“…it’s not that Education and Outreach is an afterthought, it’s just the last thing

I do before I submit my proposal”

AGU – San Francisco

December 14, 2004

About the Ocean Institute

Informal Science Center; est. 1981 78,000 K-12 students/yr; 60 programs;

avg. stay time 6.9 hours 130 staff; 500 volunteers

CORE 2004

Sea Floor Science Exhibition/Programs Smarter Sensing Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing

System (SCCOOS) Watershed Education Program SeaTech: High School Career and Technology

Program Marine Life Refuge Project Long Term Ecological Research (LTER)

Slopes, Slides, Tsunamis SIO, MBARI, USGS

What does it mean to have your materials translated – SST

Levels of involvement/having fun Results

SST became a lesson in stability

Communicating complex stories requires many concurrent approaches

Best E&O creates environments for geoscientists to

share their enthusiasm for their subject

Some results

“There was something there for all ages. The younger kids got a kick out of some of the rooms, like where you could play with block and other activities. Some of the exhibits were for older children that could understand and read about . . . Tsunamis. There were a lot of people around giving talks and if you had any questions they were more than willing to answer your questions. I think it’s a really great place for all ages—little kids as well as adults.” [SST 7]

Underwater Archaeology Texas A&M; MIT and WHOI

Show what translation means to the materials

Levels of involvement/having fun Results

Communicating complex stories requires many concurrent approaches

Best E&O creates environments for geoscientists to share their enthusiasm for their subject

Some results…

(What was your favorite experience at the Institute?) I thought the class on ocean archeology was very interesting for adults and kids alike. (What was appealing about that?) It’s hands-on for kids and there [were] certain elements of science that were interesting. I work in engineering, so that appealed to me. You learn some basic principles of science. In this case they talked about electrolysis and the restoration of the artifacts that are dredged up out of the ocean. So my kids had fun and we all learned something. [UA 15]

More results…

(What, if anything, did you find out about current scientific research?) I’m glad they’re [the OI] trying to share it with the public. I think it’s very nice that they’re making an effort. I don’t know how to express it, but to bring their work to us is really nice. *Makes us probably more aware of what’s going on. **So we can share the excitement, too. It’s not really very available in many forums. This is a really nice forum. (Was there anything, in particular, that you found out of the research that’s going on?) Earlier today, I met this scientist from M.I.T. that’s working on ROVs. And then on this Tour they talked about the site he was working on. So, I guess I found out that new technologies are being used in archaeology. [All speakers are adults; Group Interview #2]

The scientist’s perspective

“I spent the first three days [at the OI] just talking to everybody. . . . [Since I was there] for a very short amount of time, I need to—through a very quick, iterative process—[communicate] this is what I want to do and this is how I want to do the talks . . . and then [have] them respond to me and say, ‘You can do that but you really need to change it in this way, you need to be more accessible, . . . you need to make this graph simpler, you need to make this map explain more. . . .’ I had no idea what [a] middle-school audience knows or doesn’t know. . . . There’s a culture here [at OI], and they actively try and grow this culture of always getting better. So [for] the month that I’m here, I’m going to develop a presentation, . . . and then [each time] I give it I’ll go back and think about what [I] did right and what I did wrong—when did people stand up and leave versus when did people start asking questions. So, I it’s about constantly reviewing what you do.” (Brian Bingham)

The Extreme Environments Lab Experience

SIO; WHOI; Penn State; UW and JPL

Robotics and Sensors Lab

ecoSystems Analysis Lab Structure and Function Lab Earth and Life History Lab

Some E&O programs meeting higher societal needs (it’s not just a web site anymore!)

•SeaTech – using Bioacoustics and Marine Mammals to teach underrepresented high school school students career and technology skills

•Watershed Education Program – involving over 2000 students/yr in original research in their watersheds and developing interactions with policy makers

•SCCOOS – developing a district wide 5th grade program that prepares students for 2007 No Child Left Behind assessments

Review 6 tips for Geoscientists

Choose good Partners Be prepared to simplify your work In the end it’s all about efficiency Involve your graduate students, post-docs Don’t undersell your budget Take some risk and have some fun