October 1st, 1998 - September 30th, 2001 | PROJECT
The Museum of Science, Boston will develop an exhibit about Aging. It will be a 6000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit that will open in Boston during April, 2000 coinciding with the United Nations' International Year of Older Persons. The exhibit will provide visitors with an engaging and interactive environment in which to explore scientific, personal, and social aspects of aging. This exhibit will put a spotlight on the remarkable change that has been occurring as a result of in the increased survival rates for people of all ages contributing, among other things, to an increase in the number of older adults. This exhibit will be organized around four themes that will engage visitors in the exploration of the basic scientific research and impact of this change in demographics. The themes are: 1) the biological research that is seeking to understand how and why all living things age, 2) the impact of the physiological and psychological effects of the aging process of humans, 3) the influence of personal, social, and cultural factors on an individual's aging process and 4) the demographic, economic and public policy aspects of aging. There will be a number of complementary programs developed which will be packaged in a tool kit format that will permit museums borrowing the exhibit to develop those components that are allowed by their resources. These programs include a museum theater production that will invite visitors to think about aging in the context of their own society/culture; a world-wide-web resource to assist teachers and other community educators; and a series of multigenerational one-day programs to encourage interactions between different generations within a family or participating group. The exhibit will provide an opportunity for linkage with the needs of the formal education community. Its content addresses important parts of the formal science education curriculum as identified in the National Science Education Standards, Science for All Americans, and Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
Project Website(s)
(no project website provided)
Project Products
Team Members
Janice Crocker, Principal Investigator, Museum of ScienceLarry Bell, Co-Principal Investigator, Museum of Science
Funders
Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 9814955
Funding Amount: 1546377
Tags
Audience: General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Health and medicine | History | policy | law | Life science | Nature of science | Social science and psychology
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Exhibitions | Media and Technology | Museum and Science Center Exhibits | Museum and Science Center Programs | Public Programs | Theater Programs | Websites | Mobile Apps | Online Media