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Discovery World to Milwaukee SPE - May

I am pleased to forward this summery report to the SPE Milwaukee Section on Plastics Education Program activities underway at the museum this year. We would welcome your continued support for Discovery World this year. Please call me with any questions you may have.

Activities and Accomplishments
Plastics Awareness Month – March 2004

· Through the SPE’s support, we delivered another successful Plastic Awareness Month Program this year.

· In total 10,009 museum visitors were made aware of your commitment to plastic education through on-site signage, professional contact and direct program experiences.

· Thousands more learned of the event through pre-event flyers, announcements and listing in the Museum’s annual Educator Reference Guide.

· Over 650 students participated in free plastic and polymer demonstrations this year.

· 2,123 students and families completed hands on plastics activities in the R & D Café.

· More than 200 Manufacturing experiences were delivered, including the introduction of the new Auto Lab as discussed below.

· Sixteen school groups booked plastic related activities during plastic awareness month, with several planning to return in the summer.

· Twenty two (22) schools and Community organizations have booked Fantastic Plastic Outreach programs since March 1, 2004

Program Deliveries To date (October 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004)
· 6,957 public plastic program activities have been delivered in the R & D Café

· 2,951 manufacturing experiences have been provided for public audiences

· 6,028 school groups have booked a plastic lab or workshop this year

· 3,787 students and families have booked Fantastic Plastic Outreach deliveries to date this year.

Secret Lab Saturday
Stretch Your Imagination with Plastic was a feature of the March 13, 2004 Secret Lab Saturday- a new public education program targeting kids and families on the second Saturday of each month during the academic year.

· Professional thermoforming demonstrations were provide in the DW main lobby area by SPE volunteers including Jack Hill, Roger Tamsen and Randy Reikes using the small dental formers.

· Thermoforming and Polymer Slime were feature activities in the E Village exhibit area.

· The Auto Lab, a new design build activity was prototyped with public audiences using the newly acquired large format vacuum form unit.

· 687 people (kids and families) took part in plastics related project activities.


SPE Activities Report

What is the Auto Lab?
In the Auto Lab visitors come to the R & D Café area where they receive a brief introduction to the project goals and to the tools, materials and processes they will utilize in this activity. They are then instructed to go to the E Village Manufacturing area to vacuum form the auto body components. In the Manufacturing area, staff facilitators guide them through the thermoforming forming process, including an introduction to thermoplastic and the thermoses process they are using. They then form the top and bottom of an auto body on a 12" x 16" sheet of .020 gauge styrene plastic using he large format unit and tooling built by Discovery World exhibit staff.

After formed sheet cools, students then return to the R & D café area where they are provided additional component parts (wheels, tires, axels) and tools (scissors, hot glue gun, rubber bands) needed to assemble their prototype automobile. Wheels and axels provided are simple everyday items used in a new way - Popsicle "Push Up" bases and handles. Tires are made from prefabricated PVC pipe that has been precut and trimmed using a cutting tool developed by Discovery World staff for this activity. The Auto Lab will continue to be offered as a "special" manufacturing activity for public visitors on weekends and throughout the summer during the museum's summer Teck Trek program.

Summer Tech Trek
Several new project activities are currently in development for the 2004 Summer Tech Trek - the museum's keynote summer program for public visitors to the museum program. Our goal is to incorporate plastics and utilization of the new Thermoforming unit in as many project activities as possible.

In addition to the Auto Lab above, staff are prototyping development of a thermo formed glider that students’ will create, build and test as a means of introducing them to basic principles of aerodynamics and flight. Jumping robotic bugs will incorporate lessons on mechanical and electrical engineering. Students will manufacture the "bugs" body using the thermoforming processes and incorporate simple motors and circuitry to assemble and then test their robot. Final selection of the2004 project activates will be made in May. Tech Trek activities will run daily June through August 2004 and be delivered to an estimated 25,000 children and families this year.

Build It! Summer Career Camps
Designed for kids eleven and older, Build It Career Camps provide a week-long day camp experience that connects kids with tomorrow's opportunity in a variety of career areas. Led by professionals, the program incorporates project based learning activities, field trips to area colleges and businesses, professional mentoring and fun in an engaging off school environment.

Several new camps this year will emphasize plastics as a core curriculum component including Fashion for Tomorrow, Fantastic Plastics and Helmets and Handbags.

