New Science Standards: A Framework for K-12 Science Education

A Framework for K-12 Science Education

It has been over 15 years since the last national science education standards were written, and now it is almost time for some new ones.  The National Research Council has published a report called A Framework for K-12 Science Education.  This 385 page document is being used to inform the creation of the new standards. These standards are currently being written in collaboration with 26 states who have agreed to give serious consideration to adopting the standards when they are finished later this year.  Once written and adopted, these standards should have a profound effect on the way science is taught in schools.  For those of us informal science educators that work with schools and teachers, these standards will have a big impact on us, too. 

I finished reading the report this weekend and would like to share with you the general structure of what the report outlines as well as include some of my own thoughts.  The report can be purchased from amazon for $39.95 or downloaded as a pdf for free on www.nextgenscience.org.  Throughout this review I will include passages from the report.  While reading through it I recorded many passages.  I’ve uploaded these notes on my site here for any who are interested.

What is wrong with the old science standards published in 1996?

According to the introduction, the overall goal of the report is “to ensure that by the end of 12^th grade, all students have some appreciation of the beauty and wonder of science; possess sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on related issues; are careful consumers of scientific and technological information related to their everyday lives; are able to continue to learn about science outside school; and have the skills to enter careers of their choice, including (but not limited to) careers in science, engineering, and technology.” 

The problem, they say, is that our current system of science education is failing to do these things.  The system “is not organized systematically across multiple years of school, emphasizes discrete facts with a focus on breadth over depth, and does not provide students with engaging opportunities to experience how science is actually done.”  And apart from this, scientific knowledge, technology, and understanding of how students learn science have all changed since the mid-1990’s.  Now, more than ever, in order to properly make choices that relate to legislation as well everyday decisions, citizens need to have a certain level of scientific literacy.  We are also currently in a time when states are collaborating on educational standards, which gives an added push toward the creation of new standards.

How will the new standards achieve their overall goal?

The report sets out some specific directions on what components should make up the new standards.  Mostly, they call for science education to be based around three dimensions: scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts that unify science and engineering across grades and disciplines, and core ideas in four disciplinary areas.   How exactly these pieces will fit together will be determined by those writing the standards, but the report is clear that all three should be intertwined.  For example, when learning about a specific core idea a student should actually explore the idea using scientific and engineering practices, and be able to identify how that idea relates to some of the overall crosscutting concepts in science.

Here is what the dimensions look like:

Dimension 1: Scientific and Engineering Practices

1.       Asking questions and defining problems

2.       Developing and using models

3.       Planning and carrying out investigations

4.       Analyzing and interpreting data

5.       Using mathematics and computational thinking

6.       Constructing explanations and designing solutions

7.       Engaging in argument from evidence

8.       Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

1.       Patterns

2.       Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation

3.       Scale, proportion, and quantity

4.       Systems and system models

5.       Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation

6.       Structure and function

7.       Stability and change

Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas

1.       Physical Sciences

PS1: Matter and its interactions

PS2: Motion and stability: Forces and interactions

PS3: Energy

PS4: Waves and their applications in technologies for information transfer

2.       Life Sciences

LS1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics

LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits

LS4: Biological evolution: Unity and diversity

3.       Earth and Space Sciences

ESS1: Earth’s place in the universe

ESS2: Earth’s systems

ESS3: Earth and human activity

4.       Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

ETS1: Engineering design

ETS2: Links among engineering, technology, science, and society

These three dimensions, used together, will make up the bulk of the new standards.  Let’s take a look at each dimension separately.

Dimension 1: Scientific and Engineering Practices

The thinking here is that students learn by doing.  As an informal educator I can certainly agree with that.  The report recognizes eight scientific and engineering practices that students should become familiar with through experience.  You may notice that nowhere on this list do you see the scientific method.  Instead we have scientific methods.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The scientific method is gone.  Some form of it, I’m sure will remain, but the report wants the students experiences to greater reflect the variety of scientific methods used in the real world. 

The report maintains that “a focus on practices (in the plural) avoids the mistaken impression that there is one distinctive approach common to all science - a single “scientific method” - or that uncertainty is a universal attribute of science.  In reality, practicing scientists employ a broad spectrum of methods, and although science involves many areas of uncertainty as knowledge is developed, there are now many aspects of scientific knowledge that are so well established as to be unquestioned foundations of the culture and its technologies.  It is only through engagement in the practices that students can recognize how such knowledge comes about and why some parts of scientific theory are more firmly established than others.”

