ScienceToGo.org Features Boston Ostriches in Public-Education Effort
10/01/2013
Media contacts:
UMass Lowell – Christine Gillette, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu, 978-934-2209
Brodeur Partners – Lindsay Douglas, ldouglas@brodeur.com, 617-834-2885
Bowman Global Change – Tom Bowman, Tom@BowmanGlobalChange.com, 562-572-3371
Hofstra University – Karla Schuster, Karla.Schuster@hofstra.edu, 516-463-6493
MBTA – MassDOT Press Office, 857-368-8500, Kelly.Smith@state.ma.us
Museum of Science – AJ Gosselin, agosselin@mos.org, 617-589-0251
UMass Boston – DeWayne Lehman, DeWayne.Lehman@umb.edu, 617-287-5302
* M E D I A A D V I S O R Y *
Thursday, Oct. 3
11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
What:ScienceToGo.org kicks off its 14-month multimedia campaign designed to engage the 500,000 daily commuters who ride the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s Red and Orange lines in learning about climate change. To introduce the central characters of the campaign – ostriches that entertain and educate about climate change science – an 8-foot-tall representation of the bird will be located near the MBTA’s Park Street station.
Along with the ostrich will be the team of educators and scientists from UMass Lowell, the Museum of Science, UMass Boston and Hofstra University who are behind the project designed to bring science education out of the classroom and into everyday life. The representatives of the project, which also includes the MBTA, will be available to answer questions about the development and goals of the innovative campaign, which is funded by a $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
There has never been a better time for the ScienceToGo.org campaign. Based on the evidence, scientists now conclude it is “extremely likely” that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming, according to a report issued Friday by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
ScienceToGo.org aims to inform the public about climate science and research the effectiveness of this new approach to informal learning, which uses posters and placards on subway cars and station platforms to engage T riders. The materials, which feature the flock of ostriches, will guide commuters to check out www.sciencetogo.org and participate on Twitter with @BostonOstrich, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sciencetogo and through smartphone applications.
Where: Boston Common, near the Park Street MBTA entrance, intersection of Tremont and Park streets.