The Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL) will develop "Science in the Stacks," an integrated, multi-sensory, self-paced informal learning environment within its forthcoming Children's Library Discovery Center. It will include 36 Discovery Exhibits developed by the Exploratorium, three Learning Carts for scripted activities by librarians, six Information Plazas, a Discovery Teens program, a web site and supporting educational activities. The theme will be multiple pathways to the world of information. QBPL will be collaborating locally with the New York Hall of Science and the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Overall, QBPL receives some 16 million visits per year; the target audience for this project is children ages 3 to 12. In addition to its public impact, "Science in the Stacks" will have professional impact on both the science center and library fields, showing how it is possible to combine their different modes of STEM learning in complementary ways. Although library-museum colaaborations are not new, this one is the first attempt to combine their respective learning resources on a large scale. It offers the potential to serve as a new model for both fields, enabling visitor (patron) entry into self-directed STEM learning through books, media, programs or hands-on activities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Nick BuronLorna Rudder-KilkennyThomas RockwellMarcia Rudy
John Carroll University, Cleveland's International Women's Air and Space Museum and Cleveland Public Schools are partnering in a three-year project to provide a cross-age, collaborative exhibit development experience to increase young peoples' science understanding and interest in science and teaching careers. The program exposes 120+ high school and undergraduate women to the skills of educational program planning and implementation. Content includes science, technology, engineering and math related to flight, and the history and role of women in flight related careers. The project proposes a highly supportive learning environment with museum, science and education experts working alongside students at secondary and undergraduate levels to design exhibits that will meet the interest and needs of the museum, and the young children and families from Cleveland schools who visit. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, the evaluation will measure change in participant career interests, content understanding and perception of science, technology, engineering and math subjects, and skill development in presenting these concepts to public audience members. Public and professional audience experiences will also be evaluated. More than nine hundred local elementary school age children, their families and 15,000 general public audience members will participate in student-designed, museum-based exhibits and programs. Deliverables include a model for university/museum partnerships in providing exhibit development and science learning experiences, three team-developed permanent exhibits about flight and women in science, a set of biographies about women and flight in DVD format and three annual museum based community events. The model program will be informed by national advisors from museum/university partners across the United States who will attend workshops in connection with the projects public presentations in years one and two. These meetings will both provide opportunities to reflect on the program progress and to develop new strategies in the evolution of the program design. Workshop participants will develop plans to implement similar programs in their home locations, impacting another layer of public audiences. The transferability of the model to these new sites will be measured in year three of the proposal. An additional 25,000 participants are expected to be impacted in the five years following the grant period. Beyond the implementation sites, the model's impact will be disseminated by the PI and participants in the program through peer reviewed journals and presentations at national conferences.
This project will develop a new 4-H Afterschool curriculum called Discovering Technology to be implemented in 7 states potentially reaching 5000 middle school youths and 250 4-H leaders annually. The program would encourage youth in both rural and urban settings to pursue careers in engineering and technology. The project is a partnership of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, the National 4-H Council/4-H Afterschool, North Carolina 4-H and the National Science & Technology Education Partnership (NSTEP).
Evaluates students' knowledge of three fields of science (earth, physical, and life), three elements of knowing and doing science (conceptual understanding, scientific investigation, and practical reasoning), and two overarching domains in science (the nature of science and themes-systems, models, and patterns-present in science).
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Nancy L. AllenJames E. CarlsonChristine A. Zelenak
Using the pre-college suite of surveys you can determine whether specific activities met your objectives and use this information to improve activities and make evaluation decisions. Specifically, the instruments assess the following topics: Course-taking plans for high school, whether participant intends to study science, engineering, or computer, what participant knows about what engineers, scientists, or computer scientists do, what factors (if any) about being an engineer, scientist, or computer scientist appeal to participant, events or persons that influenced participants' study plans
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Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity of Missouri
Measures children's global attitudes and knowledge about environmental issues, such as animals, energy, pollution, recycling, water, and general issues.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Frank C. LeemingWilliam O. DwyerBruce A. Bracken
Assesses children's interest in, attitude towards, and experiences in science and technology, as well as their opinion about environmental challenges and career aspirations.
Visitors to the Science Museum of Minnesota provided feedback on the books, How Small Is Nano? and Is That Robot Real? in order to assess the books and their ability to impart knowledge of nanoscience. The visitors, 63 adults in all, read one of the books to the child or children accompanying them, then answered a series of questions about their experience including their interest in and enjoyment of the book they read, as well as the age appropriateness of the book. The report compares and contrasts the two books throughout.
Water Logging is a volunteer water quality monitoring program, that monitors water quality in the Huntington-Northport Bay Complex in Long Island, NY. The goals and objectives of the Water Logging Program are to: 1. Educate and involve the public in water quality assessment and protection. 2. Develop a sense of stewardship among the community in the Huntington-Northport Bay watershed. 3. Screen for water quality impairments and determine long-term water quality trends. 4. Document effects of water quality improvement programs. 5. Provide useful water quality data to interested parties and the public.
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Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
SciGirls is a national outreach program of DragonflyTV supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Program for Gender Equity. SciGirls empowers PBS outreach professionals and science museum educators, often partnering with local youth organizations, educators and parents, to deliver hands-on science encouragement and career guidance to girls in their communities. SciGirls is based on existing standards-based DragonflyTV outreach resources, which teach scientific inquiry.
Voyage of Discovery is a comprehensive and innovative project designed to provide K-12 youth in Baltimore City with an introduction to mathematics, engineering, technology, environmental science, and computer and information science, as it relates to the maritime and aerospace industries. The Sankofa Institute, in partnership with the Living Classrooms Foundation and a host of marine, informal science, community, and educational organizations, collaborate to make science relevant for inner-city youth by infusing science across the curriculum and by addressing aspects of history and culture. Youth are introduced to historical, current, and future innovations in shipbuilding as a means to learn the science, mathematics, and history associated with navigation, transportation, environmental science, and shipping. Activities will take place at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum where students participate in intensive afterschool, Saturday, and summer sessions. Families are invited for pre-session orientation meetings and again at the end of each session to observe student progress. This project will provide over 3,900 K-12 youth with the opportunity to learn mathematics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), physics (gravity, density, mechanics), design, and estuarine biology while participating in hands-on sessions. Project deliverables include a 26-foot wooden boat, a working model of a dirigible, a submarine model, and pilot control panel models, all constructed by students and subsequently incorporated into exhibits at the USS Constellation Museum. The project also results in the production of two curricula--one each on celestial navigation and propulsion. Voyage of Discovery informs the literature on inquiry-based informal science education programs and strategies to engage minority and low-income youth in learning science and technology.