BROADER IMPACTS — PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

The following list is intended to assist researchers develop public interaction with their research projects. Contact Barb Coffin, coordinator of Public Programs and Bell Media, with your area of expertise in the environmental sciences and your level of interest in participating in a public outreach activity. She will help you connect with the appropriate Bell staff.

Overview of Broader Impacts

Outreach to primarily adult audiences

Café Scientifique
The format is a 30-45 minute informal talk about your research in a relaxed setting such as a bar or restaurant with food and beverage available to the audience. The audience is comprised of adults of all ages, but primarily college-age and young professional (20-30 years old). The audience members will have different levels of knowledge about your topic. 

Museum staff will work with you to design, schedule and promote a talk that suits a particular audience and location.  At your option, the talk can be repeated at different locations and occur outside the Twin Cities.

Field Trip
The standard format is a 1-2 hour field trip to teach observation skills and natural history (ecology, behavior, etc) of our Minnesotan flora or fauna. Field trips are an opportunity for you to share your enthusiasm and knowledge with the public. Groups are kept small (typically 15 maximum) so the experience is personal and satisfying for you and the audience. The audience is typically comprised of adults but a field trip can be tailored to families or other groups (scouts, high school science clubs, etc).  Alternative formats (field combined with lab-based demonstrations) are also possible.

Museum staff will work with you as needed to design, schedule and promote field trips. These field trips can be repeated as appropriate. The field trip leader chooses the location.

Public Presentation - Exhibit walk-about
The format is a 45-60 minute scientist-led tour of either a permanent or temporary exhibit with a museum educator as facilitator. A walk-about is an opportunity for you to bring additional expert interpretation of the science presented in the exhibit to a lay audience. Groups are kept small (typically 20-30) to allow for audience questions. Depending on the topic and time of day, the audience could be comprised of primarily adults or families. Walk-abouts are typically repeated dependent on presenter’s availability.

Public Presentation – Lecture
The format is a 30-45 minute public lecture with time for questions and audience interaction after the presentation. Centered on your research and your personal experiences (exotic places, research challenges), the lecture can be part of a series related to an on-going temporary exhibit or free-standing depending upon the topic.  Bell staff will work with you to design, schedule and market a public presentation.

Public Presentation – Other
A variety of formats (expert commentary on film, panel discussions, workshops, science-slam evening) are available. Please contact us with your area of expertise in the environmental sciences and public policy and your level of interest in participating in a public outreach event.

Outreach to K-12 Community (Teachers, Students)

Bell museum educational staff work routinely with metro school districts and out-state school districts, public and private (west to East Grand Forks, north to Duluth, and south to Rochester).

K-12 Teacher Training Workshops
The format is a short course on science research methods and content in an area of your expertise in partnership with a museum educator.  These workshops can be part of a larger summer workshop or shorter, weekend or evening workshop depending on your time, budget and level of interest. Teachers are always seeking professional development opportunities to improve their science and math content knowledge. They particularly appreciate receiving training from the University’s research faculty.

Bell museum educators partner with you to design your contribution to the workshop and help teachers implement your content into their curriculum. Bell staff will help you meet the expectations of the targeted group of teachers and manage scheduling, promotion, University credits and other practical matters to make your workshop most effective.

K-12 Classroom, career day, and assembly presentations
The format is a 40-50 minute interactive classroom presentation, career field day, or assembly presentation. Whether supplementing an individual teacher’s curriculum or an entire school’s, presentations by University faculty, research associates and graduate students provide tremendous value for students and teachers alike.

The Bell staff is skilled with all school ages and state standards. They will help design a presentation that will work for your target audience and appropriate evaluation instruments to assist with project reporting. We can also promote and schedule presentations as needed.

K-12 School Research Projects
For building understanding, nothing beats getting students involved in doing science.  And doing that is a priority throughout the K-12 grades.  Work with knowledgeable Bell staff to design practical, appropriate, and educational projects that fit various classroom contexts.  As appropriate, Bell staff may be able to help monitor and mentor projects as they unfold, maximizing successful learning while taking some of the load off of you.  We can also promote and schedule such projects if our involvement is needed.

K-12 Curricula
Teachers are eager to help students meet graduation standards and are looking for new resources, new ideas, and new information to help them do that.  The Bell staff can help you develop a few key points from your field, including engaging practical experiences, for teachers to take into the classroom and use effectively with students at a particular stage of experience and development.  A curriculum can reach many students through their teachers and can continue in use, if appropriate, for a number of years.  This can be coupled with a teacher training workshop, school presentation by you or your students, or as the basis for an extended in-school presentation by Bell staff.  We can help promote and disseminate your product as well.

General Public Outreach including families, K-12 students, adult learners

National Traveling Exhibition
Whether your research is a case study specific to Minnesota or explores principles of global significance, presented properly it can attract interest and provide learning opportunities to audiences nationally, potentially reaching thousands of museum visitors. Bell Museum staff can produce an exhibit that could be displayed initially on campus and then could be installed on a temporary basis at museums around the country. Depending on topic and exhibit size, exhibits could travel the country for several years.  The Bell can manage crating, transportation, booking, rental fees and other practical matters in support.

On-Campus or Off, Multimedia Interactive Kiosk
An interactive kiosk can combine the effectiveness of an excellent website with the power of real objects (specimens, equipment, etc.).  Free standing, movable, and effective, a kiosk can be very effective delivering your message whether in your department lobby, elsewhere on campus, or in a public space off campus.  Have state and local leaders seen and understood your work recently? Have your colleagues at the U?

On Campus or Off, Temporary Exhibition
A temporary exhibition at the Bell Museum ensures that large numbers of people will see your work.  We may also be able help arrange for your exhibition to be installed elsewhere such as at the State Fair, in major public buildings, on coordinate campuses and similar venues. The Bell Museum staff can work with you to produce and install an exhibition that has solid content, a message accessible for the public or your special audience, and will stand up to the rigors of public use.

Publication For Lay Audience
The museum’s newsletter, Imprint, reaches a diverse public audience and is enjoyed by experts and lay readers alike. It can be an excellent vehicle for communicating the results of your research. Articles are written by science writers for a general audience and must fit the publication’s editorial focus.  The museum also has a long tradition of producing pamphlets and occasional papers to meet special needs and can work with you to produce one of these.

Website With Online Exhibit
Developing a web presence for your research is one of the easiest things to do to broaden the impact of your work.  But to communicate effectively with the general public, help from someone who knows that audience well and is experienced at communicating with them can be invaluable. Bell Museum staff can produce concise informative pages that communicate your research in a clearly or produce supporting materials like online games that convey important concepts in an engaging way.