If that passage didn’t convince you that the scientific method needs to go, than the report gives this objection to the method as well: “For example, the notion that there is a single scientific method of observation, hypothesis, deduction, and conclusion- a myth perpetuated to this day by many textbooks- is fundamentally wrong.  Scientists do use deductive reasoning, but they also search for patterns, classify different objects, make generalizations from repeated observations, and engage in a process of making inferences as to what might be the best explanation.  Thus the picture of scientific reasoning is richer, more complex, and more diverse than the image of linear and unitary scientific method would suggest.”

I’m not sure how I feel about the scientific method going away.  In some ways it reminds me of the emotional resistance many feel toward Pluto being demoted to a dwarf planet.  I think many of us have a deep connection and loyalty to the scientific method.  It is a powerful tool for understanding the empirical nature of science, and we know that it works in the classroom.  It is also relatively simple, so there is less for an instructor to get wrong when teaching it. However, if the alternative in the new standards is to have students doing more hands-on activities and working through a variety of methods, then that seems good too.  Hopefully, this will help them to better understand how science is done, deepen their understanding of the content, and in doing so build a greater respect for scientific knowledge.

Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

The idea of crosscutting concepts really appeals to me and the way I think about science.  This isn’t altogether a new idea, but as I read the report, this dimension is what got me the most excited.  I believe that recognizing the concepts that permeate each discipline and core idea will help students better understand what they are learning because it will provide context.  A student may have trouble with a certain scientific idea, but if their teacher can help them to place it inside one of these crosscutting concepts, then it will give them a reference point.  The new standards are committed to having less content and more understanding, which is exactly what I think these crosscutting concepts help to do.  It is unknown how exactly the standards and school curriculum will integrate these crosscutting concepts.  Personally, I think the concepts will be most effective if they are referenced and explained frequently throughout K-12 education.

Dimension 3: Core Ideas

Dimension 3 illustrates the actual science content students are expected to learn.  Each of the major disciplines is broken up into core ideas.  In the framework a summary of each idea is given, and then guidelines are set for what aspects of the idea should be taught by certain grades.  The core ideas should help to solve the problem of organizing content systematically through the years.  From the report and its appendix - which talks about the reports revisions - it appears that the writers of the report took much care in understanding the learning capabilities of children at each grade level.  Research into the cognitive abilities of students as well as feedback from many teachers, scientists, and engineers helped to divide these core ideas appropriately. 

Personally, I like the way the ideas were divided.  If the standards adhere to them, then subject matter will not be repeated over and over in each grade, nor accidentally or purposely left out.  Instead, from the youngest grades, students will start to learn what they need in order to grow with the core ideas and follow them through their educational career.  As part of these grade divisions, the report suggests the standards should have boundary statements.  These will let teachers know what they shouldn’t teach at each level. 

The report describes it like this: “Boundary statements can signal where material that traditionally has been included could instead be trimmed.  For example, in the physical sciences, the progressions indicate that density is not stressed as a property of matter until the 6-8 grade band; at present, it is often introduced earlier and consumes considerable instructional time to little avail.  Boundary statements may also help define which technical definitions or descriptions could be dispensed with in a particular grade band.”

In looking over the core ideas you may have been surprised to see engineering listed as one of the four main scientific disciplines.  On this the report says: “Engineering and technology are featured alongside the natural sciences (physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences) for two critical reasons: (1) to reflect the importance of understanding the human-built world and (2) to recognize the value of better integrating the teaching and learning of science, engineering, and technology.”  I think focusing on engineering and technology is a great idea.  It does bring up some questions on how this will effect class instruction, particularly at the High School level.  Will students be required to take an engineering class in High School?  The report itself cannot answer that question, but it will be interesting to see how this is interpreted when the standards are adopted.

When reviewing the core ideas, one could go into great detail.  The only specific subject matter I would like to highlight is climate change.  The report is firm and confident in dealing with this topic.  Since this is such a hot political issue, I wonder how different states will approach this.

Here is part of what the report says on climate change: “It is important to note that although forecasting the consequences of environmental change is crucial to society, it involves so many complex phenomena and uncertainties that predictions, particularly long-term predictions, always have uncertainties.  These arise not only from uncertainties in the underlying science but also from uncertainties about behavioral, economic, and political factors that affect human activity and changes in activity in response to recognition of the problem.  However, it is clear not only that human activities play a major role in climate change but also that impacts of climate change - for example, increased frequency of severe storms due to ocean warming - have begun to influence human activities.  The prospect of future impacts of climate change due to further increases in atmospheric carbon is prompting consideration of how to avoid or restrict such increases.”

