DEADLINE:  January 15, 2012

AMNH “Adventures in Science”:

Virtual Worlds Middle School Institutes

The American Museum of Natural History is seeking a digital technology partner who can customize a 3-D world-building platform and 3-D digital modeling tool, as well as support the development, implementation and evaluation of two immersive, 2-week science institutes for middle schoolers in the summer of 2012. The programs, called “Virtual Worlds”, target students who are interested in learning science through the process of inquiry and collections research at the AMNH, and who are excited about using digital technology to synthesize and expand upon their science content and process learning.

Prior Virtual Worlds Institute at AMNH
Last year, the AMNH led a Virtual Worlds: Cretaceous Seas Institute, in which middle school students collected and examined fossils of extinct marine life, toured museum collections and interviewed scientists to make inferences about how an extinct Late Cretaceous animal, such as a Mosasaur, might have looked and behaved. Students then used the 3-D modeling software, Sculptris http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris, to bring their inferences to life and placed their extinct animals in a customized, photo-realistic Late Cretaceous environment designed according to AMNH specifications using the 3D virtual world platform Blue Mars http://www.bluemars.com.  Please follow the link below to watch a video about last summer’s exciting institute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwfxfRF7agU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Upcoming Virtual Worlds Institutes at AMNH
Next summer, we plan to offer the Cretaceous Seas institute again, using an improved version of the virtual world. In addition, we plan to offer a new 2-week program called “Virtual Worlds: What happened to the Neanderthals?” During this new 2012 institute, students will have the opportunity to reconstruct and visualize Neanderthal extinction theories by recreating the first interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans in Ice Age Europe approximately 50,000 years ago.  Using the AMNH’s world-renowned fossil collections and scientific resources, students will work in the Sackler Educational Laboratory for Comparative Genomics and Human Origins to reconstruct the events that may have led to the extinction of Neanderthals and the predominance of modern humans as the only hominid left on earth.

In order to reconstruct and visualize prevailing extinction theories, students will digitally compare facial and skeletal structures of Neanderthals and modern humans to determine how different they really looked from one another, and incorporate cultural and technological capabilities of each.  Students will then place the reconstructed hominids in the ancient environment in which these species coexisted, and may have even interbred, before the Neanderthal’s ultimate demise. Students will visualize that ancient world through an engaging and accessible 3-D world-building tool.

AMNH seeks a partner with the following criteria:

•Technical familiarity with game making, world building, and visualization platforms.

•A proven track record of successful creation of an educational model(s), preferably with middle school students, using one of the above platforms, or a similar 2-D or 3-D platform. The model could have been used to teach any academic content, but would preferably have been used to teach science content.

•Comprises a team consisting of programmer(s), designer(s), and educator(s) with experience working in an educational setting (e.g., a school, museum, after-school program), using game design to teach digital literacy as well as academic content.

Responsibilities and tasks will include:

•Updating the Cretaceous Oceans virtual world to improve its visual and functional components.

•Creating a customized, constrained 3-D Ice Age environment with pre-designed assets for the new Neanderthal Institute. Assets will include an accurate ecosystem with Ice Age features, fauna, cave dwellings, cultural artifacts, and hominid behaviors.

•Developing the capability for students to reconstruct the skeletal structures of Neanderthals and modern Homo sapiens, as well as flesh out the facial characteristics of each.

•Writing a final report on the two Virtual Worlds programs, including recommendations and best practices that evaluate what worked and where there is room for improvement.

Timeline:

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 15, 2012.  Planning for the institute will begin immediately after a partner is selected.  The Adventures in Science Virtual Worlds Cretaceous Seas Institute will run from August 13th – 24th 2012, and the Virtual Worlds What Happened to the Neanderthals will run from July 30th – August 10th 2012. Each institute will consist of twenty 6th, 7th and 8th graders, two AMNH instructors (one responsible for scientific content and one for technology) and two AMNH teaching assistants.

The AMNH will require a written summation of recommendations from the partner by September 30, 2012.

Submission Guidelines:

AMNH is interested in a long-term partnership, should this pilot engagement prove successful.

Please send the following materials to:

Samara Rubinstein, Ph.D.

