Communicating Climate Change (C3)

The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), in collaboration with the Yale Project on Climate Change and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, is conducting a three-year project whose goal is to build the capacity of twelve science centers as well as of twelve NSF-funded Long-term Ecological Research Centers (LTER) for the purpose of engaging the public in climate change science. The twelve sites span the USA from the east coast to Hawaii. The goal of these simultaneous projects is to illustrate local indicators of global change. Additional partners include ScienCentral, Inc. (TV media producers), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the American Geophysical Union, NOAA, Natural History magazine, and a national board of advisors. Deliverables include: (1) twelve local demonstration projects with launch programs, exhibits/programs, TV spots, citizen science activities, and an interactive map illustrating the work of the twelve sites, (2) professional development for informal STEM education professionals and LTER research faculty, (3) a national survey to assess the USA population's climate literacy, and (4) a culminating workshop for the ISE field, a permanent resource database, and a final publication. Evaluation processes are being conducted by David Heil & Associates.