Science continues to enjoy a protected and privileged status in American politics, in no small part because of its absence from the national political stage…”

This is a powerful and thoughtful argument. Science issues don’t usually get resolved with 30-second sound bites. But I have to disagree with Dan’s underlying thesis. One can argue that science has become caught up in demagogic politics for some time now, and if we don’t take aggressive action, science and scientists will continue to be demonized and marginalized, to the long-term detriment of national economic well-being and security. Science in America is losing ground and the economy with it. The golden age Dan refers to following World War II and Sputnik, put science in that so-called privileged status, precisely because it was on the national political stage. Science won the war and was expected to protect us from the Communists as well.

Today there are groups attacking science for political ends. Unless the public and political leaders are re-engaged in understanding the scientific process and its benefits, the nation will lose the goose that laid the golden egg.

Blog posting contributed by:
M. Lee Allison, PhD, PG
lee.allison@azgs.az.gov
State Geologist & Director
Arizona Geological Survey
416 W. Congress, #100
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-770-3500 fax-3505
http://www.azgs.az.gov

President, Arizona Geological Society (www.arizonageologicalsoc.org)
Steering Committee, Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS www.copusproject.org)
Steering Committee, Geoscience Information Network (GIN)

“Critical decisions involving Earth science are continuously made within the political and educational realms, with significant impacts on all American citizens.”

“The research community must do a better job of helping the public understand the most important concepts emerging from geoscience research. However, understanding scientific discoveries requires a science-literate population.”

“A deep schism is opening up within our country: at the same time that tremendous scientific advances are being made, increasing percentages of Americans are refusing to believe them.”

Complementary projects already are well along in Ocean Literacy Network, Atmospheric Science Literacy Framework, and Coalition for Climate Literacy.

Blog posting contributed by:

M. Lee Allison, PhD, PG
lee.allison@azgs.az.gov
State Geologist & Director
Arizona Geological Survey
416 W. Congress, #100
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-770-3500 fax-3505
www.azgs.az.gov

Crisis in science education and science literacy – we have our Sputnik moment right now!

The concentration of heavy hitters during the day and a half of the Science Generation conference (http://www.amnh.org/science/specials/summit/) at the American Museum of Natural History was overwhelming. Nearly every one made compelling points or bold proposals that I jotted down. Here is a sampling:

Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corp. – building on the concept of the ad campaign that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, he warned that “a generation is a terrible thing to waste.” He described technology as a trojan horse to draw kids into science.

Charles Phillips, Jr., President, Oracle Corp. – kids are “hungrier” overseas for learning. We need to educate parents about the current crisis and the value of science education.

John Abele, Co-founder, Boston Scientific Corp. – “we have our Sputnik moment right now.” The American way is to wait for the super crisis before taking action. Can we accelerate the public recognition of the current crisis?

Our society suffers from “affluenza.” If we celebrate the right things, people will follow.

FIRST is a robot challenge competition that has involved 150K kids so far, that has the excitement of NASCAR, but also forces teams to cooperate in order to win.

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House – we coddle kids in adolescence. Kids need jobs or educational challenges. Ben Franklin went off to apprentice at age 13. The average age of students at Princeton in 1780 was 13.5 years.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium – we are always on the trajectory of complexity. There is a doubling of information every 30 years but that was true 30 years ago as well. People always feel life is too fast, no matter when they live.

We should triple NASA’s budget, because they turn dreams into education effectively.

Don’t blame the science standards – teachers need to be better able to relate to today’s kids. [prompting a response from Gerry Wheeler that this sounds like “teacher bashing” to which Neil pounded his fist and declared that it was absolutely meant to be that]

Gerald Wheeler, Exec. Director, National Science Teachers Association – there are 2 million teachers of science in the U.S. today – teachers in K-12. They don’t see themselves as science teachers, but parents and the public do.

James Hunt, former Gov. of No. Carolina, chairman Hunt Inst. for Educational Leadership and Policy – we need common science standards across the country, but that does not mean federally mandated standards. Every child is able to learn effectively. Excellence and broad engagement are mutually achievable. State and local education leaders should form world class common (national) science standards.

Dr. Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs – we are in a “slow motion crisis” vs the Sputnik crisis. The U.S. needs a national mission. We have de facto national standards for the elite and rich in AP classes. Why not something comparable for everyone?

Ellen Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History – we all understand what the problem is. The goal of the conference is to jumpstart the remedy to solve the problem. The solution must be cross sector – educators, funders, government, private sector – to improve science education and science literacy.

There is an unresolved debate about national standards, but we must have commitment to common goals. Government must make science education and literacy a priority, with incentives and benchmarks.