Additional Chapters

After explaining the 3 dimensions, A Framework for K-12 Science Education report focuses on ideas relating to diversity, equity, teaching strategies, implementation, and assessment.  In many cases, finding answers to the questions these topics bring up is out of the scope of the report, so the report identifies what further work may need to be done.  The additional chapters brought up many important issues related to education, but the one I would like to mention related to working with students from diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds. The report talks about finding ways to bring students’ ethnic experiences into the science classroom.

On this topic the report reads: “Recognizing that language and discourse patterns vary across culturally diverse groups, researchers point to the importance of accepting, even encouraging, students’ classroom use of informal or native language and familiar modes of interaction.” 

Certainly, this is a very interesting idea.  I sometimes work with English Language Learners and try to find ways to incorporate their native languages into my presentations.  So, how could this strategy be used in a school classroom?  The report gives an example, saying “Brown has recently extended this line of work by developing an instructional model that helps students bridge the transition from using their vernacular language for scientific phenomena to using disciplinary terminology and forms of discourse; essentially, they describe and discuss the same phenomena in both modes in turn.  The challenge for teachers is to know enough about their students’ relevant linguistic practices to be able to support this transition in the classroom.”

Final Thoughts

The last time national science standards were written I was eleven years old.   My K-12 education was effected by those standards, but this time I get to observe the writing of the standards and participate in the implementation.  Reading through A Framework for K-12 Science Education was an enjoyable experience.  The ideas are engaging and thinking about how they may be implemented is really interesting.  The report’s vision makes a lot of sense, but I must say that I do worry about the implementation.  If school teachers are expected to teach science in the way outlined in the framework they will need professional development.  Yes, teachers have professional development every year, but this will need to be much more extensive.  Textbooks and lessons need to be rewritten.  I believe in the vision of the report, and hope these changes don’t become rushed.  I worry that the burden of responsibility will fall on teachers, and that they will be without the proper resources they need to successfully make this work.  I hope this is not the case.

I would like to end on a positive note and say that I am very much looking forward to being a part of making this happen.  My own school presentations and educational programs will change, and I will hopefully be a part of the teacher development in the Central New York area.  When working with teachers I hope they become convinced of the vision in this framework, too, and that I will be able help provide them with the resources they need

Thanks for reading and please leave your comments.

Nature Photography in Science Education

Recently I went hiking at Howland's Island, which is part of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex.  I'm a photographer as well as an educator, so I brought my camera along.  In fact, I put up some of the nature shots I took from the trip up on my photo blog.  This was my first time hiking there, and I found it to be a beautiful place and an enjoyable experience.  While I was there the informal science educator in me kept popping into my head.  Instead of looking for artistic things to photograph, I started thinking about what kinds of photographs I could use as part of a educational program.  Usually, I use photographs in my work to give a clear representation of something I'm teaching about.  It might be a picture of a planet, a moon, or an animal, but the pictures are always direct and easy to read.  Maybe it's because I've been thinking about Landsat imagery lately, but the idea that came to me was to make photos that weren't so easy to read.  Instead of the subject being centered in the foreground, what if it were hidden somewhere in the setting?  This approach, seems to me to be more in-line with what being in nature is actually like.  When you are out there you have to seriously observe your environment if you want to find the good stuff.  I don't know if the images I made will end up in an education program or not, but I think they are fun and remind of the wonder I always experience when encountering animals in the wild.

Muskrat swimming at Howland's Island

At first glance the image above looks like a simple view of a wetland pond, but can you find the muskrat?  This muskrat started near the bank on the right.  When I started walking by it swam out 10 feet or so, and then swam back the bank on the left side, making on big half-circle.  The muskrat started swimming directly toward me, but right before it reached the bank it dived underwater and vanished.  I never saw it come up.

Muskrat lodges and Canada goose

Some of the most noticeable features of the wetlands at Howland's Island are muskrat lodges.  The photo above shows three of these lodges.  At first glance they may seem like the interesting part of the image and the educational subject of the photo.  In fact, this is all I noticed at first too.  Luckily, my girlfriend is a birder and spotted a Canada goose.  Can you find it?  Click on the photo to view a larger version and see what you can find.

Canada goose on muskrat lodge

Here is a close-up shot of the Canada goose.  It appears that this is probably a female guarding her next.  A nest which happens to be on top of a muskrat lodge.  The color of her back is well camouflaged against the dead branches.  Notice that she hides her black neck, which may have been more noticeable.  My girlfriend and I watched this bird for five minutes or so, trying to figure out what was going on.  At first we thought she might be dead, but we did end up seeing some slight movement and ended up agreeing on the nesting hypothesis.  I wonder if she adopted that posture when we came near or was already laying like that.

