This is the first of
three Science Odyssey newsletters.
Inside each issue you'll find project
updates and ideas for using Science Odyssey materials.
Spread the word -- please
photocopy and share these newsletters.
Welcome to the Science Odyssey team! In cities across the nation, over one
hundred Science Odyssey Outreach Sites are joining together to explore the
remarkable people, events, and science of this century. You are at the heart of
A Science Odyssey. As an outreach site, you'll help people locally and
nationally connect to science and explore what is known, what it means in our
lives, and what questions remain as we move into the next century.
Across the country and right next door there are Science Odyssey educators and
community leaders ready to swap ideas and develop partnerships. Imagine trying
to collaborate on a project this size one hundred years ago. In 1897,
long-distance phone calls were novelties and no one had ever heard of faxes or
the Internet. But this is 1997, and you have the power of twentieth-century
technologies to help you collaborate from coast to coast. Reach out and get
101 Ways to Explore 100 Years
At the turn of the century, everyone assumed that radio would become a wireless
version of the telephone, providing private communication between two people.
Then one day a bored radio engineer decided to dip into his record collection
and play a tune for his friends over the air. Suddenly, a whole new use for
radio was imagined -- broadcast to
Like radio, Science Odyssey materials can be taken as far as your imagination
will go. We've got lots of educational resources -- an educator's guide, a play,
a Web site, and a poster, to name a few. But don't let the names fool you. The
educator's guide isn't just for schools. And the play doesn't require a stage
or costumes. We've made the Science Odyssey resources flexible and adaptable
for many ages and settings. All you have to do is imagine ways to fit them to
your community. See the tips on the right for some ideas to get you started.
Ideas for Using
A Science Odyssey Materials
A Science Odyssey Poster
It's big, it's bold, and it's more than wall art. Here are some ways to
activate the poster:
- Hold a poster contest: Have kids illustrate what science and technology mean in their lives
- Add to the time line: Have kids write and illustrate their favorite twentieth-century science events and make predictions for the next century.
Matters of the Heart Play
Meet Rosie, a young woman who gets a second chance at life, thanks to
twentieth-century transplant technology. "Matters of the Heart" is a 20-minute
play that can be performed almost anywhere -- from a quiet corner to an
auditorium. You might also:
- Simplify: Instead of staging the play, do a dramatic reading.
- Connect with the educator's guide: Explore how improved medical treatments (such as transplants) have extended life expectancy and affected world population in the activity "What Happens When . . . ?"
A Science Odyssey Educator's Guide
Inside you'll find twenty science and social studies activities that can be
used before, during, and after school. In the "Quality, Quantity, and Other
Questions" activity, kids can learn about assembly lines by mass-producing
To extend the activity, you might:
- Pair it with the series: See footage of Henry Ford's assembly line in "Bigger, Better, Faster."
- Take a field trip: Visit a local factory to see an assembly line in action.
- Who canceled his honeymoon in order to work out his theory of the atomic model?
- What scared Little Albert?
- What outer-space signal did Jocelyn Bell jokingly label "LGM" (Little Green Men)?
- The first plane to fly across the nation was named after which soft drink?
- What famous piece of mold recently fetched $25,300 at an auction?
- Which weatherman was mocked for suggesting that the continents were once joined together?
- Niels Bohr postponed his wedding and canceled his honeymoon in order to complete his theory of the atomic model.
- To prove that fears are learned and not inherited, John Watson conditioned an infant known as Little Albert to be afraid of furry things.
- Jocelyn Bell's "Little Green Men" turned out to be a signal from the first pulsar identified in space.
- Cal Rodgers flew across North America in the Vin Fiz Flyer, named after his sponsor's soft drink Vin Fiz.
- Christie's Art Auctioneers recently sold a piece of Alexander Fleming's original penicillium mold. This mold led to the discovery of the antibiotic penicillin.
- In 1915, meteorologist Alfred Wegener claimed that continents move and were once joined together. It wasn't until after his death that new evidence showed he was right.
Home | Resources for Educators Menu | Ideas for Using These Resources Contents | Help
WGBH | PBS Online | Search | Feedback | Shop
© 1998 WGBH