From the Secretary: Inspiring wonder and delivering knowledge online
Twig catfish eggs (Photo by Mehgan Murphy)
Recently, the Smithsonian hosted a three-hour “Guess the Species Contest” on Twitter using a cool unidentified photo of twig catfish and their eggs at the National Zoo. We offered a hint: the creature’s name contains both “predator” and “prey.” The contest received 800 views and three correct responses, including one from a sixth-grade class in tiny Hutto, Texas (pop. 1,830). Based on their own fishing experience, the students guessed “catfish.” We posted their answer and noted that the twig catfish are indigenous to the Amazon. The teacher tweeted back excitedly: Her next day’s lesson was about the Amazon! Did we have resources? Within moments, she received links to the Zoo’s Amazonia page and a virtual tour of the biological diversity of the Guiana Shield area of northeastern South America developed by Smithsonian botanist Vicky Funk. The next day, the teacher tweeted, thanking us for “the great sites…enormously successful today in class!”
In an era when high school graduation rates are plummeting—17 of the nation’s 50 largest cities had graduation rates of less than 50 percent in 2004, according to the America’s Promise Alliance—it is urgent that educators find ways to keep students engaged. “When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it’s more than a problem, it’s a catastrophe,” according to Colin Powell, founding chair of the alliance. Yet 80 percent of these youth say they would stay in school were it more interesting. Reforming schools is difficult, particularly for communities with limited resources. But the Smithsonian can be a force for change. With our resources and expertise in everything from the “Big Bang” theory and human origins to popular culture, art and animals, we can help make learning fun and fascinating.
Consider space travel, for example. Forty years ago, the Apollo Space Program landed the first man on the moon. This past November, the Air and Space Museum, in partnership with NASA, held an online conference highlighting the Apollo Program’s technologies that made the moon landings possible. Seven museum curators and two educators offered interactive sessions about the Apollo program’s history and science and ways to incorporate relevant materials into the classroom.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the Moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander, took this picture. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
The 1,200 participants, from 48 states and 50 countries, responded enthusiastically when asked what they found most useful about the conference. The top two responses were the ease and convenience of participating online and the access to Smithsonian experts. One teacher commented, “You all make me so proud to be an American.” The conference is archived here.
Several Smithsonian units have posted engaging videos on YouTube. One such video features the Zoo’s head nutritionist, Mike Maslanka, who shows what it takes to feed 2,000 animals from 400 different species 365 days a year. Some units are experimenting with alternate reality games, such as the American Art Museum’s “Ghosts of a Chance” in 2009. SAAM plans another game this year.
The National Science Foundation’s Informal Science Education program has funded “Mass Extinction,” a new type of “curated game” designed to encourage students to solve puzzles, collect data, perform web searches and engage in online debate, while working to unravel a mystery that blends a science-fiction scenario with real issues such as climate change.
Co-developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Education Arcade and the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, “Mass Extinction” is designed for students ages 11 to 14, who will play simultaneously for eight weeks in the spring of 2011. Students will interact with Smithsonian paleontologists, biologists, earth scientists and astronomers who will help guide students’ game-play as they work to solve successive problems.
As the Twitter contest, online conference, YouTube videos and multi-player games illustrate, digital learning leverages the Smithsonian’s impact enormously. Recent MacArthur Foundation, Department of Education and National Research Council studies demonstrate that students exposed to digital learning—estimated at 2 million and growing exponentially—perform better on average than others.
Few institutions are more strategically placed than the Smithsonian to encourage digital learning, which also builds such 21st-century skills as self-directed learning, time management and technical literacy. Online opportunities extend our educational reach limitlessly and fulfill the goal of our strategic plan to broaden access and reach new audiences as we take our vast collections, staff expertise, exciting exhibitions and behind-the-scenes activities worldwide—inspiring wonder, encouraging curiosity and delivering knowledge.
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Posted: 1 February 2010
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