Manager, Sackler Educational Laboratory for Comparative Genomics and Human

Origins

American Museum of Natural History

sacklerlab@amnh.org

•A cover letter, detailing your digital and educational capacities, as well as your previous and current projects and partners.

•A proposal to partner with the AMNH to produce the Virtual Worlds Institutes.  The proposal should include a high-level timeline, suggested approaches to the projects and recommended digital platforms.

•A budget for partner services.

•Biographical sketches of key team members on the project.

Read more http://dmlhub.net/node/6836

Posted in Calls for Proposals

Is your company working at the intersection of creativity and technology?
Have you had national success with your work?
If so, the Pittsburgh Technology Council wants to showcase your work at the upcoming kick-off of its Creative Technology Network!

Creative Technology is a leading-edge trend in the global marketplace. The Council is proud to launch a new network focused on promoting our region’s specific creative technology related capabilities — spanning the creative tech gamut, including design, gaming, robotics, animation, film/television production, post-production, digital media, fine art, architecture, new media advertising, social media, and more.

The festivities begin with the upcoming winter event Creative Clash! Art and Technology Collide with a New Innovation Community in Pittsburgh, presented in partnership with the Carnegie Museum of Art. The event will focus on raising awareness of the exciting work emerging out of this region and discuss what we can do together to take our successes to the next level.

SPECIFICATIONS

The Pittsburgh Technology Council is seeking video clips, stills and information from companies whose creative technology successes have reached national visibility. This information will be compiled as part of a video reel that showcases the best and brightest of our region today.

The Council is also seeking companies to do a 3 minute presentation on their work as part of the event.

To submit your company’s success story, email the following items to Kim Chestney Harvey, Managing Director, The Creative Technology Network, (kharvey@pghtech.org) by Monday, December 19^th.

1. One paragraph company bio / success story
2. Links to any relevant websites or examples of national visibility
3. Up to 5 images, logos or video clips that describe company or its success. If clips exceed emailing size, please deliver electronic file to the PTC offices at 2000 Technology Drive, Suite 100, Pittsburgh Pa 15219 by December 19^th. Electronic submissions only. Quicktime is the preferable video format.

We look forward to receiving your submissions! For more information, visit:www.pghentertainmenttech.org or email Kim Chestney Harvey, Managing Director, The Creative Technology Network, (kharvey@pghtech.org).

Posted in Art and Technology
Tags: Art + Technology

PghTech Women Network^TM
Informal Networking Reception featuring Seema Patel, CEO and Co-Founder, Interbots

Hear from one of Pittsburgh’s coolest robotics companies addressing the needs of children affected by Autism.

Please join us for an informal networking reception featuring Interbots CEO and Co-Founder Seema Patel as she shares her story, talks about their latest products and highlights plans for the future.

Interbots recently won a first prize of $25,000 for its plan to develop consumer robots that could help boost the social skills of autistic children in the nation’s first RoboBowl Competition. The CDC currently estimates that 1% of children in the United States will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Recent research has shown that children with ASD have an easier time interacting with robots than people. Interbots has leveraged these findings to create an affordable consumer robot and accompanying iPad/PC software that allows therapists and parents to guide children (ages 3-15) through activities that practice social referencing skills.

Interbot’s primary goal is to create compelling interactive characters who enable memorable experiences with their guests. To that end, they specialize in the design and construction of custom interactive characters (both physical and virtual), control software, and interactive multimedia content.

Quasi, their first animatronic character, was selected to be the mascot of the World’s Fair for Kids, and has made numerous television appearances including ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS Evening News Eye on America, Regis and Kelly, the Science Channel, and the Discovery Channel.  Their second character, Moxi, was built for the Singapore Science Center, where she is currently installed.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Seema Patel and connect with colleagues and friends. Please find more information on this event below:

Speaker Bio:

Seema Patel obtained a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Psychology from Harvey Mudd College before earning a Master’s in Computer Science while conducting research on affective robotics and human-robot interaction. She then went on to earn a Master’s in Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. Her industry experience includes Vivendi Universal Games, Crystal Dynamics, and Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development.

Posted in Art + Tech Events
Tags: Pittsburgh Technology Council

Posted in Art + Tech Events, Art and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University
Tags: Entertainment Technology Center

Posted in Art and Technology, Calls for Proposals