http://hte.si.edu

Public Science Through Analogy

Kimberly Kowal Arcand @kimberlykowal

Visualization Lead Chandra X-ray Center/SAO

June 4, 2014 #HTEScience

Here.

There.

Everywhere.

http://hte.si.edu

http://hte.si.edu

Light That Does Not Pass

You are relaxing with a book on a nice sunny day when a friend leans over your shoulder and the page goes dark. "Hey, you're blocking my light!" It is a familiar experience. Any time an object blocks the light from another source, it forms a shadow.

http://hte.si.edu/shadows.html

http://hte.si.edu

Atomic Light Show

Atoms, the building blocks of matter, are constantly in motion, moving around at speeds that are thousands of miles per hour at room temperatures, and millions of miles per hour behind a supernova shock wave. In a collision of an atom with another atom, or with a free-roaming electron, energy can be transferred to the atom. This extra energy can then be released in the form of a light wave.

http://hte.si.edu/atoms

http://hte.si.edu

ZAP!

You shuffle along a carpet, reach out to touch a doorknob and—zap!—a sudden flow of current, or electric discharge, gives you a mild shock. The cause? Friction between your feet and the carpet built up negative electric charge on your body. Electric discharges can occur wherever there is a large build-up of electric charge, and can create spectacular displays of sudden energy release on Earth and in space.

http://hte.si.edu/electric

http://hte.si.edu

Seeding

The growth of new structures depends on the introduction of novel material into an environment. Bees distribute pollen from one plant to another, promoting reproduction in plants. Farmers seed and fertilize soil to enable the growth of selected crops. Oxygen, iron and other heavy elements necessary for the formation of planets are distributed into interstellar space by supernova explosions.

http://hte.si.edu/seedingmore.html

http://hte.si.edu

Where the Wind Blows

Winds can move particles from one place to another. A wind can occur wherever a difference in pressure between two locations is not balanced by some other force such as gravity. On Earth, winds can blow briefly during a storm, and over long time scales, as in the jet stream. Winds have also been detected on other planets, in interplanetary space as the solar wind, around stars (stellar winds), and in galaxies.

http://hte.si.edu/wind.html

http://hte.si.edu

The Pillars of Erosion

The relentless action of winds slowly carve away at the environment, leaving behind sculptures from erosion. Microchip fabrication uses particle beams to erode material and create structures on the surface. Prolonged wind erosion in deserts leaves behind columns of dense rock. Winds from bright stars blow away their surroundings to unveil dense regions of gas from which stars are forming.

http://hte.si.edu/erosionmore.html

http://hte.si.edu

http://hte.si.edu

HTE satisfies multiple communications goals:

• Customer needs focus: Derived originally from feedback from existing projects by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, such as From Earth to the Universe (http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org), and From Earth to the Solar System (http://fettss.arc.nasa.gov), (Arcand & Watzke, 2010, 2012) additional user feedback was sought and analyzed to determine if audiences were being reached.

• Partnerships: Interdisciplinary content, cross-forum linkages (from planetary science to heliophysics to astrophysics), informal science education practitioner collaboration. HTE images and information come from multiple science missions, Chandra, Hubble, Cassini, GOES-11, GOES-12, etc.

• Sustainability: HTE is using a model of public science to continue reaching out to previous network of public science organizers and participants (Arcand & Watzke, 2010), building upon established relationships (and growing new networks) to build capacities for opportunities in engaging audiences with science content in public spaces.

http://hte.si.edu

As of December 2013, 198 randomly selected visitors completed surveys about their experience in the HTE exhibition for 7 different venues (public libraries, school libraries, science center & community center). Results:

Survey participant demographics

http://hte.si.edu

Feedback from staff members:

It brought people into the library whom had not been here before and it caused us to gain new volunteers who are now willing to do other things for us in the future. It brought us some very good exposure in the wide area media and other smaller papers, radio, etc. The City "fathers" were impressed that we had been chosen to host the exhibition…a feather in our cap, so to say.

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The HTE exhibit is being used to jump start our discussion about that exhibit and promote the sciences in our community. We had a number of parents come back with their children to view the exhibit after their children saw the exhibit with their class.

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Science education is fairly poor in our community and yet we've recently discovered that almost all future economic growth will require a science background. Any opportunities to share science with the community will have a positive impact and hopefully motivate a couple of students to pursue further science training.

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100% of staff reported that they would host another such science outreach project

I was able to work across departments with our Youth program coordinator to create programs for the community. We were able to make connections with a local university physics dept. as well as other local science/space organizations that we can employ for future programs.

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I use HTE as an example of the kinds of things the library is doing to promote the importance of science to every person, regardless the age or educational level.

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http://hte.si.edu

http://hte.si.edu

Make your own HTE exhibit (open source) LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb

http://hte.si.edu

Contact:

Email: kkowal@cfa.harvard.edu

Twitter: @kimberlykowal

Phone: 617.218.7196

Here, There & Everywhere: http://hte.si.edu

Light Beyond the Bulb (IYL2015): http://iyl.cfa.harvard.edu/

Chandra X-ray Observatory: http://chandra.si.edu

This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant NNX11AH28G issued through the Science Mission Directorate. Portions of this paper have been presented at the European Planetary Science Congress

meeting (2012) and the Astronomy Society of the Pacific conference (2013).