Have any of you ever tried activities with images like this with your students or museum visitors?  Wouldn't a program with photos like these be fun.  I imagine the students could really become engaged talking through what they saw and trying to figure out the animal behavior.

Can you find the bird's nest.

PS.  This shot is from a different photo shoot from a few weeks ago.  I couldn't resist adding it.  Can you find the bird's nest?

Erie Canal Village Memory & ASTC Connect

ASTC logo

If you have ever gone to a science museum and looked into their memberships, you probably noticed that buying one membership allows you access to over 300 other museums. In fact, I wrote a blog article about this. The reason you can get into these other places is because they are all part of the Association of Science & Technology Centers or ASTC. ASTC is a great resource for informal science educators. They publish an inspiring magazine called Dimensions, host a big annual conference, and have some great resources on their website. I recently started checking out the ASTC Connect portion of their site, which has online workshops. The first one, called Science Center Basics is great resource for museum educators, particularly for newer workers. The workshop is described as a "self-paced tutorial" that "introduces key aspects of science center philosophy and practice." The goal is to have the student learn more about their museum and visitors, and to use this information to better understand their job. The first activity relates to thinking about the importance of museums in your own life and asks the student to write about their first museum experiment. I enjoyed this assignment and hope my memories will spark some of your own. Enjoy!

What is your first memory of a museum?

The Erie Canal Village in Rome, NY

The first museum I can remember visiting was the Erie Canal Village in Rome, NY on a 4th grade school field trip. I don’t recall the museum portion itself, but I do have some fond memories from the day. I remember walking around outside, learning about the canal locks and about how mules helped to pull the boats. Going inside a one- room school house was fascinating, and made me curious about what it would have been like to be a student there. My mother volunteered to help with the trip, too, and I loved that. She let me buy a toy train whistle from the gift shop and I just thought it was the coolest thing. That wooden whistle ended up in a drawer of old things. Years later I would find it now and then accidentally, blow a couple toots, and remember how excited I was when I first got it. My favorite part though, had to be the Erie Canal song. I don’t recall if we learned it before, during, or after the trip, but that song has always stuck with me. I just looked up the website for the Erie Canal Village and was glad to see that they have the lyrics prominently posted on the site. Even today the song will pop into my head. A year or two ago I bought my father a Bruce Springsteen DVD, and would you believe it, it had a performance of him singing the Erie Canal song. One doesn’t always realize the historic importance of the places you live, but if Springsteen is singing about it, then it’s got to be important. I only visited the Erie Canal Museum that one time, but what I experienced there is still a part of my life today.

Promoting Feb Break with Optical Illusions on Live Morning Show

February Break Week has come again! Those who work at science museums or have visited one during this time know that it is the busiest 9 days of the whole year. The lines at the admission desk can sometimes be out the door, and the planetarium and IMAX are sure to have good attendance. It is also a time that brings out the best in the staff. It is a challenge and it is always inspiring to watch everyone work so hard.

Rob Benedict playing the
Native American flute

This year we have really gone all out, trying to create as much value as we can for the visitors. We are showing two new IMAX movies, have a new exhibit, and have added extra planetarium shows which were written specifically for this week. For me, the best part of the week has been a planetarium collaboration I'm doing with Rob Benedict, a local Mohawk flute player. We have put together a show that is part musical performance, and part storytelling and astronomy. Last Saturday it sold out really fast, and I hope it does again this coming weekend.

Anyone interested in looking over our movies schedule, prices, or events, can check out our website: www.most.org

Yesterday I had the privilege to go on Channel 9's morning show and talk about this week. I always enjoy going on Bridge Street because the hosts and the rest of the staff are all friendly and easy to work with. One of the tech people is an old high school buddy of mine, too. If your interested in seeing me on air doing a couple optical illusions, check out the video below.  Please note:  Admissions is $8 for adults and $7 for children.

Here is a video I made of Rob Benedict playing the flute last year.

Constellation Myths Part 2: Why Tell Them

Callisto and Arcas

Zeus according to
Marvel Comic Books

In Part I of this blog article I wrote out the story of Callisto from Greco-Roman mythology.  Frustrated that each source I go to for constellation mythology has a different version of this story, I decided to start reading the original, or at least one of the originals.  I read three different translations of the story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  I suggest you check out Ovid’s work yourself, but I think my version does a good job of telling the story and keeping the major points intact.  If you’ve always thought Greek myths were cool, but were only familiar with the kid-friendly versions found in many books and movies, then you may have been shocked by the original.  Not only is there adult content, but it is handled in a way that a modern reader may feel is morally wrong.  You may find yourself wondering if these stories are appropriate for our children, or even for anybody.  In this, Part 2, I would like to identify the problematic parts of the story and talk about why I think these stories are worth telling.  In Part 3 I will give advice on how to retell these stories in ways that are appropriate for your audience.


