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International Public Science Day 2001

"Science Works!"
How Science Benefits Your Community

The Unisys Prize 2001 | Showcase of Science

The Unisys Prize Winner:
El Agua Trabaja: How Water Benefits Quality of Life in Chicago's Little Village
Chicago Academy of Sciences (and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum) in partnership with Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez Elementary School and Friends of the Chicago River
  Runner-Up: It's A Pond's Life...
Austin Nature and Science Center in partnership with Zavala Elementary School and College of Natural Science UT
  Honorable Mention: Science Works!
The Pittsburgh Children's Museum in partnership with Cardinal Wright Regional School and Carnegie Mellon University
  Honorable Mention: Butterfly Mania
Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies in partnership with Peabody School and Capitol Hill Cluster PTA

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in collaboration with The Franklin Institute Science Museum and Unisys Corporation, is pleased to announce that International Public Science Day was celebrated on March 21, 2001 during the International Showcase of Science. The following teams participated.

  1. Public Science Day 2001 at OMSI
    Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in partnership with Hockinson Heights Intermediate School and Battle Ground Park Board
  2. Natural History Museum: Public Science Day 2001
    Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in partnership with Foshay Learning Center and California State University, Fullerton
  3. S.P.A.C.E. WEB
    Michigan Space and Science Center in partnership with Western Middle School and Advance Turning
  4. Butterfly Mania
    Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies in partnership with Peabody School and Capitol Hill Cluster PTA
  5. It's A Pond's Life...
    Austin Nature and Science Center in partnership with Zavala Elementary School and College of Natural Science UT
  6. El Agua Trabaja: How Water Benefits Quality of Life in Chicago's Little Village
    Chicago Academy of Sciences (and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum) in partnership with Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez Elementary School and Friends of the Chicago River
  7. Kid*Vention: Discover Communication
    Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum in partnership with Daniel Morgan Middle School and WVPT Public Television
  8. Public Science Day 2001
    Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology in partnership with Emerson J. Dillon Middle School and Village of Phoenix Waste Water Treatment Works
  9. Science Works!
    The Pittsburgh Children's Museum in partnership with Cardinal Wright Regional School and Carnegie Mellon University
  10. The Science of Everyday Living
    Virginia Air & Space Center in partnership with Flora D. Crittenden Middle School and NASA Langley Research Center
  11. Project Wet
    East Central Florida Regional Environmental Education Service Project (RSP III) at the University of Central Florida in partnership with Princeton Elementary School and St. Johns River Water Management District
  12. Hands-On Genetics!
    Learning Technologies/Science Museum of Minnesota in partnership with Clara Barton Open School and Walker Art Center

The mission of International Public Science Day is:

  • to raise the public awareness about the importance of science education in the U.S. and abroad, and
  • to heighten the enthusiasm for science and technology learning and understanding across all demographics.

The International Public Science Day program fosters an increase in the public understanding of science by facilitating partnerships between formal and informal science institutions. The partners investigated "Science Works! How Science Benefits Your Community," the theme for 2001.

The following Thematic Inspiration Statements supported the program's identity for 2001:

  • Science influences the possibility, productivity, and success of everyday life.
  • The health and welfare of a community reflect the behavior of its citizens.
  • Science pervades a broad spectrum of workplaces.

In connection with International Public Science Day, Unisys Corporation is proud to announce that "The Unisys Prize for Online Science Education" was also awarded in March, 2001. This competitive award was presented in recognition of outstanding use of the web as a tool for science investigation.

"The Unisys Prize for Online Science Education" program encourages the participating teams to use the web as their science workbench, building project webspaces which will be in competition for the prize. The prize also offers science centers and schools a chance to distinguish themselves in the online educational community.

In order to participate, a science center needs to identify a partner school. Together, the science center and school select a third partner (high school, college/university, local scientist, hospital, local industry, or similar entity.) That three-way partnership becomes a participating team. Working together, the team plans and conducts an inquiry-based science investigation around the theme ("Science Works! How Science Benefits Your Community.") Meanwhile, a project webspace is created to provide an online exhibition of how the web can be used as a workbench for science education. Either in advance of or on International Public Science Day, the teams showcase their work in their local communities. That showcase may be held at any appropriate location, including (but not limited to) the science center, the school, the third partner site, a local community center, a municipal government meeting, etc.

The following documents provide useful information about the program.

Detailed Team Information
Contact information for each site team is available.
Criteria for the Project Webspace
Guidelines for creating the project webspace have been provided. These same guidelines will be used as criteria for judging the winner of "The Unisys Prize."
Credit Statement for Project Webspaces
All project webspaces must include the PSD2001 credit statement.
Timeline of Program Events
The timeline will help plan the logistics of each team's activities.
Hotlist of Useful Websites
These websites relate to the theme for International Public Science Day 2001.

If you have any other questions about the program, please contact:

AAAS
Gaynelle Bowden
1200 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
tel: 202.326.6674
fax: 202.371.9849
email: gbowden@aaas.org

Unisys Science Learning Network