This report describes a research study conducted by User Experience Research Consulting, Inc. (UXR) contracted by the iSaveSpecies team that would inform the development of online extended engagement conservation activities to bridge and support zoo visitors, onsite experiences with computer-based conservation stations. The study focused on two key concepts: engagement and conservation. Across three phases, researchers investigated visitor attitudes, perceptions, and experiences related to conservation action through the iSaveSpecies system and in their personal lives, and their ideas and
Educators, docents, and interpreters are considered integral to the learning experiences at many museums. Although there is growing recognition that these staff members need professional development to effectively support visitor learning, there has been little research to describe their work or identify effective facilitation strategies. To address this need, we explored the nature of unstructured staff-facilitated family learning at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, OR, videotaping and inductively analyzing 65 unstructured staff-family interactions. The analysis
The Education and Outreach (EO) program is an essential part of the CRISP MRSEC located at Yale and SCSU. CRISP offers activities that promote the interdisciplinary and innovative aspects of materials science to a diverse group of participants. The objective of the program is to enhance the education of future scientists, science teachers, K-12 students, parents, and the general public. CRISP’s primary informal science activities include public lectures, family science nights, New Haven Science Fair and museum partnerships.
The mission of QESST public outreach is to provide a platform for engaging the community; students, parents, teachers, and the general public; in discussions about solar energy. Although there is a growing interest in advances of solar energy, many misconceptions prevail amongst the general community. Community outreach serves as a mechanism for engaging people and drawing them in. It is often the hook that creates interest in parents who pass that interest onto their children, or lures young students into more formalized QESST programs. Our outreach events range in scale from small workshops, large university wide open houses, and participation in educational television.
Intellectual Merit: The Science Museum of Minnesota and Purdue University's Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning are conducting a study within out-of-school contexts that will explore gender differences in the development of engineering interest and understanding in children between the ages of 4 and 11. During the study, the researchers will closely examine three specific informal environments: a pre-school program where parents and children can engage with engineering focused activity, a family-oriented engineering event for elementary students and their parents, and an engineering exhibit within a science museum. These settings, each featuring a high level of parent-child interaction, have been intentionally chosen due to an emerging trend in engineering education research that identifies the parent as playing a crucial role in girls' decisions regarding engineering careers. The project will examine the ways in which engineering practices (such as the iterative design, build, and test cycle) impact the development of interest and understanding. The study focuses on studying children during the critical years before middle school, when girls have been shown to have significantly lower levels of interest in engineering than boys. Broader Impacts: Investigating the processes by which girls develop early interest and understanding in engineering is essential to addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in engineering fields. Informal learning experiences, such as interactions in the home, visits to museums, and other everyday encounters, represent a rich array of settings for the development of engineering interest that have been minimally researched. The project will share results from the study through traditional academic channels, and also through parent and practitioner workshops for informal science educators that disseminate useful practices and techniques for engaging girls in engineering at a young age. In addition, the partnership between the Science Museum of Minnesota and Purdue University creates a strong foundation for subsequent collaborative projects focused on researching informal engineering education. The project has the potential to significantly impact the ways in which girls begin to cultivate a lifelong interest in engineering, which may ultimately encourage more women to pursue engineering careers in the future.