Note:  When referring to the characters I will use their Greek names instead of their Roman ones, assuming these are more familiar to readers.

When looking for the inappropriate parts, Zeus is a good place to start.  Most people know that Zeus was the king of the gods and that he threw lightning bolts.  If this is all you know, you may have thought of him like a superhero of sorts, a powerful figure for us to relate to and empower our daydreams.  And maybe you even heard that Zeus slept around on his wife.  Well, “he’s a god, it’s what they do in these stories” you might have thought.  But, if you are like me, you didn’t realize that his sleeping around could actually have been the violent rape of virgins like Callisto.  This point in the story is already upsetting for the reader, but as the story continues we soon see that Callisto, the victim, feels ashamed and is blamed and abandoned by the goddess she serves.  And soon after her son is born, Callisto is met by Zeus’s wife, who pulls her to the ground by her hair while blaming her and calling her a harlot, before punishing her by transforming her body into a bear.  Callisto, who was once a devoted virgin, the favorite of Artemis, and a masterful hunter, becomes a broken victim of rape, thrown out from her community, and forced to abandon her child.  And if that isn’t enough, when she finally sees her boy again he tries to kill her.  In the end, her and her son are reunited and placed in the sky as constellations, surely a great honor, but the story is still unsettling.  Once, when I finished telling a much milder version of this story, a mother added for the benefit of the child, “So it had a happy ending.”  I’m not sure why she felt her child needed it to have a happy ending, but I got the impression that she didn’t like the one it had.  We may be accustomed to our stories, especially children’s stories, to always finish with a happy ending, but the ancient Greeks apparently did not.  Of course not every classical myth is as disturbing as this one, but most have something many would deem inappropriate for children or against the values of our society.   For instance, other stories may include child abduction, pedophilia, bad morals, and violence on a level we are unaccustomed to.  But before I convince you (and myself) that Greco-Roman myths should be banned from our culture, let’s take a look at four reasons why they probably haven’t yet and probably never will.

pppst.com has free powerpoint lectures
on Roman Architecture

1. They are important.  Greco-Roman myths and the cultures that inspired them are the bedrock of Western culture.   If Western culture is part of your life (and I bet it is), then these myths are also a part of your life.  History is a powerful subject.  I still remember taking my first college history course (Dr. Mitchell you rock!) and just being amazed.  I always thought history was interesting, but this class showed more than that.  It started to show me the layers, the meanings and reasons why things are the way they are, how they got that way, and even why we think the way we do.  I was so impressed that I ended up minoring in Medieval/Renaissance studies.  Learning about your culture’s history isn’t just for the historically curious, but also helps one better understand and navigate their culture, while also fostering a sense of national identity.  Greek and Roman culture, including their myths, have had an enormous impact on our culture.  Everything from politics, architecture, engineering, philosophy, science, art, and religion have been influenced in a profound way by this culture.  Learning or retelling the story of Callisto may not help you pass an American citizenship test, but it is part of our culture’s history.

Percy Jackson
Popular story based on
Greco-Roman myth

2.       People like them.  Actually, let me correct that.  People love them.  People of all ages.  They love the fantastical elements of gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, and magical creatures.  The stories of romantic rescues and heartbreak are popular, too.  Many can’t resist the gory violent details of battles, deaths, and godly punishments.  Even disturbing moments, like those from Callisto’s story are still relatable.   We feel for her character and the injustice done to her, and know that many in modern societies still face similar attacks and accusations.  Most of the Greek myths we know were first told some 3,000 years ago, and yet they are still relevant.  They are emotionally powerful and inspiring to us even today. 

3.       You can skip the offensive/inappropriate parts.  There are so many modern retellings that one doesn’t need to be exposed to the inappropriate elements.  If you don’t like reading about Zeus raping someone, and you don’t want your child reading about this either, then find a version without it.  Or retell it.  Or skip that story.

