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Initiative</title></head><body>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite><font size="+2" color="#FF0000"><i><b>YOU
ARE INVITED TO VISIT INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS BUILT BY STUDENTS IN
TERRASCOPE AS THE CULMINATION OF THEIR YEAR LONG STUDY OF ALASKA AND
THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. WE HOPE YOU WILL
ACKNOWLEDGE THE HARD WORK OF OUR FRESHMEN BY VISITING THEIR EXHIBITS.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ON TO OTHERS WHO MIGHT BE
INTERESTED!!!!!<br>
<br>
</b></i></font><u><b>Students create interactive exhibits about Alaska
and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge<br>
<br>
</b></u><b>The Exhibits:<br>
<br>
</b>Students in MITís new Terrascope program invite the MIT
community and the general public to visit interactive, museum-style
exhibits about Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
They designed and built the exhibits as a semester-long project for
MIT subject 1.016, ěIntroduction to Earth System Engineering and
Science.î The exhibits include a simulated dogsled ride; a
planetarium-style display on the aurora borealis (northern lights);
simulations of Alaskan animal habitats; recreations of native
artifacts; and a walk-through exploration of the origin, extraction
and uses of petroleum.<br>
<br>
The official opening is Tuesday, May 11, from 3:30-6:30 PM. Exhibits
will be open during the day through Friday, May 14 (call (617)
253-4074 or e-mail daczel@mit.edu for hours). They are located in MIT
rooms 1-080 and 1-090 (in the basement of Building 1, near the corner
of Mass. Ave. and Memorial Drive; a map showing the location of
Building 1 is at:
<http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?selection=1&Buildings=go>).<br
>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>The Terrascope program:<br>
<br>
</b>Terrascope, a program of the MIT Earth System Initiative, is a
unique learning community in which first-year students study complex,
real-world environmental issues that require innovative solutions
based in expertise from a variety of disciplines. This is the second
class of students to participate in the Terrascope program.<br>
<br>
Students began their Terrascope experience in the fall, with subject
12.000, "Solving Complex Problems," in which they split into
self-managed teams to study the benefits and environmental costs of
extracting oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As part of
that project, they worked to develop the most
environmentally-sensitive plan possible for oil extraction and then
performed an analysis to determine whether the oil would be worth the
environmental cost of extracting it.<br>
<br>
Some students also participated in IAP (January-term) subject 1.991,
"Designing Museum Exhibits to Illustrate Earth System Science and
Engineering," an intensive, week-long experience in which they
visited local museums and science centers, worked with professionals
in the Greater Boston museum community and laid the groundwork for
exhibits to be developed in the spring semester. In the spring, in
subject 1.016, they split into teams to design, develop and build
exhibits that drew on their knowledge of Alaska and their
understanding of how non-specialists can learn about complex
scientific topics through museum-style exhibits. In the process, they
exercised and further developed the team-building and
project-management skills they had acquired during 12.000.<br>
<br>
As part of the Terrascope experience, during Spring Break the students
traveled to Alaska, where they attended lectures and presentations by
experts from around the state, representing a broad spectrum of points
of view about ANWR. (Speakers included representatives from native
villages, biologists from the U.S. Park Service, oil-company
executives, politicians and others.) They also participated in outdoor
activities (including a visit to Denali National Park) designed to
acquaint them with the Alaskan environment. The trip served both as a
capstone experience for their work in 12.000, and as the basis for
much of the information they will present in their 1.016 exhibits.<br>
<br>
For more information, contact:<br>
Debra Gross Aczel<br>
daczel@mit.edu<br>
(617) 253-4074<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Debra Gross Aczel<br>
Terrascope Program<br>
Building 16-177<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
77 Massachusetts Avenue</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Cambridge, MA 02139<br>
617-253-4074<br>
http://web.mit.edu/terrascope/www/</blockquote>
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