COMMUNICATING RESEARCH BY DESIGN

 iSWOOP cultivates collaborations between scientists, educators, and interpreters to tackle macro-scale environmental challenges. We stretch the possibilities of cutting-edge technologies to create compelling, science-based narratives that transform the educational landscape for our students, faculty, and the public.

 iSWOOP is a framework for collaboration that leads to development of visually-augmented, narrative-driven scientific communication. iSWOOP tells science stories that involve innovative technology like 3D scanning and high speed photography. Key players in the framework—interpreters, researchers, and audience, are present in the US National Parks. Education and visualization teams at our partner universities help us complete the work.

Funded by NSF, projects in five national parks have developed an effective framework, and demonstrated its broad applicability to many public forums for communication of new research: parks to museums to film and video.

iSWOOP now has programs in five national parks.

ACADIA NATIONAL FOREST

CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL FOREST

JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL FOREST

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL FOREST

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL FOREST