With funding from the NASA Science Activation program, the Space Science Institute (SSI) launched NASA@ My Library in 2016. The vision of NASA@ My Library was to help public libraries and state library agencies increase NASA and STEM learning opportunities for library patrons throughout the U.S., including those in geographic areas and populations currently underserved in STEM education. SSI worked closely with its partners, including the American Library Association (ALA), Cornerstones of Science (CoS), the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), and the Pacific Science Center’s Portal to the
The assumptions, expectations, and potential for conducting a research synthesis (or any type of literature review) have evolved significantly in recent decades. With advancements in sophisticated and accessible analytical software, combined with the use of systematic protocols, reviews are increasingly generating results that can advance knowledge and practice. But, while reviews, synthesis or meta-analysis have the capacity to inform practice in unique ways, they are also fraught with their own methodological, ethical, and practical issues.
Drawing on the Addressing Societal Challenges
Informal learning environments offer a range of educational observations. Lately, many venues have adopted livestreaming and digital archiving, both as additional access for a wider offsite audience and as alternative ways to engage the onsite audience. Students can observe animals and plants from a different continent through a live camera feed, or they can watch an online recording of a science experiment even if they missed the live demonstration. However, livestreamed or archived observations remain a mostly passive experience, offering limited interactions beyond watching the videos. One way to create more active learning opportunities from these observations is to use sensors such as thermal cameras as additional streaming devices, which transmit real-time images and data that not only reveal more about what is being observed, but also allow the audience to ask deeper questions, find answers by interacting with the data, apply science knowledge in a relevant context, and become an active participant in scientific inquiry.
This project has created Telelab, a cloud platform for livestreaming and archiving interactive observations to promote citizen science. Powered by the Internet of things (IoT), Telelab allows informal science educators to present exhibits, living organisms or ecosystems through the use of sensors and actuators. Audiences both onsite and offsite can visualize biological processes in situ, such as thermoregulation, thermogenesis, metabolism, etc., or they can investigate physics and chemistry experiments by analyzing experimental data in combination with the video stream.
This work is funded by The Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to and evidence-based understanding of the design and development of STEM learning opportunities for the public in informal environments; provide multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences; advance innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments; and engage the public of all ages in learning STEM in informal environments.
Pulsar: A Science Podcast is a science and technology podcast produced by the Museum of Science, Boston. The podcast has grown and expanded in recent months as the museum turned its attention to developing online resources during the coronavirus pandemic. This evaluation seeks to understand the ways the Pulsar team may improve their product in order to better suit listeners’ preferences and to expand the podcast’s reach.
This evaluation is grounded in two primary objectives: (1) describing the podcast’s current audience and (2) understanding factors that impact listeners’ engagement with
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Alia QatarnehAbigail FeldmanMason Hill
This paper describes the methodology and the development of the instruments for collecting and analyzing data to better understand 1) what people bring with them to their visit, 2) what people do during a visit, and 3) what people take away from a visit. Elements of what they bring intersect with Knology’s work, and what they do and what they take away intersect with Oregon State University’s work on WZAM3.
COSI’s Center for Research and Evaluation (CRE) led a study was conducted in four phases with three study components. These phases serve to organize the remainder of this report::
This study looks at the types of awe guests feel when they leave art and science cultural institutions of various sizes and context, and how it may be related to what they remember learning. We surveyed 899 guests at the end of their visit and 550 of them again about one week later. Measures included a scale of awe-related perceptions (both positive and negative) along with questions about memories guests have about what they learned during their visit. Results show awe-related perceptions were consistent across institutions with only one significant difference, even when grouped by context
This is the second of a 2-part series about the changes that have taken place in how public libraries adapted to COVID-19. Part 1 focused on what libraries were doing prior to pandemic, the challenges that they faced due to COVID-19, and how they pivoted to a “new normal”. Part 2 focuses on innovations in programming and professional development that have helped to strengthen the library profession during the pandemic.
As public libraries continue to evolve, library staff seek to expand their STEM facilitation skills and knowledge. “NASA STEM Workshops” prepared 363 attendees to facilitate space-themed programs. External evaluation found that months later, attendees facilitated more STEM programming, became more confident and aware of STEM resources, and shared these resources with others. The professional development model demonstrated the importance of (1) practical, hands-on experiences to cultivate internal confidence and interest in facilitating STEM activities, and (2) increased attention to external
NASA@ My Library is made possible through the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate as part of its Science Activation program. The project is led by the National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI) in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), and Education Development Center (EDC). From 2016-2020, 78 public libraries (75 partner libraries and 3 pilot libraries), 18 State Library Agencies, 6 Portal to the Public Network sites, and 30 NASA-funded scientists participated in the project. More than 225,000 library patrons were reached through their efforts.
In 2021-2022, public libraries, universities, and state library agencies will participate in the project to increase and enhance STEAM learning opportunities in their communities, with an emphasis on reaching audiences underrepresented in STEM education and professions.
Poster presentation from the 2020 Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference.
This poster presented preliminary findings from a configurative literature synthesis on how the literature posted on the InformalScience.org website, in peer-reviewed journals, and in the ProQuest archive of Theses and Dissertations report about how informal learning institutions are advancing the use of STEM knowledge and scientific reasoning in the ways that can help individuals and communities address the societal challenges of our time?
This is a poster created for the 2019 annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Below is the accepted abstract of the poster:
The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network spans 28 sites across North America and beyond. Here we share work from two LTER sites in the northeastern US—the Harvard Forest, MA and the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH—where boundary organizations have been developing a framework for embedding effective public engagement and knowledge co-production into these long-term studies. Here we share this framework and how it has been developed and applied in
Live science events engage publics with science in a social context. This article articulates the aims and ethos of this growing sector within a research context. Semi-structured interviews (N=13) and focus groups (N=77) were conducted with event practitioners (both professional and volunteers) in the U.S.A. and U.K.. Inductive thematic analysis indicated that event producers aim to raise awareness of and professionalism in the sector. In particular, they seek to develop research into long-term impacts of events for both audiences and practitioners.