Climate change is a global problem, and will take global collaboration between nations and innovative “green” technologies. But what can we do about it as individuals in our own homes, schools, and communities? This summer, Digital WAVE students have been figuring that out. The goal was to create a 3D virtual house that would be the “greenest house in Miami,” powered by renewable energy sources like water, wind and the Sun. First, students had to learn more about energy, and where better to do that then with the Energy Tracker exhibits at the Museum? After interacting with Museum exhibits about wind turbines, hydroelectricity, and solar power, students investigated these energy sources more, by building their own Snap Circucits with batteries, voltmeters, and mini windmills, water wheels, and solar panels. How much power can you get from these energy sources? How can using these technologies make our lives better and our future cleaner? Based on their experience with Museum exhibits, the circuits they built, and their own research, groups of students decided what they wanted to build in their 3D virtual house to make the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient in Miami (even if it’s virtual Miami).

How closely related are science, art, and engineering? The Museum recently held a workshop for representatives of its GirlsRISE nationwide network of museums and science centers related to this question. It focused on program models that use art and science exhibit development skills to engage girls in electrical engineering. Participants learned about GirlsRISE website resources and opportunities for mini-grants, and also rotated through three hands-on stations during the workshop. In Shadow Play, they manipulated circuits and everyday materials like cookie cutters, flashlights, and colored plastic cups to create artistic patterns of light and shadow. The Scribbling Monsters activity allowed participants to create a motorized contraption that moves in unusual ways, leaving a mark to trace its path. And in Conduction Junction, they experimented with Snap Circuits® and different materials to find out what makes a good conductor. Through this workshop, participants were inspired to think of all the creative ways they could combine science, art, and engineering in their own programs and activities. Those three things may seem very different, but everyone walked away with the idea that any one of those three things can stir creativity and inspiration in any of the others.

Shadow Play - The scientific set-up (left) and the artistic result (right). See the princess?

Conduction Junction

GirlsRISEnet is a nationwide network of museums led by the Miami Science Museum, which works to strengthen the professional capacity of informal science educators to motivate young girls from minority backgrounds to pursue careers in science and engineering (www.girlsrisenet.org/).

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