The purpose of this study was to investigate pupils’ knowledge about science and what role science center is playing as a medium of communication to increase knowledge among students. This study also tried to find out pupils’ interaction: how they use science center as a source of scientific information, what they learn from their visit to a science center, their pattern of communication with it. This project also measured attraction, holding and learning power of exhibits of the science center at Dalarna University in Borlänge and learning power of planetarium program and slide show of Stella Nova Planetarium at Dalarna University.The subjects of this study consisted of students of class seven and eight and teachers of an urban school in Borlänge, Sweden. To find out students’ learning in a science center a pre and post visit test were conducted through questionnaires. Interview method by questionnaires was also used to explore pupils’ interaction with science center.The results of this study show that students learn by their visit to a science center but learning was not statistically significant (0.05).Girls learnt better than boys. School classes that have better pre-knowledge about science before a visit to a science center learnt worse than other classes having less pre-knowledge. Girls and boys interact with a science center in different ways. Science center is playing important role as a science communicator.

In the 1960s a movement by the National Audubon Society encouraged growing communities to set aside a portion of undeveloped land to be used as nature centers to teach conservation and natural history while allowing people to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of nature. This research responds to the need for a greater understanding of who is visiting nature centers in the 21st century and why. A key question is whether or not nature centers have kept up with changing times and advancing technologies. No research has been conducted to determine if nature centers are still relevant today to a society accustomed to living and learning electronically in a virtual reality. In order to determine who visits nature centers and why, a questionnaire was developed and administered to Members and Non-members of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge (FWNC) of Fort Worth, TX. It was determined that visitors to the FWNC were not representative of the general population of the surrounding area. They were older, predominantly white, and had higher education levels. Using the membership in a Friends organization as a representative population of nature center visitors, it was determined that the Non-member visitors were similar to the Members except that they were younger. Members visited the FWNC with a higher degree of frequency than Non-members, but there was no difference in degree of visitation to other nature centers. Both groups identified "lack of time" as the primary barrier to increased visitation. Members appeared to be seeking specific, educational experiences compared to Non-members who tended to seek more general, recreational experiences. Members had more specific knowledge about benefits and services that the FWNC provided the community. Overall, both groups were satisfied with their visits, with Members having a more defined set of expectations and a higher level of satisfaction. This preliminary assessment suggests that nature centers continue to be a relevant source for education, recreation and relaxation, and continue to remain a unique resource in keeping 21st century society connected to the nature world.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on March 3, 2010). School of Social Work, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Margaret E. Adamek, Carol Hostetter, Gail M. Folaron, Angela B. McBride. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-160).

No description available.

The modern disconnect between agricultural producers and consumers in Canada is a result of an increasingly smaller percentage of society taking part in the ‘making’ of food. Fruit breeding —the practice of selectively breeding two fruit varieties to create a genetically superior offspring— is a scientific process found at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, B.C. Canada that orchardists use to produce more while investing less. This thesis attempts to reveal the fruit breeding process by establishing an architectural procession through the agricultural landscape in order to reconnect consumer and producer. Further, the design of this thesis explores the development of an architecture of place in order to establish a deeper connection with the fruit breeding process for the visitor.

The goals of museum collaboration are several, as are its intended beneficiaries. Assuming the success of the practice, local communities can gain the opportunity for self-representation and self-determination, museums can contribute to the creation and dissemination of new kinds of knowledge, and visitors can take home better understandings of cultural difference. While these are the ideals of collaboration, they frequently go unrealized, in large part because, as research indicates, the visiting public fails to recognize the active involvement of communities at museums. This raises the question as to whether, in the absence of this audience awareness, museum collaboration can fully contribute to the realization of the tolerant society that it purports to support. The purpose of this research is to examine the role of museum visitors in achieving the goals of museum collaboration, as well as to consider why this public has difficulty recognizing community involvement at museums and how this may be remedied. “A Partnership of Peoples” is an extensive renewal project underway at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), designed to facilitate collaborative research at the museum. It also serves as a case study for my consideration of the relationship between museums and the visiting public as a part of the collaborative process. By speaking with both MOA staff and visitors, I gained insight into the intended goals of the renewal project with respect to the museum’s relationship with communities and the general public, as well as visitor understandings of collaboration. With this fieldwork, in addition to a literature review, I found that the significance of collaboration rests in the personal interactions that occur between individuals. As the majority of visitors do not benefit from these interactions during their time at the museum, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to recognizing the engagement of others in the creation of displays or the facilitation of research. The task for museums, then, is to make contemporary peoples visible and audible, connecting objects to communities and increasing opportunities for visitors to experience these personal meanings.

