Project LINK: A Live and Interactive Network of Knowledge

Abstract

Project LINK (A Live and Interactive Network of Knowledge), is a collaboration of Eureka Scientific, Inc., the San Francisco exploratorium Science Museum, and NASA/Ames Research Center. Project LINK has demonstrated video-conferencing capabilities from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) to the San Francisco Exploratorium in the context of science education outreach to K-12 teachers and students. The project was intended to pilot-test strategies for facilitating the live interface between scientists and K-12 teachers aboard the KAO with their peers and students through the resources and technical expertise available at science museums and private industry. The interface was based on Internet/macintosh video conferencing capabilities which allowed teachers and students at the Exploratorium to collaborate in a live and interactive manner with teachers and scientists aboard the KAO. The teachers teams chosen for the on-board experiments represented rural and urban school districts in California. The teachers interfaced with colleagues as part of the NASA-Funded Project FOSTER (Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher Enrichment).