September 15th, 1998 - March 31st, 2003 | PROJECT
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) in collaboration with the Illinois State Museum (ISM), the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications(NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, will form a museum consortium to develop two virtual reality interactive displays (River Pilot Simulator and Digital River Basin) and other web-based activities that focus on the Mississippi River. This group will be known as the Mississippi River Web Museum Consortium. Each museum will end up with both software modules that will lead visitors to the story of the River. The river's local presence will serve as an entry point for the visitors at each museum. The NCSA will contribute their access to and knowledge of powerful computer simulation, scientific visualization, and collaborations technologies that are usually restricted to research settings and rarely available to a museum audience or the general public. The Consortium will also develop a shared site on the WWW that will invite users to engage in guided inquiry that will deepen their understanding of the large, complex, and integrated river system. The science content underlying the project will include river hydrology and geomorphology, life sciences, environmental studies employing geographic information systems, and the physics of motion. The activities will address a number of the National Science Education Standards. Complementary programming linking these activities with formal education include a RiverWeb(tm) Posting Board and a RiverWeb(tm) Classroom Resource Guide.
Project Website(s)
(no project website provided)
Team Members
Bonnie Styles, Principal Investigator, Illinois State Museum SocietyFunders
Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 9814286
Funding Amount: 399180
Tags
Audience: General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Geoscience and geography | Life science | Physics
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Exhibitions | Games | Simulations | Interactives | Media and Technology | Museum and Science Center Exhibits | Professional Development | Conferences | Networks | Resource Centers and Networks | Websites | Mobile Apps | Online Media