News Release

Award-winning web site challenges children to beat local TV forecaster in predicting weather

Grant and Award Announcement

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 26, 2000) -- Boys and girls across the country will soon have a chance to make popular Denver weather forecaster and meteorologist Mike Nelson squirm in an on-line competition that will pit Nelson's predictions against those of all young comers.

At a time when teachers in the United States are struggling to incorporate computers and the Internet into their lesson plans, a Web site based in Boulder, Colorado, is using the contest to teach students the science behind the weather.

The site, Web Weather for Kids (www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather), has just won a $10,000 award for its innovative design -- The Unisys Prize for "outstanding use of the Web as a tool for science investigation." In addition to challenging children in grades five through eight to beat the predictions of Denver's 9NEWS (KUSA-TV) weather anchor, Web Weather for Kids offers a lively package that includes tips for teachers, science projects for home or school, and ideas on how to form local partnerships between schools and science centers.

The forecasting competition will run on school days, from February 8 through February 14. Each day, based on information from several Web sites, fifth through eighth graders who enter the on-line contest will predict precipitation and high and low temperatures in the Denver area for the following day. Their predictions will be scored for accuracy along with those of meteorologist Nelson.

"Web Weather for Kids reaches new levels in terms of its contribution to the online education community," said David Curry, vice president for corporate public affairs for Unisys. "Science educators now have a new model for collaboration and a fresh perspective on how the Web can be a workbench for innovative science inquiry and community partnerships."

For the last three years, the Philadelphia-based Unisys Corporation has been collaborating with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia to encourage local science centers and museums around the country to help schools become more technologically savvy. This is the first year a cash award has been presented to encourage schools and their students to experience scientific inquiry using the latest Internet technologies.

"Teachers are saying that they don't know how to incorporate new technologies into their lesson plans. We're saying that they can start by asking for help from their local science centers," said Shirley Malcom, head of the AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs. "The teams that competed for the Unisys prize have come up with solutions for bridging the gap between the classroom and the Internet."

Combining Whimsy with Sound Principles

Web Weather for Kids impressed the judges in several key areas, noted Karen Elinich, Franklin's director of educational technology. "The site displays a sophisticated grasp of scientific principles as well as the whimsy required to catch the imagination of both teachers and students," said Elinich. "It also clearly reflects a joint effort between the school and local science centers."

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder developed the winning Web site in partnership with the Boulder Valley School District and Science Discovery, a community-based science program of the University of Colorado. UCAR is a consortium of universities that manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.

A team in Austin, Texas, took first runner-up with its Web site entitled Fond of Ponds (www.ci.austin.tx.us/ nature-science/pond.htm), which teaches school children the biology of a local pond as well as its history and function in the ecology of their community. Two other projects received honorable mention. A Web site (www.miamisci.org/psd2000) developed by a team in Miami, Florida, provides science teachers step-by-step instructions for conducting scientific experiments. Another Web site (www.chias.org/psd2000) developed by a team in Chicago, Illinois, documented how children, many of Mexican ancestry, learned about the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. They used the Web to document their projects that followed the insect's trajectory from Mexico to Chicago and back.

Acknowledging the Winners

The winners will be recognized publicly as part of the Public Science Day 2000 activities during AAAS's annual meeting, February 17-22 in Washington, D.C. The mission of Public Science Day is to raise the public awareness of the importance of science education in the United States and abroad and to encourage enthusiasm for the learning and understanding of science and technology among all people. In addition, the institutions that participated in the competition for the award are planning events in cities around the country on February 17 to display the work of students involved in the development of the Web sites.

To participate in the program, schools and their local museum or science center partners submitted proposals to become Public Science Day teams. In September, Unisys awarded 15 teams each a mini-grant of $2,500 and the opportunity to compete for "The Unisys Prize--Online Science Education Excellence" and its $10,000 cash award. The teams were charged with developing an inquiry-based investigation around the theme "The Science of Everyday Things."

