NSF PR 01-44 (NSB 01-102) - May 21, 2001
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Science Board Honors the Bronx Zoo's Education
Division for Public Service
The National Science Board (NSB), the 24-member policy
body of the National Science Foundation and advisor
to the President on national science policy is honoring
the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo, Education
Division with the 2001 NSB Public Service Award for
organizations.
The society's education programs of the Bronx Zoo
reach thousands of students and teachers every year
nationwide. They serve as prototypes for many similar
education programs at zoos around the world.
"The reach of the Bronx Zoo's education programs is
so wide, and the impact is so dramatic, that we will
see a whole new generation of young people appreciating
the life sciences and the sensitivity of our environment,"
Eamon Kelly, NSB chairman, said. "It's hard to imagine
any organization more deserving of this award."
The NSB award cited the Wildlife Conservation Society's
education activities in fostering awareness of science
and technology among broad segments of the general
public, and for engaging scientists in public outreach
and ecological literacy. The society's Bronx Zoo Education
Division has been a leader in many of these activities
since its creation in 1929. It is now the oldest such
division of any zoological institution in the nation.
It was the first to use its resources to develop comprehensive
K-12 life science curricula and the first to design
hands-on teaching environments, while offering major
national workshops and instructional leadership seminars
for educators.
In the mid-1980s, the society pioneered a classroom
program for grades 6-12 that used a focus on wildlife
to capture students' imagination and motivate them
to pursue studies of the life sciences. The program--WIZE
(Wildlife Inquiry through Zoo Education)--has been
used in classrooms across the U.S. and in 13 other
countries.
The Bronx Zoo subsequently developed three other life
science curricula, which span kindergarten through
the 12th grade and are used in every state in the
nation. The zoo's Education Division has received
17 awards for its curricular programs from organizations
such as the American Zoo and Aquarium Association,
the National Science Teachers' Association, and the
U.S. Department of Education. It was also the first
zoological organization to compete successfully for
a major NSF grant in curriculum development.
"We dedicate ourselves to being the most effective
conservation organization, protecting and promoting
a world rich in wildlife and wilderness," said Annette
Berkovits, Senior Vice President of the WCS Education
Division. "WCS manages more than 300 field projects
in 53 countries in addition to the award winning environmental
education programs for schools in the U.S. and abroad.
Our wildlife parks and centers bring in over 4.5 million
visitors each year, leaving them the important message
to care about wildlife and wild lands and to participate
in their conservation."
Berkovits will be accepting the NSB organizational
Public Service Award at a ceremonial dinner on May
23 at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.
The NSB's annual Public Service Awards were established
in 1996 to recognize one or more individuals and an
organization for achievements in increasing the public's
understanding of scientific discovery and innovation,
as well as for inspiring the next generation of scientists
and engineers.
The organizational Public Service Award has been bestowed
on the NOVA PBS series, "Bill Nye the Science Guy,"
also a PBS series, and Science Service, the organization
that publishes Science News and sponsors other education
activities and national awards. The Bronx Zoo's Education
Division is the fourth recipient of the NSB honor.
The individual winner of the 2001 NSB Public Service
Award is Dava Sobel, author of the current best seller,
Galileo's Daughter.
For more information, see: http://www.wcs.org.
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