Jumping Genes: Exploring the Use of Virtual Worlds for Online Science Exhibits

The Cornell Theory Center (CTC), the university's high performance computing center, will use a Small Grant for Exploratory Research to develop a prototype online exhibit entitled "Jumping Genes." The goal is to use interactive technologies to design a 3D virtual world that engages young audiences (ages 11 & up) and encourages further exploration. The content of the online exhibit will focus on transposons, small sequences of nucleic acids associated with the rice genome. The rice transposons are thought to play a part in evolution and are currently being studied for potential use in genetic engineering. By experimenting with a variety of open-ended and discrete activities, the CTC will design a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) that is comparable to exhibits found in science museums in terms of both quality and effectiveness. This final product will be disseminated via SciCentr.org, CTC's virtual science museum, as well as on Activeworlds, an online educational universe for middle and high school students that employs a virtual reality interface.