DragonflyTV GPS: Smaller Museum Series

August 10th, 2006 - January 31st, 2008 | PROJECT

Twin Cities Public Television is producing seven new episodes for the DragonflyTV GPS (Going Places in Science) series. DragonflyTV is a weekly science television series on PBS targeted at children ages 9-12. DragonflyTV GPS presents children engaged in inquiry-based investigations, on-location in science centers across America. The purpose of this project is to 1) complete a full season of GPS episodes, giving PBS programmers a complete "season" and 2) shine the GPS spotlight on the network of smaller science museums, showing the distinctive contribution they make to their communities and to informal science education. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Each investigation will demonstrate the direct connection between learning experiences in science centers and the application of those lessons in everyday life. DragonflyTV segments are cleared for any and all uses beyond broadcast, and are distributed on DVDs, videotapes, streamed online and even offered for iPod downloads. The GPS programs will involve ten or more science center partners, and be coordinated with the assistance of lead partners -- the Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Multimedia Research and RMC Research will conduct formative and summative project evaluations, respectively.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Project Products

Study of Collaborations between Museums and Media
Review of Museum-based Segments of DragonflyTV: Going Places in Science
Using Video in the Science Classroom: Report on a four month study of teachers' use of DragonflyTV videos and Educator Guides
DragonflyTV: Going Places in Science Children's Viewing Study

Team Members

Richard Hudson, Principal Investigator, Twin Cities Public Television
Barbara Flagg, Evaluator, Multimedia Research

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0610429
Funding Amount: 1821105

Tags

Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: General STEM | Nature of science
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Broadcast Media | Media and Technology