ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks for your tremendous response to our survey request!  This is just a little reminder, that if you haven't responded yet, tomorrow is your last opportunity.  We've already received feedback from a wide variety of institutions and hope yours is one of them!

The online survey can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/78DSW5W

Thanks again and all the best,

Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Zevin 
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 4:58 PM
To: 'Informal Science Education Network'
Subject: Brief Survey on Multi-Cultural Views of Nature/Science Project - might win a cool book!
Importance: High

Greetings Everyone!

We need your input on our ideas for a new project in order to serve you as best we can.  A very brief online survey has therefore been setup for this purpose. More details about the proposed project and survey follow. The survey itself should take roughly 10 minutes to complete, and if you complete it by 5:00pm Pacific Time, Tuesday June 15, 2010, your name will be entered into a drawing to receive one of five copies of "Native Universe: Voices of Indian America," a beautiful full-color book featuring the work of many of our foremost indigenous writers, scholars, and leaders along with captivating illustrations culled from the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

The online survey can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/78DSW5W  

We hope you can help by lending your voice to this project!

Many thanks,

Dan Zevin
(on behalf of the project team)

=====
The Indigenous Education Institute and U.C. Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory (who are collaborators on the NSF-funded Cosmic Serpent project: http://cosmicserpent.org/) have partnered with the University of Hawai`i at Hilo's `Imiloa Astronomy Center to propose a set of complementary tools to help museums and other informal education institutions engage the public in areas where western science and indigenous knowledge intersect and can benefit each other. To do this, the project will address different worldviews of nature and science as illustrated through observations of the natural world by four different cultures (including three indigenous cultures - Native Hawaiian, Navajo, and Maya - and the culture of western science). The project will explore the variety of ways in which these cultures observe, measure, and perceive cycles in nature and changes in the environment; and how multi-cultural perspectives contribute to the body of scientific knowledge and allow for more equitable access to science for non-dominant groups. Part of this project will also be to gain new insight into how culture impacts science learning and engagement.

Project deliverables would be designed to support programming that highlights multi-cultural perspectives on nature and science. We are considering developing the following menu of flexible resources as part of a toolkit for informal education institutions:

1. Strategies and ideas for participating institutions to use their own collections and other resources to explore the project's main themes
2. Documentary film or short film clips
3. Portable planetarium modules
4. Interactive website
5. Detailed guide for designing and facilitating public discussion forums around the project topics (with an emphasis on considerations for local environmental issues)
6. Banner display or mini-exhibit with imagery and signage reflective of diverse worldviews of nature and science to serve as a backdrop for public forums and/or a film

Implementation of public programming using the proposed toolkit would be enhanced through training and support for participating institutions and their staff. 

Your responses to this brief survey (which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, with 14 short questions total) will help guide project design. In return for your time and expertise, we will enter your name into a drawing to receive one of five copies of Native Universe: Voices of Indian America, a beautiful full-color book featuring the work of many of our foremost indigenous writers, scholars, and leaders along with captivating illustrations culled from the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/78DSW5W  

**************
Dan Zevin
Space Sciences Laboratory
7 Gauss Way, MC 7450
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-7450
[log in to unmask]
http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]