Miami Science Museum and MetLife: Staying Sharp
Miami Science Museum is begining to prototype and develop a new and innovative method to engage and inspire people of all ages with how scientists make discoveries about aging and the brain. Working with the University of Miami's Center on Aging, we are developing this exciting new exhibit in partnership with local elders who bring a unique perspective to the process.
For more information visit: Staying Sharp
Heart Smart
The Miami Science Museum has partnered with the University of Miami’s,Behavioral Medicine Research Program, in the Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences to create Heart Smart, an interactive bilingual exhibit about cardiovascular health. Heart Smart raises awareness about factors associated with heart health and strategies for improving heart health through diet, physical activity level, and stress management skills. The exhibit informs visitors about the research process and invites them to participate in a research project by contributing anonymous data on measurements related to heart health i.e., height, weight, waist size blood pressure, and habits.
Besides the interactive exhibit, the project includes a research study to determine whether a museum-based health exhibit and a discussion based health activity are effective in increasing heart health knowledge among students in Miami-Dade County Public High Schools.
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Life Changes:
Communicating Pre-evolutionary Concepts To Young Children in Informal Settings
The Miami Science Museum, The New York Hall of Science, The North Museum, and the Association of Science-Technology Centers are working together with the University of Michigan Center for Human Growth and Development to address a well-documented crisis in contemporary science – that large numbers of the public do not understand the scientific basis of evolution, or reject it outright.
NSF-funded research conducted at UM by E. Margaret Evans suggests that if children are introduced to evolutionary tenets (variation, inheritance, selection, time) at an early age, they are more likely to see the natural world with a scientific perspective. Based on this research, the project will develop age-appropriate opportunities to move children ages 5-12 toward scientific reasoning. The result will feature a bilingual traveling Life Changes exhibition that, when combined with staff development and discovery boxes, will offer a flexible learning laboratory for museum practitioners to increase their capacity to deliver pre-evolutionary concepts.
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An evaluation was conducted to gage museum visitor response to a story created for the exhibition.
The Miami Science Museum is a member of the National Association for Museum Exhibition