"Worldwide there's more and more interest in the Web," said Curry. "There's great potential for companies to help teachers use the Web as a teaching tool, and Unisys is proud to lead the way."


Founded in 1848, AAAS (www.aaas.org) is the world's largest federation of scientists and works to advance science for human well being through its projects, programs and publications. With more than 138,000 members and 275 affiliated societies, AAAS conducts many programs in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. AAAS publishes the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Science, as well as a number of electronic features on the World Wide Web.

Unisys (www.unisys.com) is an electronic business solutions company whose 36,000 employees help customers in 100 countries apply information technology to address the challenges of the Internet economy. Unisys provides the services, platforms and network infrastructure required by business and government to transform their organizations to succeed in this new era. Serving both the public and private sectors, Unisys provides expertise in markets worldwide, including financial services, transportation, communications, publishing, and commercial sectors.

The Franklin Institute Science Museum (www.fi.edu) was founded in 1824 in Philadelphia, and is today recognized for its innovative science education programs and for developing museum-school partnerships that have become national models for innovative teacher training and hands-on science in the classroom. Since 1988, the Institute also has promoted and perpetuated the legacy of Benjamin Franklin through major awards honoring achievement in science and in business leadership.


Public Science Day 2000 -- School/Science Center Teams

For the last three years, the Philadelphia-based Unisys Corporation has been collaborating with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia to use Public Science Day, usually celebrated at the start of the AAAS annual meeting in February, to encourage local science centers and museums around the country to help schools become more technologically savvy.

In connection with Public Science Day 2000, scheduled for February 17, the Unisys Corporation launched an on-line contest to increase the use of the web as a tool for science investigation. To participate in the program, schools and their local museum or science center partners submitted proposals to become Public Science Day teams. In September, 15 teams were each awarded a mini-grant of $2,500 and the opportunity to compete for "The Unisys Prize --Online Science Education Excellence" and its $10,000 cash award. The winner is the team from Boulder, Colorado.

This year's Public Science Day teams were charged with developing an inquiry-based investigation around the theme "The Science of Everyday Things." The projects, which will be displayed at events celebrating Public Science Day around the country, are described briefly below, and can be viewed on their Web sites.

AUSTIN, TX: Austin Nature and Science Center/Baranoff Elementary Students studied and monitored a decade-old stock pond adjoining the school grounds. The plan is to make the pond part of the curriculum and to have the school serve as a community resource for information about the pond. Contact: Janice Sturrock, education coordinator (janice.sturrock@ci.austin.tx.us) tel: 512-327-8181 Web site: www.ci.austin.tx.us/nature-science/pond.htm

BOULDER, CO: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/University of Colorado's Science Discovery/Casey Middle School Web Weather for Kids teaches students in grades five through eight about dramatic weather events such as thunderstorms, lightning, and tornadoes, and offers them the chance to compete in a weather forecasting contest. Contact: Susan Foster, UCAR's education and outreach specialist (susanf@ucar.edu) tel: 303-497-2108 Web site: www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather

BUFFALO, NY: Buffalo Museum of Science/Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School Engineering and other studies conducted by second- and sixth-grade children on the trees near home and school taught them new ways of answering questions about the world around them. Contact: Bill Rogers (wrogers@sciencebuff.org) tel: 716-896-5200, ext. 344 Web site: www.sciencebuff.org/Welcome.html#mark2

CHICAGO, IL: The Chicago Academy of Sciences/Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez Elementary School First- and second-graders studied the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. The children will release the butterflies they raised into the Museum's Butterfly Haven exhibit on February 17. Contact: Steve Bunyak, project coordinator (sbunyak@chias.org) tel: 773-549-0606 Web site: www.chias.org/psd2000

HAMPTON, VA: Virginia Air & Space Center/Flora D. Crittenden Middle School Middle school children explored the science of toys, creating their own and inviting other children to access their Web site and try their hand at toy-building. Responses from children all over the country are included on the site. Contact: Melia Hellman, teacher (hellman@cms.nn.k12.va.us) tel: 757-591-4900 Web site: www.vasc.org/pubsciday.html

