One reason we can put more emphasis on the argonauts is our basic philosophy of the production, which is to capture the work of scientists in progress, not in lectures to the camera. There will still be asides to explain what is happening on camera, of course, but we will strive to show interesting work unfolding before the eye with a minimum of didactic teaching. The scientists will want to get some actual work done, but they need extra hands to do so and also be ready to demonstrate it for the camera. That is where the argonauts come in, preparing and setting up and keeping track, and continuing the work when the scientist is distracted by the needs of production.
In some cases, the argonauts will carry out some of the model experiments outlined in the curriculum guide. At other times they will be seen on tape gathering samples, or live making observations. If any of them are reading this, our advice is not to try to prepare; just relax and be ready to respond to whatever comes up. Argonauts are not actors, any more than the scientists are. Jason is not a "show" but a unique window on scientific work. We do not try to create a seamless, glossy narrative, because to do so live would require eliminating uncertainty and spontaneity. Then what would be the point of doing a live program?
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Gene Carl
Feldman
(gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov)
(301) 286-9428
Todd Carlo Viola,
JASON Foundation for Education
(todd@jason.org)