This summit focuses on the science demand side vs the science supply side. What will it take to create the power of the “science mom and dad” comparable to the political influence of the “soccer mom?”

We have to stop underestimating the potential of our kids. Frank Luntz, pollster, tv network news – less than 5% of the presidential debates have related to education, and there was almost nothing on science.

NCLB – parents want accountability, but teachers feel their hands are ties and the system is impersonal.

Joel Klein, Chancellor, NYC Dept. of Education – we need national standards and assessments, improvement of our science teaching corps, partnerships with cultural and scientific institutions (such as museums). There are no short cuts but we need scientific literacy among the population, it’s in our national self-interest.

The quality of teachers is the second big challenge. We have to look at offering pay differentiation among specialties.

John McCarter, President & CEO, The Field Museum – they produced a $20M exhibition on evolution – an investment of their best and brightest at the museum, but feel trumped by the $27M creation museum in Kentucky.

They offer free admission for 2 months to kids with perfect attendance. Their goal is “No Child Left Inside.”

Robert Corcoran, VP General Electric, President GE Foundation – GE wants world class common national standards for math and science education. Every other OECD country has them. We need to revamp teacher education at the college level.

Stephanie Bell-Rose, Pres., The Goldman Sachs Foundation – how do we respond to the urgency of this crisis? There has to be strategic and investment partnership for cross-sector involvement.

My comment - I concur with Ellen Futter. We are all in agreement. How do we go forward? It wasn’t obvious what the next steps would be after the summit. I’m hoping that after the dust settles, we will see a proposal from the organizers. The high-level corporate role in this summit suggests that action is expected.

Posting Contributed by: M. Lee Allison, PhD, PG lee.allison@azgs.az.gov State Geologist & Director Arizona Geological Survey 416 W. Congress, #100 Tucson, AZ 85701 520-770-3500 fax-3505 www.azgs.az.gov

Every panel during the day and half meeting had some of the biggest names from industry, education, academia, and government. And what was remarkable was that virtually everyone was in agreement on core issues.

When the crowd of 250+ was asked at lunch, ‘how many of you think No Child Left Behind is a good program?’ only one hand went up. The overwhelming sense is that NCLB has tied the hands of teachers and school administrators, in order to meet a goal that many admitted is worthwhile – promoting accountability.

I don’t know the K-12 education field very well, so was surprised a bit by the tremendous broad interest and passion on the topic of national standards for STEM curricula. Apparently, every other member nation in OECD (Organization for Economic & Cooperative Development – essentially all the developed nations) uses common national standards.

National standards had its own session on Wednesday, but it was a prominent topic of discussion and debate across the rest of the sessions. Gerry Wheeler, head of the National Science Teachers Association and Neil deGrasse Tyson, head of the Hayden Planetarium at AMNH, got into a brief but wonderfully spirited, table-pounding debate during the breakfast session.

Blog posting submitted by: M. Lee Allison, PhD, PG lee.allison@azgs.az.gov State Geologist & Director Arizona Geological Survey 416 W. Congress, #100 Tucson, AZ 85701 520-770-3500 fax-3505 www.azgs.az.gov

Congressman Bart Gordon, (TN), chair of the House Science Committee, warned that our current science-education situation is going to lead to a lower standard of living for our kids.

Nicholas Negroponte, head of One Laptop per Child, dismissed the need to endlessly analyze every new idea. He said everyone in the room would buy a laptop for their child or grandchild if they had the chance. No one needed to study whether that is a good idea. It’s obvious. He envisions an online self-education process that will captivate kids.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and a frequent host on public television, argued that we undervalue the role of media in motivating and engaging students.

Newt Gingrich proposed that any child who graduates high school in less than 4 years be given the equivalent savings of not having to school them, as a college scholarship.

I’ll post on this morning’s session on “Rowing Together” after I get my notes organized.

Blog posting contributed by: M. Lee Allison, lee.allison@azgs.az.gov
COPUS Steering Committee Member

State Geologist & Director
Arizona Geological Survey
416 W. Congress, #100
Tucson AZ 85701
520-770-3500, fax x3505
www.azgs.az.gov

The former Speaker of the House called not for a doubling of the NSF budget but a tripling of it. He said excuses that we can’t afford to do this in a $3 trillion budget are “baloney.”

He said that if we don’t make the investments in science and education, our kids will inherit a country that is “weaker, poorer, and less safe” than the one we grew up in.

Newt also proposed opening teaching to part-timers with backgrounds in science and math, without requiring them to go through teacher certification.

