The Farrell Fellows Summer Internship program consists of teen educators leading science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities for children at libraries and park locations across Chicago. The goal of this study was to learn more about the families who attend the sessions and to also look for evidence of learning and how that may be related to the moods and attitudes of the teen educators. Data was collected through observations of the sessions, pre- and post-session surveys of 26 teen educators, and 90 surveys of the parents of participating children. Field notes were coded using
This project aims to develop and implement residential and non-residential science camp and summer camp programs and related activities to over 1500 youth and teachers from 8 elementary and middle schools. NOAA's Multicultural Education for Resource Issues Threatening Oceans (MERITO) program will serve as a key outreach mechanism to reach underserved youth and their families. The proposed project will utilize existing ocean educational materials, including those developed by NOAA, in experiential learning programs for youth through Camp SEA (Science, Education, Adventure) Lab. The two major goals of the project are: (1) to develop and implement marine-oriented outdoor science and summer camps in close collaboration with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, resulting in an effective model for dissemination of the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts to large numbers of youth and their teachers; and 2) to develop a model and a feasibility plan to implement the program across a broader geographical area, e.g. through other National Marine Sanctuaries.
Children in the Norfolk, Va., area will inherit the second highest sea level rise on the East Coast. In response, the non-profit Elizabeth River Project will prepare one of the first comprehensive youth education programs on climate change resilience on this coast. The Elizabeth River Project, working since 1993 to restore the environmental health of the urban Elizabeth River, will deploy its Dominion Virginia Power Learning Barge, “America’s Greenest Vessel,” and its new urban park, Paradise Creek Nature Park, to empower 21,000 K-12 students over three years to become informed decision makers and environmental stewards, prepared to adapt to rising seas. The project primarily will reach under-served schools in Norfolk and adjoining Portsmouth, Va. Lead science partner will be Old Dominion University, on the forefront of climate change research. Other partners include the Chrysler Museum of Art, ground zero for street flooding that has become routine in Norfolk. A youth strategy for the Elizabeth River “watershed” or drainage area will be disseminated nationally internationally by the City of Norfolk through its participation as one the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities. The youth strategy will be used by Norfolk to complement its Norfolk Resilience Strategy, prepared so far with adults in mind.
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at the mouth of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound. Its mission is to inspire people to appreciate and protect the Sound and the global environment. Over the past decade, a large percentage of the region’s 23 million people living within 50 miles of the Sound were directly affected by severe weather events, providing a timely opportunity to educate students, teachers and the public about community resilience. In a new three-year program, the Maritime Aquarium will deliver education related to environmental hazards, resilience, and the underlying science to schools from ten towns along or near Connecticut’s coast, including eight in the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Draft 2016-2021 for Southwestern Connecticut. In these towns as in many coastal regions, the most significant environmental threats are related to the nexus of land and water. To reflect that nexus, education will occur both in the classroom and on the water, aboard the Aquarium’s hybrid-electric research vessel, Spirit of the Sound. An exhibit featuring NOAA educational assets related to threats and resilience will also build environmental literacy as it engages Aquarium visitors. The project will be supported by an advisory board of local educators, planning and emergency management officials, representatives from Connecticut Sea Grant, the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation and the Western Connecticut Council of Governments.