4.       They are great for teaching.  Greek myths are a great resource for teachers.  Because of the influence of classical myth and culture, and because these myths are so popular with children and adolescents, they can be used in any number of ways by an educator.  A quick search online will bring up all kinds of ideas for using classical myths in the classroom.  As a planetarian (professional planetarium educator) I use myths in relation to the constellations.  I enjoy talking about stellar evolution, space exploration, and galaxies (I really do), but for me the highlight of a planetarium show is the stars and constellations.  I confess that I don’t tell “star stories” in every show, but most of the time I do.  And what I’ve learned is that people really enjoy it.  Once, while spending the day giving lessons on ancient astronomy and myth for 7^th graders at a local school, I was amazed to see many of the students give up their normal lunch period to come back into classroom to hear more stories.  When we look up at the stars on a dark night we really are awestruck.  Soon our intellect, emotions, spirituality, and curiosity kick in as we wonder about the nature of the universe.  We think about our own beliefs and wonder about the beliefs of others through the ages.  One of my favorite styles of planetarium shows happens when we have overnight camps at the museum.  After an evening of hands-on science activities and just before bed, we bring the campers into the planetarium.  These are usually kids around 10 years old.  Instead of putting on the computer projectors and giving a slide show on the constellations, I just turn the lights down, tell stories, and point out the constellations with a laser pointer.  Sure, the campers may have thought the constellations were interesting themselves, but the addition of stories makes them real.

Constellation Myths Part1: The Adult Version

How to use the Big Dipper to find the Little Dipper
and the North Star.  I made this using Photoshop.

From what I can tell, the Big and Little Dippers seem to be the most widely known and recognized constellations.  When I ask audiences at the planetarium what constellations they think they could point out at night, these two seem to be just about the only ones.  The reason for this is probably three fold.  The Big Dipper is really bright and easy to find, the Dippers (if you live far enough north) are visible all year round, and the star at the tip of the Little Dipper is currently our Earth's North Star.  When teaching people how to read the sky for constellations the Big Dipper is a great help.  I use it as a starting point, and as a guide to find other constellations.  In fact, you can easily use the Big Dipper to find Draco, Ursa Minor, Bootes, and Leo.

Ursa Major, the Big Bear

Strange as it might seem, the Big Dipper is not actually a constellation.  If you are using the proper terminology, the Big Dipper is an asterism, which is kind of like an unofficial constellation.  Asterisms can be made from stars from several constellations or from a few stars within a larger constellation.  In this way, the Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major, better known as the Big Bear.

Hollywood's "Clash of the Titans"
took many liberties in retelling
the ancient tale of Perseus.

I've been telling Greco-Roman myths relating to the Big and Little Dippers for a few years.  I have looked at many sources for these stories, and often been frustrated by the lack of consistency between them.  In fact, this is a problem when looking up all the constellation myths.  I've done my best to find versions that seemed most authentic, but part of the problem with the inconsistencies is from the original source material.  The ancient Greeks and Romans didn't put one comprehensive mythology book together for us to use. There are a number of ancient texts, often which contradict each other.  In fact, some of the same ancient poems even contradict themselves.  This wasn't a problem for the ancient poets, but it certainly bothers me.  The other reason for the different versions I was finding is because a lot of the current books and websites out there aren't trying to stay true to the ancient texts, as confusing as they are.  Just as movie adaptations of classical myths differ wildly from the ancient stories, so do modern books and websites.

I have determined that from now on I want the real thing.  So, to that end I've begun reading the ancient accounts.  I am starting with Ovid's Metamorphoses.  This was written around the beginning of the first century, during the time of Augustus Caesar, and is a great source of Greco-Roman mythology.  This poem is written in Latin and has been translated into English many times and in many different ways.  In order for me to better understand the source (since I don't read Latin), I'm reading three versions.  David Raeburn’s 2004 verse translations, A. E. Watts 1954 prose translation, and J.J. Howard’s 1807 verse translation.

Ursa Major, the Big Bear
Source: www.stellarium.org

Before you read my version of Ovid's Big Dipper myth, I want to remind you that this is Part I of this article.  Much of what is in this story is offensive to the modern reader and inappropriate to planetarium audiences.  After reading Ovid's tale, you may wonder why we even continue telling stories like this?  In part II of this article I will try to address these concerns.  In Part III I will give ideas about how to retell ancient Greco-Roman myth in a way that is appropriate for our culture and our audiences.

The Tale of Callisto from Ovid’s Metamorphoses as told in Book 2:

After the near destruction of heaven and Earth caused by Phaethon’s attempt to drive the sun chariot, Jove (Zeus) travels the world and heals the land.  He pays special attention to Arcadia, restoring fountains and springs, giving trees back their leaves, and sowing seeds among the plains.  While traveling through this land he catches sight of a beautiful nymph maiden.  Her name is Callisto, and she is the Goddess Diana’s (Artemis’s) most highly respected hunter.  Callisto doesn’t spend her time on womanly activities like fussing with her hair or dressing in fancy clothes.  Instead she dresses practically for her life as a hunter, and spends her time in the wild.  Her appearance is very attractive to Jove.

