March 1st, 2006 - February 28th, 2010 | PROJECT
Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) is an innovative project that creates unique partnerships between informal science education institutions and local colleges conducting research in ocean sciences, with an emphasis on earth, biological and geochemical sciences. The project enables over 100 undergraduate and graduate students that are enrolled in the Communicating Ocean Sciences college course to create engaging learning activities and teaching kits in conjunction with their informal education partners. Institutional teams include: Long Beach Aquarium and California State University-Long Beach; Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University; Virginia Aquarium and Science Center and Hampton University; Liberty Science Center and Rutgers University; and Lawrence Hall of Science and University of California-Berkeley. Students learn valuable outreach skills by providing visiting families and children with classes, guided tours and interactive learning experiences. Deliverables include a three-day partner workshop, a series of COSIA Handbooks (Collaboration Guide, Informal Education Guide and Outreach Guide), an Informal Science Education Activities Manual and Web Bank of hands-on activities. Strategic impact will be realized through the creation of partnerships between universities and informal science education institutions and capacity building that will occur as informal science institutions create networks to support the project. It is also anticipated the evaluation outcomes will inform the field abut the benefits of museum and university partnerships. The project will impact more than 30,000 elementary and middle school children and their families, as well as faculty, staff and students at the partnering institutions.
Project Website(s)
(no project website provided)
Project Products
Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) - Case Studies
Communicating Ocean sciences to Informal Audiences Summative Report
Team Members
Catherine Halversen, Principal Investigator, University of California-BerkeleyCraig Strang, Co-Principal Investigator, University of California-Berkeley
Funders
Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0540417
Funding Amount: 1836576
Tags
Audience: Adults | Elementary School Children (6-10) | Families | Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum | ISE Professionals | Scientists | Undergraduate | Graduate Students
Discipline: Chemistry | Geoscience and geography | Life science
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Community Outreach Programs | Higher Education Programs | Informal | Formal Connections | Museum and Science Center Programs | Professional Development | Conferences | Networks | Professional Development and Workshops | Public Programs