Posting contributed by:
M. Lee Allison
State Geologist & Director
Arizona Geological Survey
416 W. Congress, #100
Tucson AZ 85701
520-770-3500, fax x3505
www.azgs.az.gov

By PATRICIA COHEN

The exotically shaped creatures that began to sprout silently all over the cozy lecture hall were soon spilling onto empty chairs and into women’s laps and shopping bags. When fully grown, these curiously animate forms will find a home as part of a mammoth version of the Great Barrier Reef. But at the moment they were emerging at a remarkable pace from the rapidly flicking crochet hooks wielded by members of the audience.

This environmental version of the AIDS quilt is meant to draw attention to how rising temperatures and pollution are destroying the reef, the world’s largest natural wonder, said Margaret Wertheim, an organizer of the project, who was in Manhattan last weekend to lecture, offer crocheting workshops and gather recruits. The reef is scheduled to arrive in New York City next month.

As she explained to the 40 people, nearly all women, who had gathered at New York University on Saturday, “This has grown from something that was a little object on our coffee table” to an exhibition that, so far, spreads over 3,000 square feet. And that was before the addition of that day’s catch.

Ms. Wertheim, a science writer, and her twin sister, Christine, who teaches at the California Institute for the Arts, came up with the idea of creating a woolly homage to the reef about two and a half years ago. The Wertheims, 49, grew up in Queensland in Australia, where the approximately 135,000-square-mile reef — and the billions of tiny organisms that it comprises — is located. But the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, is much more than a warning about global warming. It marks the intersection of the Wertheims’ various passions: science, mathematics, art, feminism, handicrafts and social activism.

More info about the project is online at http://www.theiff.org/reef/index.html

In The Tipping Point, Gladwell describes the work of Georgia Sadler. She discovered that she could most effectively promote a free screening program for breast cancer through networking with hair stylists… what an innovative idea! In fact I think this quote would resonate with us all:

Sadler didn’t go to the National Cancer Institute or the California State Department of Health and ask for millions of dollars to run some elaborate, multimedia public awareness campaign. She didn’t go door to door in the neighborhoods of San Diego, signing up women for free mammograms. She didn’t bombard the airwaves with a persistent call for prevention and testing. Instead she took the small budget that she had and thought about how to use it more intelligently. She changed the context of her message. She changed the messenger, and she changed the message itself. She focused her efforts.

The Tipping Point is a very quick and easy read with messages that impact and endure. Upon reading it, your entire viewpoint may shift on how we can achieve success in changing the image and perception of science and in renewing American concern for important matters that affect our economy and planetary health.

Where will we find our unlikely messengers?

This is a message that has been repeated by business, scientists, governors (especially by my boss, Janet Napolitano, and key congressional leaders, but it doesn’t seem to be getting across to the American public in a meaningful way.

Gates declared that we “face a critical shortfall of skilled scientists and engineers who can develop new breakthrough technologies.” His second point is that “the public and private sectors are no longer investing in basic research and development (R&D) at the levels needed to drive long-term innovation.”

He outlined four priority goals:

1. Strengthening educational opportunities, so that America’s students and workers have the skills they need to succeed in the technology- and information-driven economy of today and tomorrow;

2. Revamping immigration rules for highly skilled workers, so that U.S. companies can attract and retain the world’s best scientific talent;

3. Increasing federal funding for basic scientific research, to train the next generation of innovators and provide the raw material for further innovation and development by industry; and

4. Providing incentives for private-sector R&D, so that American businesses remain at the forefront in developing new technologies and turning them into new products and services.

Blog posting provided by:
M. Lee Allison, PhD, PG
State Geologist & Director
Arizona Geological Survey
416 W. Congress, #100
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-770-3500 fax-3505
http://www.azgs.az.gov

Facebook boasts more than 67 million active users, half of which are college students. Traditionally, the site is used for connecting with friends, sharing pictures, and joining groups of like-minded people. We wanted to tap into this ready-made audience of young adults to see if the site could be used to engage students on substantive issues.

Survey Planning: We started by building a core community of supporters on the site by recruiting from our existing networks. We then contracted with Dave Lester, a web developer at George Mason University with experience in Facebook surveys, to design the survey. The survey is a Facebook application, which users can download onto their profiles. Only 18-25 year-olds were allowed to take the survey; the application checked the users’ birthday on their profile to confirm they were eligible. The users then shared their opinions on science policy issues, the impact each issue would have on their vote in the ’08 elections, the overall impact of science policy on their vote, and demographic information.

Recruitment: Student Pugwash advertised the survey through its own networks and with the help of other nonprofits. We also posted on the Facebook walls of relevant groups to inform their members about the survey. The viral nature of communication on Facebook is the most efficient means of advertising; when a Facebook user downloaded the application, an RSS feed informed all of their friends that they downloaded the application. Users could also invite their friends to download the survey application.

