The Visual Communications Program provides NCAR- or UCAR-produced visuals (slides, photos, films, videos, and illustrations) and specialized services to the UCAR staff, member and affiliate universities, scientific community, educators, librarians, publishers, and the media. Access to more than 1,000 images is available on-line on the Digital Media Catalog. Well placed images in high profile publications and productions resulted in exposure to several million people.
This year the new Walter Orr Roberts Weather Trail was opened to the public. The half-mile trail features eleven interpretive signs, each focusing on a single weather-related phenomenon that may be observed-or whose effects may be evident-from points along the way. Three new exhibits were added to the Mesa Laboratory to explain wind turbulence, gravity, and ozone detection. The lightning display was augmented by a new system featuring sounds bytes of a thunderstorm.
In addition, staff in theVisual Communications Program provide support and assistance to the museum and educational community in interpreting scientific concepts and activities for public audiences.
The Community Art Program provides opportunities for local artists to publicly display their work at NCAR in galleries on the second floor lobby and in the cafeteria. During FY 1997, 88 artists (including the student artists mentioned below) displayed their work in juried shows at the Mesa Laboratory. Samples of work displayed and a calendar of showings is available at the Visual Communications website.
The Gravity Well at NCAR's Mesa Laboratory provides three local students with a place to explore centrifugal force.
Super Science Saturday offered a day of informal science activities, exhibits, and science demonstrations for the public. Special hands-on workshops for students (grades 5-12) and their teachers were conducted in relevant areas such as science photography, computer graphics, environmental printing, and science demonstration design. Scientists from NCAR and the University of Colorado gave public presentations on "Storm Chasing," "Weather Websites" and "Avalanche Research." Special activity tables from Collage, CU Science Discovery, and the Butterfly Pavilion were on site to augment NCAR's exhibits and displays. Over 825 students, parents, and teachers participated in the day-long event. More than 100 students and teachers attended the hands-on art/science workshops; the special science demonstrations drew over 250 participants.
The Student Art Showcasewas planned as part of NCAR and the Boulder community's celebration of Earth Day and National Science and Technology Week. For the month of April, all NCAR public galleries were devoted to student art reflecting on the National Science Foundation theme "Webs, Wires, Waves--The Science & Technology of Communication." Students in grades 4 through 12 from throughout Boulder County submitted artwork to NCAR. Seventy-five pieces were selected for display by the NCAR Community Art Judging Committee. All displayed works received ribbons. Fourteen outstanding works received special awards. An informal awards reception honoring the students and their work closed the event. Over 220 student artists and their families attended the 1997 reception. An estimated 3,000 visitors to NCAR took in the month-long display.
Produced in a Super Science Saturday workshop, this photograph was exhibited in the 1997 Student Art Showcase.
NCAR sponsored the first Bayer NSF Community Initiative for this area. Information was provided to local middle schools and Visual Communications staff acted as liaisons to the public and scientific community. The Award challenged teams of students to use science and technology to identify a community problem and develop a solution. One Boulder school made it to the semi-finals of competition. The Colorado Department of Education Family Science Day was also held at NCAR. During the day-long event, 70 teachers, parents and students did hands-on learning science activities.
Exhibits:
Each year an estimated 60,000 visitors tour NCAR's Mesa Laboratory where exhibits demonstrate underlying scientific concepts in the atmospheric and related sciences. The exhibits include seven interactive exhibits designed by the prestigious Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco. Other exhibits document the research and activities undertaken at NCAR and the UCAR Office of Programs.
Informal Education Activities
In FY 1997, Visual Communications developed and hosted two special public events as part of a Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) collaborative with Boulder's Collage Children's Museum. The events, Super Science Saturday and the Student Art Showcase, were highly successful and will be continued in 1998 as a permanent part of the Program.
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NCAR FY96 ASR |
NCAR FY97 ASR
