April 12, 2002 - A science project that included an online experiment in which middle and high school students from Long Island, New York tested the insulation value of recycled materials and encouraged students from as far away as Russia to do the same beat out 10 other projects from across the nation to claim the 2002 Unisys Prize for Online Science Education. The Unisys Prize, given in conjunction with International Public Science Day activities, carries with it a $10,000 cash award.

The team was comprised of leadership from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University (LIU), the Long Island Museum of Science and Technology (LIMSAT), and the Nassau Technology Educators Association (NTEA), and middle schools and high schools from Long Island, New York City and as far away as Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Their project, dubbed "Keep the Heat," involved students from around the world in a collaborative inquiry-based science experiment. Students from participating schools created experiments to test the value of assorted recycled materials that have potential for use as home insulation. Each participating school constructed a testing device in accordance with design criteria established by the team leadership. They also monitored temperature changes in their constructions and reported data for compilation in a final report and many decorated the boxes with colorful, artistic designs.

For the past five years, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, and Unisys Corporation have collaborated to encourage local science centers and museums around the country to help schools become more technologically savvy.

The Unisys Prize for "outstanding use of the Web as a tool for science investigation," is the culmination of months of science exploration by 11 teams from across the country. Each team, composed of a school; museum or science center; and a third community partner, was charged with developing an inquiry-based investigation around the theme "Science is Power! Energy Everywhere." The aim of the overall project was to encourage the students to use the Internet as their workbench, so that fellow students and teachers can replicate the inquiry and learn from it.

Long Island University's Electronic Educational Village (EEV) has already established itself in the arena of online education and innovative use of the World Wide Web. The EEV (eev.liu.edu/eev02) was developed in 1991 by the Educational Technology Department in the School of Education at the C.W. Post Campus along with others in the Long Island community. Each year, more than 500 elementary, middle and high school students from Montauk Point to Harlem, New York participate in the EEV, a unique on-line community that links students, parents, cultural institutions, corporations and community resources. In April 2000, the EEV was inducted into the Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The official "International Public Science Day" took place on March 20, 2002 with a live video teleconference during which each team showcased its project. Approximately 300 members of the LIU/LIMSAT/NTEA team attended the Long Island section of the teleconference, which was held at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, NY.

The International Public Science Day project and related Unisys Prize involved students from a broad geographical spectrum (from Portland to New York, and nine sites in between), and an age range that extended from 4-year-olds to teens. A team in Chicago, Illinois, was named first runner-up with its Web site titled, "La Escuela del Sol: Energy Everywhere from the Sun," which teaches school children about the sun's importance through a wide variety of activities, including kinesthetic learning. The International Public Science Day web site is located at www.fi.edu/psd2002

Backgrounder
International Public Science Day 2002

Sponsors

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest general scientific organization in the world, with over 134,000 members from 130 countries and 273 affiliated societies, comprising more than 10 million members. AAAS publishes Science, an editorially independent, multi-disciplinary, weekly peer-reviewed journal that ranks as the world's most prestigious scientific journal.

Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company whose 39,000 people help clients in more than 100 countries utilize technology to seize opportunities, overcome challenges and succeed in the global economy. The company offers a rich portfolio of business solutions led by its expertise in consulting and systems integration, outsourcing, network services, and security, coupled with leading enterprise-class server and related technologies. Primary vertical markets for Unisys worldwide are the financial services, transportation, communications, media, commercial and public sectors, including U.S. federal government customers. For more information on the company, access the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web at www.unisys.com. Investor information can be found at www.unisys.com/investor

The Franklin Institute Science Museum was founded in 1824 in Philadelphia, and is today recognized for its innovative science education programs and for developing museum-school partnerships that have become national models for innovative teacher development and hands-on science in the classroom. The Institute also promotes and perpetuates the legacy of Benjamin Franklin through major awards honoring achievement in science and in business leadership.

Long Island Leadership Partners

Long Island University (LIU) is the eighth largest private university in the United States. It has three residential campuses, Southampton, Brooklyn and the C.W. Post Campus in Brookville, NY. The C.W. Post Campus is home to the Electronic Educational Village (EEV), a unique on-line community that links students, parents, cultural institutions, corporations and community resources. The EEV began in 1991 with the joint efforts of the Educational Technology Department in the School of Education at the C.W. Post Campus and others in the community. (www.liu.edu, eev.liu.edu/eev02)

The Long Island Museum of Science and Technology (LIMSAT) is Long Island's "hands-on" science and technology museum, to be located on Museum Row at Mitchel Field, adjacent to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, N.Y. LIMSAT is committed to being a leader in E-learning with a key emphasis on showing how Long Island companies turn science into technology. Its main goal is to excite and enrich young people, many of whom will be inspired to fill the 21st Century need for a technologically skilled workforce. (www.limsat.org)

Nassau Technology Educators Association (NTEA) is a membership group for technology educators. It provides opportunities for professional discussion, sharing of teaching techniques and activities, and field trips for that enable technology educators to observe the latest technologies in use, on site in various locations. (herricks.org/ntea)

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Participating Schools

The Beacon School	New York, New York
Cosmonaut School	Krasnoyarsk, Russia
East Hampton Middle School	East Hampton, New York
Half Hollow Hills High School	Dix Hills, New York
Island Trees Middle School	Levittown, New York
Jericho Middle School	Jericho, New York
Packard Middle School	Plainedge, New York
Taller Boricua	East Harlem, New York
United Nations International School	Queens, New York