In Fashion for Tomorrow students will explore the question of what people will be wearing in the future? Textile and Fashion Industry experts will guide student through the process of researching, designing and creating a student produced line of fashions incorporating a variety of new materials and design elements - pins, broaches, pendants, and buttons - vacuum formed in the Manufacturing area.

SPE Activities Report
Fantastic Plastics will focus student attention on the world of toys and new product development. In this career camp, students will research the market and analyze a variety of existing toys to determine what sells and why. After preliminary market research, they will then concept, design and build their own prototype toy line based on what will "sell" to the target market.

Helmets and Handbags incorporated basic lessons on human physiology and an engineering design experience. Working in teams, students will investigate history, fashion, biomechanics and measurement to design and prototype "functional" gear including protective helmets, non-straining backpacks and useful handbags. The museum is currently working on tooling and mold forms for student manufactured helmet components.

Scheduled for delivery in August, we are currently finalizing activity sets, hiring educators and developing final lesson plans for each of the proposed Built It! Career Camps program.

Near Term Plans
The museum is currently researching several new curriculum based activities that will enhance current thermoforming and foam casting processes.

In addition to new project activities discussed the 2004 Tech Trek and Build It! Career Camp programs above, we are currently seeking funding to finalize development of several additional advanced entrepreneurship labs in the areas of packaging, point of sale and consumer electronics. Exhibit staff is currently researching appropriate technology that will best suit the educational needs of our audiences including blow molding and rotational casting processes. Plans are to prototype the advanced lab experiences during the summer and fall 2004 with plans to incorporate injection molding as a manufacturing process technology beginning in the spring of 2005.

A New Vision for Discovery World
In fall 2004, the Discovery World Board publicly announced plans to move Discovery World to a new lakefront facility in a joint effort with Pier Wisconsin, a fresh water education center. Plans are to develop a new 120,000 square foot facility. This will expand our exhibit space considerably over our current 43,000 square feet.

The Board has approved initial plans that include an expanded presence for plastics education in the new Entrepreneurs Village area along with an enhanced plastics curriculum that will explore and promote student innovation and creativity through plastic processes, materials and activities.

twelve to eighteen months as final architectural plans and build out are completed, we will work to complete development of several current and new exhibits and program curricula. Our plan is to have all program elements completed to ensure that they will be fully operational when we move to the new facility. Ground breaking is anticipated this spring with final exhibit installation planned for late 2005 or early 2006. We anticipate serving an estimated 350,000 annual visitors in the new facility.

SPE Activities Report
Financial Consideration

The support of the SPE at the local and national level has been instrumental to the growing plastic educational program at Discovery World. In both breadth and depth, the program is truly one of a kind and would not be possible without your support.

Below you will find an overview of the program funding we have received over the last several years. As you will note, the program, estimated to cost approximated $80,000 annually ($13,000 Plastic Awareness Month, $42,000 current Stretch and Mfg Labs with $25,000 budgeted for new technology and program development), has been sustained through direct program funds provided by the SPE and through Discovery World operations. We welcome your continued support!

Gifts Received
FY 2003/2004 Current Year
SPE Milwaukee Educational Foundation $3,750
Plastic Awareness Month

FY 2002/2003
Batterman Foundation $32,500
E Village Mfg $15,000
E Village Curriculum $17,500
SPE Thermoforming Division $10,000
Small format dental formers/tooling, allocation to lg. format thermoformer, tooling support/supplies and materials
Rexnord Foundation $1,000
Plastics Awareness Month

FY 2001/2002
SPE Milwaukee Chapter $3,750
Plastic Awareness Month
SPE Milw. Section Edu. Foundation $5,000
Plastics Manufacturing/Sustaining support

FY 2000/2001
SPE Foundation $10,000
Stretch Your Imagination Curriculum 2Sustaining program support (PAM, Stretch 2, Plastisol casting prototypes)
SPE Milw. Section Edu. Foundation $5,000
Stretch Development/PAM

FY 1999/2000
SPE Milw. Section Edu. Foundation $5,000
PAM/Stretch Your Imagination dev 1
SPE Milwaukee Section $10,000
PAM/Stretch Your imagination dev 1

 

 


2004
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Discovery World
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2003
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