Caltech/MIT Observatory Receives Funds for Public Education Program and Exhibits

Caltech News Release
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2004

Caltech/MIT Observatory Receives Funds for Public Education Program
and Exhibits

PASADENA, Calif. - The National Science Foundation has announced a $5
million, five-year cooperative agreement with the California
Institute of Technology and its partners in educational outreach to
establish an Educational Outreach Center as an integral part of the
NSF-funded Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)
in Livingston, Louisiana.

The center will support programs that communicate LIGO-related
science concepts to the public, strengthen regional pre-service and
in-service science teaching, and reach a broad audience of students
in Louisiana and beyond.

The project brings together an alliance that includes research
scientists from the LIGO Livingston Observatory, Caltech, and MIT, as
well as educators from the Colleges of Education and Sciences at
Southern University in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Systemic
Initiatives, headed by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Board
of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Exploratorium of San
Francisco. The partners provide expertise specific to LIGO science,
experience in exhibit development, and exhibit-based teaching,
connections to teacher development, and access to a statewide
community of public schools.

The five-year project plan includes a series of 38 Exploratorium
interactive exhibits designed to engage a broad spectrum of learners
by demonstrating physical science principles related to LIGO science.
The project will draw upon the Exploratorium's history and expertise
in using the exhibits as engaging curriculum for teacher-development
programs as well as for students and visitors.

Direct detection of gravitational radiation, the ripples in
space-time produced by distant cosmic cataclysms, is one of the most
exciting pursuits under way in experimental physics. "The potential
payoffs are magnificent," says Barry Barish, LIGO director and Linde
Professor of Physics at Caltech. "Messenger gravitational waves may
reveal secrets central to many questions of great interest to
astrophysicists, such as mechanisms describing the coalescence of
binary neutron stars, the collision of black holes, and the remnant
gravitational wave signals from the early universe."

The Educational Outreach Center will tell the public the story that
motivates this scientific endeavor, using exhibits and materials that
reinforce public understanding of basic scientific principles.

According to LIGO deputy director Stan Whitcomb, it will help people
understand how they can easily explore fundamental science concepts.
"People who visit the center will learn how these concepts relate to
and lead to cutting-edge scientific research endeavors. The center
will help us reach and inspire educators and families who are
teaching the nation's future scientists and engineers."

NSF program director Beverly Berger pointed out the distinctive
nature of the collaboration. "We are pleased to see this unique
partnership develop among research scientists, museum educators,
formal educators, and networks of local educators from the Livingston
region. Together, they will make connections between science, the
research at LIGO, and the surrounding community."

A principal feature of the project is the partnering of LIGO with
Southern University's College of Education and College of Sciences to
develop programs that will enhance the preparation of pre-service
science teachers and contribute to the professional development of
in-service teachers.

"By focusing our efforts on students and teachers, we position
ourselves to significantly improve the level of science literacy
throughout future generations," said Steve McGuire, a member of the
LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and Southern University professor and
chair, Department of Physics. Southern University is the flagship
campus of the only Historically Black College and University system
in the country, and has extensive experience and expertise in
producing science and mathematics education majors.

The Louisiana Systemic Initiatives, originally launched with NSF
funding, will connect underserved students and teachers with the
outreach center and its related programs.

The partnership creates a national model for how universities, school
districts, and informal learning environments can work together to
motivate student and teacher learning, and support inquiry-based
teaching and learning practices. According to the Exploratorium's
Bronwyn Bevan, the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS),
an NSF-funded center for learning and teaching at the Exploratorium,
will share this partnership model with a broad range of museums,
universities, and school systems collaborating in CILS. "This project
allows us to explore, in particular, the potential of informal
science institutions for creating windows into the world of cutting
edge science research."

Louisiana Board of Regents' Kerry Davidson adds, "Louisiana Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (LA GEAR UP)
will address both by disseminating LIGO outreach center best
practices through participation in statewide, regional and national
GEAR UP workshops and conferences. The program will cause fundamental
change in Southern University's emphasis in preparation and
professional development for both current and future Louisiana
science teachers--an outcome with long-term and broad consequences."

LIGO's Local Educator Network at Livingston Observatory, established
in 2002, will involve participant educators from Louisiana and
Mississippi in each step of the proposed activities: planning,
development, implementation, and evaluation. Discussions are in
progress with Louisiana Art and Science Museum in Baton Rouge on the
collaborative development of hands-on LIGO science exhibits and
demonstrations. "LIGO-related resources will ultimately reach and
serve an extensive population of lifelong learners," says Mike
Zucker, LIGO Livingston Observatory head. "We are amazed at the level
of interest already demonstrated by people of all ages in this
community. This facility and related programs will greatly aid us in
serving their educational needs."

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