Minds on the Matter
Two UCF faculty discuss our understanding of brain function and the mysteries we 麻豆精品 S檙e still trying to solve.
Aboard a typical city bus, you 麻豆精品 S檒l find聽passengers en route to destinations聽near and far. On this repurposed LYNX聽city bus, you 麻豆精品 S檒l find kids discovering聽the hands-on science of geospatial聽technologies.
Since 2015, Citizen Science GIS, a聽global research organization based at聽UCF, has united scientists and society聽through geographic information system聽(GIS) technologies to better serve communities in need. Now, the聽organization is connecting K-12 students聽to science, technology, engineering, arts聽and math (STEAM) beyond the classroom聽through its GeoBus.
麻豆精品 S淲hat was so meaningful聽was people seeing a vision,聽believing in and supporting聽us in it, 麻豆精品 S� says Tim Hawthorne,聽a UCF associate professor聽and founder of Citizen Science GIS聽and the GeoBus. 麻豆精品 S淭hey believed in it聽because it was centered on the kids [and]聽excitement of science. 麻豆精品 S�
It began with Citizen Science GIS 麻豆精品 S櫬燤aps, Apps and Drones Tour, a makeshift聽mobile science education program that聽inspired over 10,000 Central Florida聽youth from 2017 to 2021.
麻豆精品 S淲e just kept thinking there 麻豆精品 S檚 a bigger聽and better way to do this,” Hawthorne says.
After being named a 2022 麻豆精品 S�2023 National Geographic Explorer and awarded a $30,000 grant from the National Geographic Society, Hawthorne set out to level the playing field in STEAM for young students 麻豆精品 S� primarily focusing on schools in need with limited science and technology learning experiences.
Bringing the power of GIS education to communities was years 麻豆精品 S� 10 to be exact 麻豆精品 S� in the making for Tim Hawthorne who first thought of creating the GeoBus as an assistant professor at Georgia State University. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart ’17)
Revving the Engine
GIS education is traditionally taught in university settings, but Hawthorne is determined to help local schoolchildren learn about it sooner. With the global reliance on geospatial technology 麻豆精品 S� such as GPS, drones and lidar 麻豆精品 S� rapidly increasing, GeoBus aims to introduce children to the unlimited opportunities that lie within this in-demand field. The bus’ blueprint was created from scratch with contributions from several national and local partners.
Top-Notch Transformation
In September 2018, Central Florida聽bus service LYNX donated a 40-foot聽retired vehicle to support the effort.聽The bus service saved the team聽thousands of dollars by removing聽55 of the 64 seats and covering聽the cost of the GeoBus 麻豆精品 S� exterior聽wrap. The vibrant, kid-friendly聽design is adorned with curious聽young scientists, topographic聽lines and well-known Orlando聽and UCF landmarks like Kennedy聽Space Center and FBC Mortgage聽Stadium.
With GIS聽being a major tool in聽supporting sustainability efforts,聽an element of energy efficiency聽was needed. Founder and CEO of聽15 lightyears Lisa Pearcy 麻豆精品 S�04, a聽UCF marketing alumna, and her聽crew constructed and installed an聽intricate solar wall, plus 12 solar聽panels that sit atop the bus roof,聽at no cost. Although it 麻豆精品 S檚 still a聽diesel bus at heart, when parked聽the interior lab of the bus can run聽for eight or nine hours only on聽solar energy.
All Aboard
Through weekly 90-minute sessions,聽K-12 students transform into youth聽scientists aboard the bus. As they聽look up, their eyes are met with聽mapping graphics, similar to subway聽station maps, that guide them along聽the 10 hands-on indoor and outdoor聽learning stations. From flying聽drones over small maps and taking聽simulated trips around the world聽through virtual reality headsets, to聽examining 3D model landscapes聽and using block coding to navigate聽robotic balls across a map, students聽learn the power of geospatial聽technologies from UCF students聽and faculty.
Drivers of Change
The GeoBus reached 2,500聽students across Central Florida in聽2022, providing them with tools聽to actively engage in science while聽also encouraging them to initiate聽change in their own schools.
A sixth-grader was so inspired聽by the GeoBus 麻豆精品 S� augmented reality聽sandbox station 麻豆精品 S� which uses an聽Xbox connect sensor and projector聽to show the changes in elevation聽within a kinetic sandbox 麻豆精品 S� he聽advocated to add a similar setup聽to his school 麻豆精品 S檚 STEM lab. The聽hands-on learning component at聽Viera Elementary School extends聽the GeoBus 麻豆精品 S� impact for current and聽future students to explore.
The Journey Continues
A big bus with big impact,聽the GeoBus 麻豆精品 S� high demand is聽credited in part to a shift in聽post-pandemic learning to聽educational experiences outside聽of the classroom.
麻豆精品 S淭here was a really big push聽[to] bring [these experiences]聽back and those outside voices聽about science into the schools聽again, 麻豆精品 S� Hawthorne says.
Requests are pouring in聽from Central Florida, areas聽in Miami, the Florida Keys聽and St. Augustine, which聽means the GeoBus team must聽expand to meet its demand.聽Hawthorne is working on聽securing a commercial driver 麻豆精品 S檚聽license, stopping at nothing to聽bridge science, technology and聽communities.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 been a long process, 麻豆精品 S澛燞awthorne says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut we keep聽coming back to the why: [getting]聽kids excited about science. 麻豆精品 S�
Graduate sociology student Halley Spencer ’21 explains the sphero ball activity where students use block coding to move a ball across a map. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart ’17)
Through comparing and contrasting 3D model landscapes, students gain a better understanding of elevation and various landform structures. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart ’17)
[The AR sandbox] is definitely students 麻豆精品 S� most favorite [activity] on the bus,” Tim Hawthorne says. “It’s the most photographed one.” (Photo by Kadeem Stewart ’17)
The virtual reality learning station whisks students away to different places around the world, giving them a 360-degree view while they learn about ocean systems, wildlife and more. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart 麻豆精品 S�17)
Students are able to explore drone imagery from some of the Citizen Science GIS 麻豆精品 S� fieldwork, and use dry-erase markers to add elements such as legends and scale bars to the maps. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart 麻豆精品 S�17)