This thesis proposes an architecturally integrated stormwater system and research facility in the town of Wasagaming, Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP), Manitoba. The design proposal provides four-season, interior and exterior space for the integration of resource management operations and park visitor experiences. Visible integration of infrastructure, building and landscape cultivate destination-based travel to RMNP while reducing human impacts on the ecosystem. Aging infrastructure and diminishing federal funding make responsible ecological and cultural management of parks increasingly difficult. Integration of research and tourism as a component of visitor experience at parks is one way of addressing cost-effective co-location of programme, ensuring future funding can be generated for resource management.

This thesis is an investigation of network analysis to understand differences between how three congeners have adapted pollination network strategies to ensure adequate gene flow. This study will focus on three species of Erigeron (Fleabanes), one endemic species adapted to cliff wall habitat in one canyon fragmented by topography (E. lemmonii) at Fort Huachuca Military Reserve, and two others (E. arisolius and E. neomexicanus) adapted to more diverse habitat conditions in a larger range in Arizona, USA. Sustainability of military lands and protected species are primary concerns for Army land management, and these findings will be made available to the U.S. Army, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource managers to use in their respective management plans. UCINET software was used to construct the insect flower visitor networks for the three Erigeron species by recording insect visitors / plant interactions and comparing their visitation networks to each other. Erigeron arisolius and E. neomexicanus have redudndant network architecture, compared to E. lemmonii which has a fragile network supporting a unique insect community. If the E. lemmonii population disappears, a collapse of its dependent insect visitors may also occur. Other new botanical information was discovered and recorded for E. lemmonii. It has a xenogamous mating system, and can also reproduce by vegetative means. An individual capitulum has a three week flowering period, and the population has individual plants blooming over a six month flowering season with May being the peak. It grows in highly organic soil on cliff face crevices in the Scheelite Canyon. Another aspect was to develop and publish genetic microsatellite markers for the three species of Erigeron, which are the first microsatellite markers to be identified for this genus. This included determining the chromosome number of E. lemmonii, before the genetic markers could be identified for this species. Eight microsatellite markers were identified for E. lemmonii and nine markers were identified for E. arisolius. However, no markers for E. neomexicanus were identified because of confounding results. Erigeron lemmonii has less genetic diversity, lower mean heterozygosity and fewer alleles, than E. arisolius. / This study was funded by the U.S. Army Environmental Quality Technology Program, at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (Project 09-03).

The purpose of this project was to interview mothers of newborns who participated in early intervention services focusing on the implementation of a tool developed at the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) in North Carolina. The intent was to examine the experience of mothers and home visitors employing the tool, which was designed to enhance the mother/infant relationship. However, a stronger focus on the relationship between mother and home visitor emerged throughout the interviews. Among some participants the relationship among practitioner and parent appeared to create a safe space to share, practice strategies and grow. Although characteristics of FIPP practices associated with the tool remained consistent among home visitors, the way in which services were implemented were unique to each home visitor and parent. Mothers participating in the project were identified as coping with numerous life stressors associated with poverty at the time of the interviews.

Museums are vast resources, but much of their information is inaccessible to visitors. Typical labels for artifacts provide few details, making it difficult for non-expert visitors to learn about an artifact, and to find its relevance to other artifacts or to themselves. Although museums have developed interpretive aids such as brochures and audio guides, these are limited and do not offer visitors the possibility to explore artifacts both broadly and deeply as they go through an exhibition. Visitors often have questions that go unanswered or pass through an exhibition without being engaged. As visitors all have their own personal interests and preferences, it would be difficult to offer a usable version of any current interpretive aid that includes all of the information, stories, and related content that each visitor would like. Personal mobile devices provide a platform for interactivity and access to an unlimited amount of information, presentation of rich media, and flexibility for customized experiences both inside the museum and beyond. To bridge the gap between museum collection information and visitor engagement, I propose a framework for increasing engagement through resonant, rich, and interactive experiences mediated by a personal mobile guide, and present a case study and functional prototype mobile guide for the Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Museum of Art.