TEAMS
Collaborative
Exhibits
Programs
Evaluation/
Dissemination
Internal Documents
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The Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science (TEAMS) Collaborative specializes in the development and circulation of interactive science exhibitions for small science and children's museums. The Collaborative was formed in 1995, and, with substantial grants from the National Science Foundation, has created exhibitions on thirteen different topics.
There are few high-quality, interactive science exhibitions which are available to the nation's smaller museums which are of appropriate size and cost. TEAMS was created to help fill this gap, with exhibitions that are carefully prototyped to assure success in their educational mission, designed with accessibility in mind, and are accompanied by a full complement of educational and marketing support materials.
A new set of TEAMS exhibitions have just opened in their originating museums; they will be available for rental beginning in the fall of 2008.
The third round of TEAMS exhibitions includes the following, with detailed information and press releases:
From Here to There
Come explore the science of how things move by land, sea and air. Ride a hovercraft to experience air pressure, launch rockets to explore propulsion, and float a boat to experiment with air flow. Lift, launch and levitate your way through hands-on exhibits that make learning about gravity, friction, and the laws of motion fun!
The Rochester Museum & Science Center of Rochester, NY and the Sciencenter of Ithaca, NY developed From Here to There as part of the Traveling Exhibits At Museums of Science (TEAMS) collaborative. This exhibition is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
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From Here to There page with marketing materials
Link to page of From Here to There Program Materials
Exhibit walk-through
Get the Message
From a cocked eyebrow to the front page news, experience the dynamic variety of tools people use to communicate. Try your brush at virtual cave art, signal a crane operator, puzzle over expressions, send a message in Morse, and more! Designed for interaction, these hands-on experiences invite you to explore the subtle structures we use when sending and receiving information.
Get the Message was designed through a collaboration of Discovery Center Museum of Rockford, Illinois and the Family Museum of Arts and Sciences of Bettendorf, Iowa and supported by the National Science Foundation.
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Get the Message page with marketing materials
Link to Get the Message - Program Materials
Exhibit walk-through
Spin
Spin is an exciting exhibit that explores the fun - and science - of objects that rotate! Using interactive exhibits and real-life examples, guests of all ages will explore how objects spin, why things spin at different speeds, and how we use spinning objects in our daily lives.
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SPIN page with marketing materials
Link to page of SPIN Program Materials
Exhibit walk-through
Toys: The Inside Story
If your parents never let you break open your Etch A Sketch® to find out how it works, or if you've been wondering how to stop your toddler's push toy from making such an infernal racket, you'll love Toys: The Inside Story. This exhibition illustrates the simple mechanisms commonly found in toys and lets visitors create their own toy-like combinations of gears, pulleys, linkages, cams, and circuits. Many of the exhibits are free-form and open-ended. Toys: The Inside Story was designed by the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vt., and supported by the National Science Foundation.
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Toys: The Inside Story page with marketing materials
Link to page of Toys: The Inside Story - Program Materials
Exhibit walk-through
Seven earlier TEAMS exhibitions are also available for rent. As described in greater detail elsewhere in this website, the TEAMS exhibitions have been designed and fabricated by small science museums specifically to serve the special requirements and needs of small to mid-sized museums and science centers.
The TEAMS exhibitions currently available for rent are:
AirPlay (created by the Montshire Museum of Science)
Hear Here: Listening with Eyes and Ears (created by the Montshire Museum of Science)
Fun, 2, 3, 4: All About a Number of Things! (created by Sciencenter)
Cool Moves! The Artistry of Motion (created by Sciencenter and Rochester Museum & Science Center)
Each of the above is available through Sciencenter in Ithaca NY.
Body Carnival: The Science and Fun of Being You! (created by Catawba Science Center and The Health Adventure; available through ASTC)
Team Up! Explore Science & Sports (created by Discovery Center Museum and Family Museum of Arts and Science; available through ASTC)
Amusement Park Science (available through the Discovery Center Museum) was created by Discovery Center Museum and is available through them; contact Michael Rathbun at (815) 972-2841 or via email at michaelr@discoverycentermuseum.org.
Two of the TEAMS exhibitions have completed a multi-year tour schedule within the TEAMS museums and nationally through ASTC and have now been "retired." These two are:
- Dirt (created by Catawba Science Center)
- Clothing: Science from Head to Toe (created by The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum)
Seven museums are currently members of the TEAMS Collaborative. Six are paired in working partnerships and the seventh serves as the administrative and financial coordinator for the Collaborative. The members are:
Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC, and
The Health Adventure in Asheville, NC
Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY, and
Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY
Discovery Center Museum, Rockford, IL, and
Family Museum of Arts and Science, Bettendorf, IA
Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT (NSF grantee)
In addition, Inverness Research Associates (IRA) has been a partner with the Collaborative since its inception. They have served as project evaluators and have guided professional staff from the TEAMS museums in rigorous formative and summative evaluations to assure successful exhibitions. Both TEAMS and the NSF are dedicated to administrative processes and working relationships that best support a viable and successful collaborative effort, particularly among small organizations with limited resources. The TEAMS effort will result in several important dissemination products - a workshop and publication - described more fully in the Evaluation/ Dissemination section of this site.
Contact Us
For further information about the TEAMS Collaborative please contact:
Charles Trautmann, President of the Collaborative and Director, Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY [send email to Charles Trautmann].
or
David Goudy, NSF award Principal Investigator and Director, Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT [send email to David Goudy].
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