Through these training programs, a new training platform, and the support of a new project coordinator, the network will welcome new climate trainers and communicators, while building a stronger community of practice nationwide.