This is the final report of the Informal Science Education (ISE) supplemental two year NSF grant for the partnership between CCI Solar Fuels and Westside Science Club that ran between October 2012 and July 2014. After a brief program overview and goals, it lists the program components. Then it traces the history of each partner, including a partnership with Wildwood High School in Santa Monica, and LA Makerspace. Each section also briefly outlines the evaluation performed by a professional evaluator. The program will continue with a partnership with a local Pasadena, CA museum called Kidspace
This poster shows the development of the project Scientists for Tomorrow during the three years of its implementation: two first years under the full funding of the NSF and the third year as a no-cost extension. Also the poster describes how the project was incorporating more community centers and with it more participants through the development of the "self-sustained" mode of implementation. The poster introduces also the next step of the project - the Scientists for Tomorrow - National Alliance.
This poster describes Skynet Junior Scholars (NSF award numbers 1223687, 1223235, 1223345) project. Skynet Junior Scholars engages middle and high school aged youth in the study of the Universe using the same tools as professionals by: targeting youth audience enrolled in the 4-H program; building accessibility standards into the SJS design ; using research quality, multi-wavelength telescopes. These telescopes are part of the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network.
This is the poster for the CCI Solar Fuels and Westside Science Club collaboration presented by Michelle Hansen and Benjamin Dickow at the 2014 AISL PI meeting in Washington DC.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
California Institute of Technology Center for Chemical InnovationMichelle Hansen
This poster presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting describes an outdoor informal science learning project that trains volunteer naturalists to lead environmental programs for middle school students.
This poster provides an overview, program goals, evaluation plan, and research questions for the AISL project, Techbridge Broad Implementation: An Innovative Model to Inspire Girls in STEM Careers. The poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting.
The data collection for this project involved three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after-school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska. Year two data collection was completed from September 2013 - March 2014. Appendix includes survey.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
The data collection for this project involves three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Data was collected from February to April, 2013 and the evaluation was conducted by the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR). Appendix contains surveys
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TEAM MEMBERS:
University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
This project takes advantage of the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public in scientific inquiry, dialogue, and exploration. The project has two specific programs: (1) The development, implementation, and assessment of an informal museum event entitled 'Eight-Legged Encounters' which now has more than 25 associated activity stations. These activities encompass stations relating to (a) classification and systematics (e.g., 'What is an Arthropod', 'Create a Chelicerate', and 'Assemble an Arachnid'), (b) spider-specific stations focused on silk (e.g., 'Build a Burrow', 'Cribellate vs. Ecribellate Silk', 'Weave a Web', and 'Catch a Moth'), and (c) research related stations (e.g., 'Microscope Madness' and 'Community Experiment'). In addition, there is a stand-alone module entitled the 'Path of Predators' that includes an activity booklet and eleven stations that walk participants through the eleven living arachnid orders. Each stations has original artwork backdrops, clay sculptures, trading cards, and collectible stamps (participants place stamps on a phlylogenetic tree depicting the current hypothesis of evolutionary relationships among the eleven orders). Most stations have live animals and prizes are given to participants that complete their stamp booklet. 'Eight-Legged Encounters' has been hosted at the Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall) twice, with record-breaking attendance (>800 people in
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TEAM MEMBERS:
University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
This paper provides a brief overview of the ideas and principles underlying the connected learning movement, highlighting examples of how libraries are boosting 21st-century learning and promoting community development by partnering with a range of organisations and individuals to incorporate connected opportunities into their programmes. The connected learning movement supports interest-driven, peer-supported, and academically oriented learning for youth by promoting the core values of equity, participation, and social connection. By connecting formal and informal learning organisations with
The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free-choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free-choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum visit? In the present study, a theoretical framework was constructed to inform the design of worksheets as free-choice learning devices. This framework was used to analyze the design of an existing museum worksheet. Subsequently, curriculum-related
This article presents a contextual model of learning that examines visitor learning in museums. It explores features of the model, factors that can influence learning in a museum setting, and challenges associated with teaching in a museum context.