Additionally, we purchased pay-per-click Facebook flyers, advertisements that pop up on the side of user’s profiles. Though the click-through rate on these flyers is very low (we received about 140 clicks during the month,) the flyers showed some success. 75% percent of the people who completed the survey through Facebook were not Student Pugwash participants, which demonstrates that it was disseminated beyond our immediate network of friends.

Limitations: Considering Facebook’s large population, we anticipated a larger response rate. About 170 people completed the survey through Facebook; about 300 people downloaded the application. Overall, Facebook shows a lot of promise as a student engagement tool, but it should be acknowledged that, at least for now, it has its limitations. The site is still used primarily for relaxing and connecting with friends, so I wouldn’t expect to have sustained substantive debate on the site. However, it is good for connecting your members and putting a face on your organization. Additionally, as Facebook continues to evolve and expand I think it will become increasingly effective as an engagement tool. If you have any questions about our experiences using Facebook, please ask.

This post was contributed by: Sharlissa Moore

Program Manager
Student Pugwash USA
1015 18th Street, NW Ste. 704
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-429-8900
Fax: 202-429-8905
smoore@spusa.org
http://www.spusa.org/mindfull

The hubs got another great boost today with the registration of Celebra La Ciencia, an organization to increase Hispanic family participation in science and health education programs and raise awareness about educational and career opportunities related to science, technology, engineering, and biomedical research.” We are excited to collaborate with this great community of outreach peers to support their efforts in reaching hispanic communities.

Student Pugwash is currently recruiting students to contribute to the guide. Specifically they are seeking YouTube videos, blog entries, opinion pieces, and other contributions relating to science, technology, health and the 2008 elections.

This online interactive forum for the public is patterned after Ask the White House, and allows the public to interact with EPA officials on a wide range of environmental and human health issues. Questions can be submitted online, in advance, beginning on Monday, March 10 as well as during the one-hour live session. As many questions as possible will be answered by Dr. Gray and posted to the Web site as a transcript so that others may also benefit from the discussion.

Join in on the discussion or ask a question to Dr. Gray: http://www.epa.gov/askepa/

Has your organization tried similar on-line activities to engage the public? We want to hear what other COPUS participants are doing! Comment here and be sure to register your innovative programs in the COPUS Program and Resource Directory: www.copusproject.org/find_listings/index.php

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) is preparing to shine the national spotlight on science in 2009 and beyond. Established in 2007, COPUS is making plans now to celebrate the Year of Science 2009 (YoS09). The goal of this national, year-long celebration of science is to engage the public and improve public understanding about the nature and process of science. COPUS is a grassroots network - composed of more than two hundred participating organizations representing universities, scientific societies, science centers and museums, government agencies, advocacy groups, media, educators, businesses, and industry - formed in response to recent concerns about national scientific literacy.

In concert with the formation of the national coalition, regionally based Hubs are forming in communities from coast to coast, including a tenth Regional Hub that recently formed in Boulder, CO. “I see this Regional Hub as a way for me to connect with others in my community to leverage resources in support of public outreach and sharing of the joy and wonder of the science I am exposed to every day in my work,” said Chris McLelland who is serving as liaison for the Boulder Hub to the national network.

COPUS participants are crossing traditional scientific disciplinary boundaries and partnering with others within their communities to develop activities, programs, and special events in support of Year of Science 2009. By working together to coordinate programs and events that explore the overarching YoS09 theme, “How we know what we know,” COPUS participants are aiming to engage the general public in dynamic ways that will makes science personally meaningful and locally relevant.

YoS09 activities being developed include: * Free public lectures and programs at museums and science centers; * Opportunities to spend a day with a scientist or participate in a research project; * Roundtable discussions about important local science issues; * Connecting COPUS-affiliated scientists with the K-12 community; * Creating local Science Cafés; and * Radio spots, editorials, and on-line resources that highlight the nature and process of science

In addition to ongoing public understanding of science activities, participants are registering their YoS09 events in the COPUS Program and Resource Directory where members of the public can search for resources and activities by topic interest, audience, date, and location. Web 2.0 tools are being developed to help spread the utility of this community directory by making it accessible via interactive online bumper stickers.

COPUS planners have declared 2009 as the Year of Science because it coincides with the anniversary of a number of important events in the history of science, including the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of the birth of its author, Charles Darwin; the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, founder of the National Academy of Sciences; the 400th anniversary of the publication of Johannes Kepler’s first two Laws of Planetary Motion; and the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of a telescope to study the skies.

This week, representatives from nearly all of the first ten COPUS Regional Hubs are meeting at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, FL, to discuss strategies and best practices for community based outreach, ways to celebrate YoS09, and common needs that may be supported by COPUS at the national level.