Toxic Traffic: Community Research and DiscussionsMuseum of Science, Boston

Project History• Program began with public forums developed in

collaboration with the Cambridge Public Health Department in 2009 and 2010, considering a number of policy-based questions and case studies.  

• Citizen Science activities an outgrowth of discussions

• Formal partnership emerged between CPHD, MOS, Harvard SEAS, Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership and MIT Senseable City Lab for CBPR

 •  SCENT:

   Sustainable Community Exposure Network via Telemetry

 

Project Goals• Combine societal discussions with elements of community based

participatory research.  • Connect policymakers and stakeholders with members of the

public.  • Engage participants in aspects of community and stakeholder

assessment strategies with consideration of the social and ethical dimensions of air pollution strategies.

 • Reach new and more diverse audiences than have been engaged

by previous forum programs.   • Make connections to community and stakeholder groups who are

already engaged around a significant public health issue.

5 Different Models: Working with Youth Fenway

School Partnership

BDEA School Partnership

CCSC School Partnership

HSSSw/ East

Boston High

SciCORE Workshop

Total Time Spent on Project

~12 hours8 hrs at MoS

25 hrs at School

~10 hours 2 Hours 21 Hours

Where? MoS MoS and BDEA CCSC MoS MoS

When? Sporadic Daily Weekly Once Weekly

Number of Students Involved

24 6

~50 for Introductory

Lessons~8 for Data Collection

 

~60 9

Integration with

Curriculum

Separate from school

curriculum

Project for Advanced Bio

Class

Introductory lessons were

part of curriculum

Connected to Curriculum N/A

Measurables End of Year Debrief

Lab Report and  School Presentation

None for MoS Poster Session Showcase in

Well for Visitors  

Project Phases: (Discussion occurred throughout

project)  Introductory Lessons 

Instrumentation & experimental

design/protocols

Gathering Data

Data Analysis

(What’s wrong with this picture?)

COx Noise

NOx

Impact on Teens

"By doing this project we can make a change in how our community uses energy to prevent asthma and other heart related diseases." Ezra from BDEA

"This project opened my eyes to the environment and how I can have an impact on it." Leah a SciCORE Intern

Reflections on project    • Weather/season was a challenge• Growing pains with regard to the process of turning

data into something that can be presented to and understood by the students/instrumentation issues

• Rewarding to be able to show the students data/maps in near-time 

• Empowerment approach worked well around these ecological subjects

• Focusing on areas where people can do something to address the issue

• Presenting process and results in the voice of the students effective

• Class size can be very important • What is the motivation for these students - job vs.

classroom mentality 

Small Group Discussions

• 15 minutes for discussion

• We’ll give you a project to consider

• Think about:– What topics/questions might you consider for including dialogue? – Who would you include in the conversations?– How might you integrate scientists into these discussions?