The Education, Outreach and Diversity (EOD) Innovation Awards, provided funding to broaden engagement with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders across Utah. Connecting with new partners/programs interested in water sustainability across the state enriched the outreach goals of the iUTAH EOD program.

 

 

About Our Program:

 

The EOD Innovation Awards came out of the iUTAH project’s commitment to grow a water-wise citizenry in Utah. One way of doing this was to provide learning opportunities and foster experiences that promoted water-education for students of all ages. The EOD Innovation Awards projects funded over the past six years, 2013 – 2018, did this and more. From individual classroom activities to larger traveling and stationary water displays, the program nurtured interactive learning, building partners in education across the state.

 

Partners included The Leonardo, the Natural History Museum of Utah, the Garth and Jeri Frehner Museum of Natural History, and Utah Water Quality Extension, to name a few of the many programs that helped educate the public on water science. The products of these efforts included videos, lesson plans, educational signage, green roof displays, radio programs, and museum displays.

 

One example of this collaborative effort is the interactive display at the Bean Life Sciences Museum, located on the Brigham Young University campus. Based on a display developed by NHMU in 2015, the Bean Museum’s version allows visitors to see and interact with live data collected from the Provo River watershed. Through partnerships like this, iUTAH educated over 400,000 people at 412 public outreach events, a number that continues to grow as many of the displays are still in active use at the projects end.

 

Year 6 Innovation Awards (2017-2018):

 

•  The Natural History Museum of Utah

  Interactive display installed at the BYU Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Provo UT

  Expansion of digital interactive touchscreen display developed by NHMU visualizing iUTAH GAMUT site data and information on the Provo River and the watershed.

 

Year 5 Innovation Awards (2016-2017):

 

• Salt Lake Community College

  iUTAH Water Girls Program

  Continuation of the place-based STEM learning for middle school girls started in 2015.

 

• The Natural History Museum of Utah

  Updates to the interactive display installed  at NHMU

  Enhancement of the touch-screen, interactive display designed by NHMU visualizing iUTAH GAMUT site data and information on the Red Butte Creek and the watershed.

 

Year 4 Innovation Awards (2015-2016):

 

• Rose Park Elementary School, Salt Lake City School District

  Utah’s Water System

  Continuation of exercises to engage student’s through visits to the Jordan River and Farmington Bay.
  
  

• Salt Lake Community College
  iUTAH Water Girls Program

  Continuation of the place-based STEM learning for middle school girls started in 2015.

 

Year 3 Innovation Awards (2014-2015):

 

• Garth and Jerry Frehner Museum of Natural History, Southern Utah University
  Green Roof Agriculture Exhibit and Outreach
  

  Creating green roof infrastructure to assist with research and educational activities, in partnership with the iUTAH Research Catalyst Grant program.
  
  

• Global Change and Sustainability Center, University of Utah
  Student Field Trips to Red Butte Creek and Video Spotlight
  

  Created a program of elementary student field trips to Red Butte Creek, focusing on water issues in the urban environment and a video on the importance of the creek as an urban steam.
  
  

• Rose Park Elementary School, Salt Lake City School District
  Jordan River Water Watch
  Exposing 4th grade students to innovative interdisciplinary research and systems-level knowledge of the interactions among water, demand, and climate with a novel approach to integrated research and training.
  
  

• Salt Lake Community College
  iUTAH Water Girls Program
  Place-based STEM learning for middle school girls.
  
  

• The Leonardo
  "Leo On Wheels" Science Outreach Carts On Water
  Developing water-focused outreach carts for middle school students that provide opportunities for current iUTAH research to be shared state-wide.
  
  

• The Natural History Museum of Utah
  “The Whole GAMUT,” a Digital Interactive at NHMU
  

  Collaborating with iUTAH scientists and faculty, NHMU is designing and building an exhibit kiosk to visualize iUTAH GAMUT site data. 
  
  

• Utah Public Radio
  “The Source”
  

  A monthly 60-minute radio program sharing stories about water in Utah as it relates to research, the environment, recreation, and the economy.

 

Year 2 Innovation Awards (2013-2014):

 

• Bear River Watershed Council
  2014 Bear River Forum Support
  

  The Bear River Watershed Council was awarded funds from iUTAH to support their Beaver River Basin Forum in January 2014.
  
  

• Explore Utah Science
  iUTAH Water Science Broadcast Series “Follow the Flow”
  

  “Follow the Flow” is a 6-part radio series focused on research efforts dedicated to maintaining and improving water sustainability in Utah. The series is made possible with support from iUTAH.
  
  

• Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum if Natural History (GJFMNH), Southern Utah University
  Water Cycle Dymanics at the SUU Green Roof
  Creating green roof infrastructure to assist with research and educational activities, in partnership with the iUTAH Research Catalyst Grant program.
  
  
• Jordan High School
  AP Environmental Science Class Support
  

  Educator Heather Gooch was awarded funds to purchase equipment and  sponsor field trips for the first year of AP Environmental Science at Jordan High School. 
  
  

• Thanksgiving Point
  iUTAH Engagement Programs
  

  Thanksgiving Point Institute was awarded to develop iUTAH-focused programming for Thanksgiving Point venues: Jordan River wetland, Museum of Natural Curiosity, Children's Garden and Nature Classroom, Farm Country, Museum of Ancient Life, and the Formal Gardens. 

  
  

• The Leonardo
  Water Exhibit
  iUTAH partnered with The Leonardo to develop an interactive exhibit engaging people of all backgrounds and ages in the exploration of water. 
  
  
• The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium
  Utah Waters Van Program
  

  During Spring Semester 2014, iUTAH funded LLPA's annual Utah Waters Van outreach program to 4th grade classrooms in the Salt Lake and Provo areas. The program centered around water science and exploration.

  
  
• The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
  Awards at Southern Utah University
  

  iUTAH provided funds to support the first National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) aspiration awards at Southern Utah University.

  
  
• Utah State University Water Quality Extension
  iUTAH Outdoor Educational Signs
  Utah Water Quality Extension is developing 3 educational outreach signs, one for each iUTAH-studied watersheds (Logan River, Red Butte Creek, Middle Provo River). 
  
  
• Utah State University Water Quality Extension
  Stream Side Science Lesson Plan Supplements
  USU Water Quality Extension was awarded funds to produce iUTAH specific supplements for existing Stream Side Science (SSS) lesson plans for all 3 iUTAH watersheds. 
  
  
• Weber State University
  Desert Water: The Future of Utah’s Water Resources
  

  Weber State University faculty member Hal Crimmel was awarded funds to create two videos that educate and engage viewers with water issues relevant to Utah.