This program uses two stories to model how scientific data can be used to build explanations of events. The first is the true story of the spill of a container of Nike shoes into the Pacific Ocean. The program sets up the story of the shoe spill and encourages initial predictions. Next, the concept of wind-driven ocean currents is explored. Using the wind-driven ocean currents dataset on the SOS, visitors then refine their predictions. Finally, the actual locations where the shoes were found is revealed.
The second story is the fictional, but not impossible, story of a penguin feather found by a beach clean up crew in San Francisco. The concept of thermally driven ocean currents is explored. Using the ocean conveyor belt data set and the wind-driven currents data set, visitors are encouraged to refine their predictions. An actual possible path for the penguin feather is then revealed. Finally, visitors view a simulation of a particle moving around the ocean over hundreds of years and learn that there is really only one ocean.
There are several variations of these stories available in an autorun mode, a presentation mode, and the workshop mode. In the workshop mode, both stories are told and there are several hands-on activities at stations around SOS.
Science On a Sphere
