Welcome to iSWOOP where we think visually and creatively about

1) how to make sure park rangers are up to speed on the science happening in their parks

2) how to equip park rangers with stories and images to captivate visitors and

3) how to create a collection of visualizations (a portable, visual library) that will spark discussion about the relevance of park-based research both within and outside park boundaries.

We want high quality unusual visualizations to capture attention, but that sounds like any exhibit designer's goal. What sets us apart? We have to design for something that conveys immediacy, that authentic, an outgrowth if not a direct output from the scientific study, perhaps with an unfinished quality. We're something between a panda-cam and Nova with the express intention of eliciting visitors' observations, speculations, and predictions about bats and birds, changes in plant and animal communities and what might come next.

I'll let Nick, Louise, Tracey, and others chime in. Our take on the various components of the project, how they fit together, and what we're learning at different parks is still evolving. Ask us about professional development, the role of technology, partnerships with scientists--it's all fair game. Just know that this project is 18 months old. Not at a point where we have a lot of data on impact to share beyond what we learned at our pilot site. Evaluator Cindy Char and informal educational researchers Scott Pattison and Monae Verbeke, can say more about what we expect to learn from the roll-out of iSWOOP programs in Acadia and Indiana Dunes this summer.

I really like your goal of engaging visitors in new ways. It seems like the face-to-face interactions are incredibly valuable for all! You also mention the portable visual library - is this something that also exists in a digital space for visitors and non-visitors to preview or view afterwards? Also, are you looking to create an exhibit or a training program or a curriculum (or a combination)? And, how are you able to share the images with visitors, and where?

I really enjoyed seeing the footage you have already captured! It's beautiful!

Hi Patricia,

I'm one of the  people who strongly favors the face-to-face interactions. The "i" for Interpreters and Scientists Working on Our Parks is in the lead for a reason. I know rangers can't be everywhere all the time, but I haven't embraced the idea of replacing them with apps.

Anyway, that wasn't exactly your question, was it?

In our pilot we heard visitors were interested in purchasing a DVD with images. We also looked into ways to share digital postcards, but didn't find great options for remote parks where cell service and wifi are scarce. Parks already have larger numbers of Facebook and Instagram followers than our project ever will, so collaborating with the parks' social media folks seems like the way to go. That's where visitors naturally gravitate. They don't need a new name or url to keep track of. Then it's on us to figure out how to share content without giving everything away before an actual visit. I've heard Disney has a great app, reminds me of the viewmaster experience from the 1970's, which allows people to revisit their vacation through images.

You put your finger on one of the challenges--creating a training or infrastructure to support something that will ideally change, be added to and updated on a regular basis. We have a couple guides out for review. 1) Getting ready for iSWOOP describes for a park leader what resources are needed and offers strategies and resources for gaining buy-in from interpreters and high-level administrators; 2) a facilitators' manual for introducing iSWOOP approaches to interpretes, and 3) a participant packet with resources on science storytelling, strategies for using a portable, digital library, and ideas for questions to elicit observations, predictions, and speculation. 

Each park is deciding where to share the images with visitors. At Acadia, visitors on certain hikes, those attending the Sunday evening program, and anyone exploring near Jordan Pond House on Thursday afternoons will encounter rangers with an iPad ready to talk about landscape succession. At Indiana Dunes iSWOOP approaches will be integrated into a hike and will complement activities at summer fairs. The rangers will show images and convey information related to Dr. Robert Brodmans' research on amphibians and climate change.

That's a start to answering your questions. Thanks for your interest, Patricia!

Hi Martha:  It was great to see this video!  I'm not sure if you remember, but we connected at the '16 AISL conference over our shared interest in parks and IRB issues (http://stemforall2017.videohall.com/presentatio...).  I'd love to connect with you again to see how our projects could positively impact one another.  In the meantime, I appreciated the comment about not replacing rangers with apps.  I think our initial work had rangers thinking this was about information delivery for visitors; as we continued in our project, they started to see the value of the tool for them as scientists.  Did you experience the same kind of engagement?  Did you have both buy-in and resistance?  If so, what did you do to help build on buy-in while addressing the resistance?  Thanks!  Rick

Really cool - I think it's important (and interesting) to really publicize the research that park scientists are conducting. Sometimes with large organizations like NPS, a lot of the focus can be on recreation and visitor experience and I think a lot of people are interested in learning more about the science side of things. Will this be in the form of an app that park visitors can access, or will the park rangers be the one accessing the information to then share with visitors? Will there be any opportunities for park visitors to engage with the research and contribute with citizen science activities?

I would love to see interpreters and scientists working together in similar programs in science museums, zoos, aquariums, etc. Outstanding project!

I really love this project. I don't think most visitors have any idea that our national parks are living laboratories with SO MUCH research underway. There are so many ways to grow the impact of this wonderful notion to more parks (and other public lands), and to connect visitors with citizen science projects underway. This is a really exciting effort. But, we are pretty early into the project. What have you learned, thus far? In a time when federal funding is uncertain, are you getting any pushback on Park engagement? Are you working specifically to integrate local community organizations or schools into the process?

Lisa, the federal funding scene had me really worried this spring during the hiring freeze. It's still not good. Parks are under-staffed compared to what they were 12 years ago. And yet the front line rangers are eager to do their jobs well and enthusiastically welcome resources and professional development. Administrators recognize how important this cultural moment is and the potential for their fairly neutral sites to be a place where the public gets a chance to talk about the scientific process, facts, revision, etc. 

I hope to get back to your question about learning thus far later.

Martha

Wow, having done high school student stories about research in National Parks, wish we had connected sooner! You've done a masterful job with this video and your program. Here are our video story-telling resources - we have a whole STEM storytelling curriculum too. Next year the story prompt will be about technology changing our world - but the National Park experience was so transformational for the students, we'll definitely do something similar in the near future. Thanks!

Beautiful video. I know NPS is under-funded and hope that this video reaches the right people in Washington DC where we have lots of greatly used National Parks, like Rock Creek Park, which I use nearly every day.

Thank you.