Jove watches as Callisto sets her bow and spear harmlessly to the side and lays down for a mid-day nap in an ancient forest.  As she is alone and unprotected, Jove thinks over what he want to do.  He knows his wife Juno will be angry if she finds out, but decides that laying with Callisto is worth the price. 

Jove uses his power to transform his appearance into that of Diana.  He approaches Callisto and asks her about where she has been hunting today.  When Callisto wakes up and sees Diana she immediately speaks of her love for the Goddess and attempts to answer her question about hunting.  Callisto cannot answer, though, because Jove starts kissing her in a manner that gives him away.  Soon Jove’s true form is known, and Callisto struggles with all her strength against him, but cannot keep him from raping her.

When Jove is finished he leaves.  Callisto, no longer a maiden, is ashamed, and makes her way back to Mt. Menelaus where Diana and her other nymphs live.  When she first sees Diana and is called by her, she is afraid that it again may be Jove, and doesn’t come to her.  Once she recognized the nymphs by her side, she realized that it is really Diana and joins her company.  But because of her shame, she no longer stands at her side.  Callisto’s actions and demeanor give away her loss of virginity to the other nymphs, but Diana does not realize what happened.  It isn’t until almost nine months later, when Diana finds out. 

Ruben's painting of Diana and Callisto

On a hot day, tired from hunting, Diana and her huntresses stop at a brook to bathe.  Callisto refuses to take her clothes off and bathe with the others, so they strip her clothes off.  She tries to cover her belly with her hands, but her pregnancy cannot be hidden.  “Begone” Diana cries, and banishes Callisto from her side.  Soon after, Callisto gives birth to a boy and names him Arcas.

Juno had learned some time before that her husband had slept with Callisto, and believed that it was Callisto who had seduced him.  She was waiting for the right moment to get her revenge and chooses it now.   Appearing before Callisto and the young child she accuses her, “So this was the crowning insult, adulterous whore.”  Juno grabs Callisto by the hair and throws her to the ground, continuing to yell.  “You had to make your wickedness public and testify to my Jove’s disgrace by having a baby.  I’ll make you pay, by destroying those lovely looks that allow you to fancy yourself and attract my husband, you shameless hussy!” (Raeburn translation, Metamorphoses Book 2)  As Callisto pleads and struggles, her body begins to transform.  Her arms grow hair and her beautiful mouth grows into long jowls and a snout.  She tries to cry out in anger toward Jove, whom she blames, but she can no longer speak.  Her body is fully transformed into a bear, though her mind is untouched.

Arcas is raised by his grandfather, Callisto’s father, Kind Lycaon, and never learns about what happened to his mother.  Callisto spends her days in fear of being killed by a hunter.  Sometimes, forgetting she is a bear, she hides from other bears and wolves in the wild. 

One day, when Arcas is fifteen years old, he travels into the woods hunting with his spear.  While he is in the woods, he is spotted by his mother.  She recognizes him and wants to go to him.  So, unaware of how her appearance will affect Arcas she makes her way lumbering toward him.  The young man, aware of the bear’s advance, is terrified.  He readies his spear to kill the beast.  Just before Arcas plunges the spear into his mother’s heart Jove stops him.  He sweeps the two of them into the sky with a magic wind and transforms them into the companion constellations of Ursa Major (Big Bear/Big Dipper), and Ursa Minor (Little Bear/Little Dipper).

These new constellations are recognized by Juno and she is furious.  Juno travels to visit the ancient Titanic gods of the sea, Oceanus and his wife Tethys.   She tells them of the new constellations and of her outrage.  She had transformed Callisto into a bear as punishment, and yet Jove placed her in the sky, part of Juno’s own kingdom.  How will anyone take her power seriously, if by trying to do bad to someone, good comes to them instead?  She likens it to Jove casting her from his bed and taking Callisto as his wife instead.  She pleads with Oceanus and Tethys to never let the seven bright stars (Big Dipper) of the Bear pollute the ocean by touching it. The Titans agree and as Juno departs their sea kingdom the story is finished.

