EXPLORATIONS - Koshland Science Museum

EXPLORATIONS - Koshland Science Museum
By

Broadcast: Wednesday, March 02, 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about a new effort to help the public understand science.

VOICE ONE:

 
(Photo - Koshland Science Museum)
"New tools help us see deeper into the nature of things. New discoveries lie before us." These words help explain the purpose of the new Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C. The museum is designed to help the public understand new scientific tools and discoveries.

The museum is small and different. It is created for people aged¹ thirteen and older. It uses modern technology to explain some complex science issues to the public. The exhibits explore the links between scientific research and everyday life.

VOICE TWO:

The museum opened in April, two thousand four. It is part of the National Academy of Sciences, a private, non-profit organization. In eighteen sixty-three, President Abraham Lincoln signed a congressional charter making the National Academy of Sciences an independent adviser² to the federal government. Today it is one of four organizations that advise the nation on issues of science, engineering and medicine. They publish more than two hundred research studies each year for policy makers³ and citizens. The exhibits in the new science museum are based on these research reports.

The museum is named for a female scientist, Marian Koshland, who had been a member of the National Academy of Sciences for many years.

VOICE ONE:

Erika Shugart (SHOE-gart) is deputy director of the Marian Koshland Science Museum. She says the idea of a new museum began with Daniel Koshland, a well-known biochemist. He wanted to honor his wife who died in nineteen ninety-seven. Marian Koshland was molecular⁴ biologist and immunologist who had made important discoveries. She also was known for wanting to get young people interested in science. And she felt it was important to increase public understanding of science.

Miz Shugart says that about six years ago, Mister Koshland offered to give money to the National Academy of Sciences to support a project that would honor his wife. Many ideas were discussed. Mister Koshland liked the idea of creating a new science museum. He and other members of the National Academy of Sciences looked at a number of science museums. They decided⁵ there was a need for a museum to present the latest scientific theories that are related to daily life.

VOICE TWO:

Miz Shugart says four goals were important in planning the Marian Koshland Science Museum. One was that the exhibits in the museum be based on research reports released by the National Academies. The museum creators also felt that any science issue being presented should be important now and for the future.

Another goal is that the subject of the exhibit be one that people disagree about in some way. And the museum planners wanted each exhibit to be based on scientific information that could be presented by modern technology in such a way that visitors have fun while learning.

So the new museum contains a lot of factual information presented in a bright, interactive⁶ way. There are films, games and video displays that are fun to use.

VOICE ONE:

The museum space is divided into three areas. Visitors first see a film that explores the "Wonders of Science". It shows some of the research that scientists are doing to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

The film shows scientists using telescopes to look deep in the universe beyond our world. They use microscopes to look deep into the smallest particles in our world. These tools helped scientists discover that the same rules that govern the structure and movements of atoms and plants also govern the structure and movements of stars and galaxies⁷.

Nearby are areas where visitors can explore subjects in the film such as dark matter, dark energy and the shared properties of all things. Visitors can compare satellite images of the Earth's lights taken at night in nineteen ninety-three and in two thousand. Many areas of the world are more brightly lit in the more recent images because of an increase in economic activity and energy use. There is also a difference in lights at night in North Korea and South Korea. And the lights increase in an area of the world such as Ukraine whose economy grew in the seven years after the first images were taken.

VOICE TWO:

The second exhibit area in the new science museum is "Global Warming Facts and Our Future." Visitors can find out facts about climate change including its natural and human causes. They also can see the possible future effects of global warming.

A large real-looking copy of a cow named Bessy is part of the exhibit. Cows eat a lot of grass and release a lot of methane⁸ gas. Scientists say methane is one of the biggest causes of the warming of the atmosphere. Nearby, a large wall display describes other causes of climate change. These include natural ones such as volcanoes and the activity of the sun. And there are human causes such as the burning of coal, gas and oil.

VOICE ONE:

One part of the exhibit shows changes in temperature around the world during the last century. A large map lets visitors find out how the temperature changed in any area of the world. They can examine the tools scientists use to find recent and prehistoric⁹ changes in climate – including samples from trees, dirt, ice and coral.

Visitors can see how global warming affects different areas of the world. One possible result is a rise in sea levels because of melting ice. Scientists say it is possible that the sea level could rise from five centimeters to almost a meter in about one hundred years. The exhibit shows possible effects of the resulting flooding on agriculture, animals and plants, water supply, human health and traditional cultures.

VOICE TWO:

The third exhibit in the new Marian Koshland Science Museum is "Putting DNA¹⁰ to Work". It shows ways that DNA, the genetic¹² material of organisms, is being used today. Computer devices let visitors investigate how diseases are identified. These programs show how DNA research is helping¹³ protect public health by letting scientists quickly identify the virus responsible for a new disease. In two thousand three, scientists used a new scientific tool called a microarray to identify the virus family to which SARS belongs. They identified the virus family in just twenty-four hours.

Visitors also can learn how DNA information is used in criminal cases. For example, law enforcement agents use a system named CODIS to solve crimes. CODIS is the Combined DNA Index System. It is used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation¹⁴. CODIS is based on the series of DNA markers in thirteen places in the human genome, the map of the gene¹¹ system in humans. It is used to prove if a suspect in a crime is guilty or innocent.

A visitor to the museum exhibit can compare DNA from three suspects of a crime to a DNA sample found where the crime took place. For two of the suspects, some of the series of DNA markers are the same as in the DNA sample found at the crime. For one suspect, the guilty one, all the DNA series are the same. Scientists say it is almost impossible that two different people would have the same DNA series in all thirteen places used in CODIS.

VOICE ONE:

The deputy director of the museum, Erika Shugart, says that visitors seem to have a rich experience even though the museum space is small. Many visitors praise the efforts of the Marian Koshland Science Museum to make science exciting and to show how science is related to daily life.

The museum also offers a number of public programs. One popular program is a scientific wine tasting where a climate expert explains how climate affects the taste of different wines.

The museum offers special visits for school groups of older students. Material on the museum's Web site helps students prepare for their visit and to continue learning about the subjects in the exhibits.

People who cannot visit the real museum can experience it on the Internet. The museum's exhibits and links to other science Web sites can be found at koshlandscience.org. That is k-o-s-h-l-a-n-d-s-c-i-e-n-c-e dot o-r-g.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Marilyn Christiano, and directed by Mario Ritter. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Listen again next week for another EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

7 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

8 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

9 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

10 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

11 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

12 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。