For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane LaFollette
Arkansas Discovery Network
500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 150
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 396-7050, ext. 119
dlafollette@amod.org
Arkansas Discovery Network’s Major Educational Initiative in Full Swing
Gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Funds First-of-its-Kind Museum Network, Giving Arkansas Children New Ways to Discover Science.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Feb. 7, 2007) - The Arkansas Discovery Network, the first statewide museum collaborative in the country, has only just begun to make hands-on, interactive museum experiences more accessible to the state's 498,000 schoolchildren and their families.
After officially kicking off in the fall of 2006, The Arkansas Discovery Network is now in full gear with three world-class exhibits arriving in Arkansas. Two traveling exhibits, “Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body" and “Good Vibrations: Light, Sound and Motion,” will travel around the state to Arkansas Discovery Network members, which include the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, the Texarkana Museums System in Texarkana, the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover and the Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro. The Center for Mathematics and Science Education at the University of Arkansas will host network exhibits until a permanent Northwest Arkansas museum partner is established.
Inspired by a planning grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation of LasVegas, the partner museums worked together for 3 years to organize this unique and innovative network. Now a $7,373,173, five-year implementation grant from the Reynolds Foundation is bringing it to life.
"We know that many children in Arkansas seldom, if ever, have the opportunity to engage in the exciting experiential learning that comes from visiting our nation's first-rate discovery museums," said Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Reynolds Foundation. "The Arkansas Discovery Network will allow children even in the most remote parts of the state to share in the hands-on learning and the sheer fun that comes from experiencing wonderful museum exhibits."
The network’s first traveling exhibit, "Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body," boosted attendance by 50 percent during its three-month stay at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. This interactive exhibit uses animatronics and imaginative play to explore the good, the bad and the downright ugly about runny noses, body odor and much more. Based on the best-selling book by Sylvia Branzei, the exhibit’s creative approach and fun (if not yucky!) activities have fascinated young students around the country. Grossology is currently being presented by The University of Arkansas' Center for Mathematics and Science Education, which is hosting it at the Walton Arts Center Nadine Baum Studio in Fayetteville through April 21. From there it will travel around the state for the next two years, making stops at each of the partner museums.
If light, sound and motion are more to your liking, “Good Vibrations: Light, Sound and Motion” is also touring the partner museums. The intriguing exhibits designed and built by the world-renown Exploratorium in San Francisco give families and students a chance to explore the nature of science. Fifteen innovative, inquiry-based exhibits encourage learning about weather, sound, light, geology and motion. Visitors can see the heat emitted by the body with an infrared camera; watch how low-pressure gas affects electrical charges; see sound as it causes liquid in a glass tube to vibrate and form small geysers; see the difference in sound waves emitted by three musical strings, and much more. Good Vibrations will be at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock until April 8 before moving on to the other partner museums.
In addition to "Grossology,” and “Good Vibrations,” the network has taken the concept of a "museum on wheels" to a whole new level. The 40-foot vehicle will travel to schools in rural areas bringing interactive exhibits to engage girls and boys in engineering skills. In "The Race for Planet ‘X’" student "explorers" will execute assignments in computer-aided design, aerodynamic testing and laser beam splitting to gather information about the new planet. All activities and supplemental educational materials are aligned with the state science education framework to ensure it is a valuable learning experience for students. The vehicle will begin touring the state in fall 2007 but a 'sneak preview' of the vehicle will be available at each partner site for two weeks between February and May.
"Our primary goal in funding this initiative is to touch as many rural children as possible in the state. Secondly, we hope to strengthen the individual member museums by providing resources through the network that they may never have had access to individually," said Steven L. Anderson, president of the Reynolds Foundation.
To further accomplish the network’s goal of reaching rural children who don’t often have the chance to visit a museum, the Arkansas Discovery Network is offering a limited number of scholarships to local schools to help meet the cost of bringing students to one of the partner museums.
In addition, the network provides enrichment opportunities for Arkansas teachers. The Exploratorium Summer Teacher Institute in San Francisco is at the core of this initiative. Last year, middle and high school math and science teachers spent four weeks at the institute immersed in the latest inquiry learning techniques. In all, they spent 110 hours with scientists discovering unique ways to teach science to children.
"The institute was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career as an educator. The institute instructors were exceptional," said Connie Tenberge, a recent institute alumna. "My students are going to love doing these activities and hopefully love science because of them. I can't wait to share these ideas with the other teachers at my school." Applications for the 2007 Summer Institute are available on the website at www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org/grownups/ or by contacting the network.
About The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, headquartered in Las Vegas, is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. The Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.
About Arkansas Discovery Network
The Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, works to strengthen partner museums by sharing resources and expanding discovery learning opportunities across the state. The Museum of Discovery in Little Rock serves as the “hub” for the innovative museum network. For more information including traveling exhibit schedules, visit www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.
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