Christmas Planetarium Shows

School is back in session, and the Museum's holiday hours and educational programming are all wrapped up.  It was a successful holiday season this year. The weather was cooperative, and we had great attendance.  I like the holidays, because it means I get to do some extra programming with the visitors.  Normally, I work with schools or other places who have hired me for some special program, but it has been a few years since I've worked regularly with the general public.  It is important to work with students, but part of our mission at the Museum is to reach the whole community.  The opportunity to reach out to the parents, grandparents, and other visitors is a chance to get them "turned on" to science!

During this year's holiday season I worked on three educational projects.  Two were planetarium shows and one was a comical science skit about dinosaurs.  In this post I will write about the planetarium shows, and discuss the skit in a later post.

"Santa's Sky" planetarium title slide

Santa's Sky Planetarium Show:  This is a children's planetarium show that lasts for approximately 20 minutes.  The idea is to use the planetarium's star projector to show the night sky from both Syracuse, NY and the North Pole.  I teach people how to find a few of the major constellations in Syracuse, and then we use the planetarium's latitude feature, to follow the north star until it stops directly above our heads at 90 degrees.

So what is different between viewing the stars at the North Pole and Syracuse?  Well for one thing, the sun doesn't rise for half the year.  This means you can watch the stars day and night for several months at a time.  I mentioned that the north star, Polaris, is right above your head.  Since this is just about the center point above the North Pole, and the Earth is constantly rotating, it appears that Polaris stays right above your head while all the other stars parade in a circle around the sky.  It reminds me of a carousel.  Sure, the north star appears to stay in one spot when viewed from Syracuse, but because it looks lower in the sky from Syracuse many of the other constellations rise and set with the seasons.  Pretty cool huh?  I like to mention to the families at the show that if you learn the constellations you can use them to navigate.  And if a certain someone needed to make his way around the world, he could do it at night by following the stars.  Before I bring the lights back up and send everyone on their way, I play some relaxing music on my Native American style flute while they watch the carousel of stars above their heads.

St. Matthew from the Ebbo Gospels

The Christmas Star - This is one of the planetarium shows I'm most proud of, and most cautious about.  It is a 40 minute show, which is mostly a slide show lecture on different theories about what the Star of Bethlehem might have been.  Was it a comet, a planetary conjunction, or a supernova?  During the show I take a look through the Gospel of Matthew to review the story about the "star" and find clues about when it occurred and what it may have been.  This is my third year performing this show.  When I first researched it, I read through sources on the internet, traveled out of state to see a lecture on the topic, and read a great book that became my best source.  The book is Michael Molnar's "The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi."  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.  What makes the book so great is that Mr. Molnar did a lot of work searching through ancient sources in an attempt to understand the astrology practiced by the "wise men."  The rules to ancient astrology are more complicated than you might expect, but he is able to find a day in 6 BC when the stars align in a way that may have signaled a birth of the King of the Jews.  Before next year's shows come around again, I plan to read Courtney Robert's "The Star of the Magi: The Mystery that Heralded the Coming of Christ."  She doesn't offer an exact date like Molnar does, but apparently she makes a good case that he and other's need to be looking to ancient Zoroastrian astrology instead of Greco-Roman astrology.

Possible date of Jesus' birthday. 
I made this image using Stellarium and Photoshop.

All the research I've done has been interesting to me personally, but what I like most about the planetarium show is that it reaches out to a community that sometimes has a complicated relationship with science.  Many Christians feel threatened by science.  Some worry that science leads to a world view that doesn't include God.  Another problem is that scientific discoveries and theories disagree with a literal interpretation of parts of the Bible (Creation in 6 days, Adam & Eve, Noah's Flood).  Some people will never find a way to reconcile their beliefs with science, but I think a lot of this bad blood is unnecessary, and may come from a poor understanding of what science really is.  In performing this show, my intention is to show respect for the Bible and the story of Jesus' birth while also introducing a historical and scientifically minded approach when interpreting it.  I hope this approach makes sense to the audience, and helps them to feel a little more comfortable with science.

Michael Molnar's
"The Star of Bethlehem"

Overall this has been a very positive experience.  If you work at a planetarium, you might be considering writing this type of show for yourself.  Maybe you are wondering about the appropriateness of the topic in a science museum?  Maybe you aren't sure what the response will be.  My opinion is that as free-choice science educators it is up to us to reach into the cultures of the communities in our area and find ways to connect.  Be very clear and upfront about your intentions with your audience.  Let them know what your goal for the show is and how you intend to accomplish it.  Don't discuss your personal belief or disbelief during the show.  Let the audience make their own conclusions about the content.

If you have done any research into the Star of Bethlehem or the Magi, I would love to read about it.  Or if you've given or attended similar presentations, I would be most appreciative to hear about your experience.  You can leave your thoughts with the blog's comment option.