LOS ANGELES, CA: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County/Foshay Learning Center The sixth-grade students at the Foshay Learning Center learned about the history, biology, and ecology of the Los Angeles River with help from high-school mentors and The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Contact: Leah M. Melber, science education specialist (lmelber@nhm.org) tel: 213-763-3240 Web site: www.nhm.org/education/publicscienceday/index.html School/Science Teams - page 2

MIAMI, FL: Fairchild Tropical Garden/North Miami Beach Senior High School Science students at North Miami Beach Senior High School studied trees using an interactive computer-generated key that currently includes characteristics of 248 species of trees that are found in the wild in south Florida. Contact: Gerald Guala, keeper of the herbarium (stinger@fiu.edu ) tel: 305-667-1651, ext. 3418 Web site: www.ftg.fiu.edu/psd2000/default.htm

MIAMI, FL: Miami Museum of Science/Avocado, Pine Lake, Redland Elementary Schools Students and teachers at three Dade County elementary schools created their own inventions, drawing on both the Internet and the Miami Museum of Science for guidance and expertise. Contact: Mara Hernandez, project coordinator (mhernandez@miamisci.org) tel: 305-854-4247 Web site: www.miamisci.org/psd2000

ORLANDO, FL: Orlando Science Center/Princeton Elementary School Fifth-grade students explored Florida's ecosystem. Their projects will be displayed on the Web and at the College Park campus on February 12. Contact: Betty Hoyer, director of education (hoyer@osc.org) tel: 407-514-2061 Web site: www.osc.org/publicsciday.htm

PITTSBURGH, PA: Carnegie Science Center/Burkett Elementary School With guidance from the Carnegie Science Center, third-grade students are building a freshwater aquarium and studying water ecosystems for the project, which will be shown in April on the Web site and at the Carnegie Center. Contact: Debbie Murphy, professional development (murphyd@csc.clpgh.org) tel: 412-237-1820 Web site: www.csc.clpgh.org

PITTSBURGH, PA: The Pittsburgh Children's Museum/Homewood Montessori School Seventh-grade students used art and science to conduct experiments relating to a 6.5-mile watershed in the City of Pittsburgh. The children examined the impact of humans on the urban environment. Contact: Lois M. Winslow, director of education (info@pittsburghkids.org) tel: 412-322-5059, ext. 224 Web site: www.pittsburghkids.org/aaas.html

PORTLAND, OR: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry/WinterHaven School Math students used the Internet, World Wide Web and HTML to build their own math studies portfolio Web site. Middle school science students studied water in the classroom, the lab, and at a wildlife refuge. Contact: Nate Angell, Web resource developer (nate.angell@omsi.edu) tel: 503-797-4553 Web site: web1.omsi.edu/schools/psd/2000

ST. LOUIS, MO: St. Louis Science Center Students explored science, math and technology in everyday life and will display what they have learned on February 17 in a program entitled "The Science of Everyday Things" at the St. Louis Science Center. Contact: Armentha Russell, educational consultant (fvasquez@slsc.org) tel: 314-286-4624 Web site: www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather

SANTA ANA, CA: Discovery Science Center/Lomarena Elementary School A class of sixth-grade children learned to conduct water quality tests to rate temperature, acidity, oxygen and phosphates, and to collect water organisms for observation. Contact: Janet Yamaguchi, vice president, education (jyamaguchi@discoverycube.org) tel: 714-913-5005 Web site: www.discoverycube.org/pub_sci_day.htm

SYRACUSE, NY: Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology/Emerson J. Dillon School Students explored scientific principles underlying water delivery, electricity, clocks, alarm clocks, telephones, computers, and security systems. Contact: Jennifer Headley tel: 315-425-9068 Web site: www.most.org/edu_frame.html

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