The NISE Net Public Impacts Summative Evaluation focuses on measuring the public outcomes and impacts of NISE Net activities. The design of the evaluation studies is driven by a program theory model that maps the pathways NISE Net has developed for delivering nanoscale science, engineering and technology (NSET) programs and exhibits to the public, as identified by the summative evaluation team. Built into the NISE Net program theory model is an assumption that the Network will reach a large number of people by distributing the Network's public outreach efforts across a large number of
This study was conducted as a part of the formative evaluation of the NISE Network forum Nanotechnology: Risks, Benefits, and Who Decides? The purpose of the forum was to bring members of the public together to discuss whether experts, watchdogs, and/or the public should be the primary decision makers about nanotechnology policy. During the course of the forum, participants learned about nanotechnology and its societal and ethical implications from experts, had a chance to ask questions of the experts, participated in a small group discussion where they talked about the pros and cons of the
The NSF-funded Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network produced exhibits and programs designed to develop awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology in the museum-going public. As part of the overall summative evaluation of the first five years of this grant, the Exhibits and Programs Study examines the measurable impacts of these public products on museum visitors. These exhibits and programs were developed during the first four years of the project as the NISE Network itself was growing and developing; the products show the strength
The Salmon Camp Research Team (SCRT) project was created to address the under-representation of Native Americans in information technology (IT) and IT-intensive professions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is partnering with the Native American Youth and Family Association (NAYA) under the renewed National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to strengthen community involvement and work directly with students year round. An SCRT program website is under development with program information and a social networking page
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Phyllis AultOregon Museum of Science and Industry
During Year 1 of the Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network, the Exhibits and Programs group, led by the Science Museum of Minnesota, conducted a marketing survey in an effort to find out what kinds of nano exhibits and programs institutions would find most useful, and what other forms of assistance the NISE Network could provide. Individuals from a total of 34 institutions (out of 48) completed the online survey for a 71% response rate. Key Findings: Respondents were most interested in the topics of nanoscience applied to biology, human body, and medicine (94%) and environmental
The Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network held Regional Workshops workshops around the country during the summer of 2008. Formative evaluation was carried out to measure the workshop's success and related improvements in 1) integrating new and existing partners into the NISE Network, 2) providing valuable networking opportunities among workshop attendees, 3) creating a foundation for strong and lasting regional partnerships within the NISE Network, 4) presenting NISE Net's catalog of existing products, and 5) providing professional development resources including knowledge, tools
As part of community building efforts, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network undertook regional site visits during Year 5 of the project. The purpose of the site visits was to deepen relationships with a small group of partners. The Network Community Group saw the site visits as an opportunity to create a stronger sense of community within the Network and build institutions' capacity to engage their local public in nano. Partners with the highest potential to infuse nano into their institution and/or become actively involved with the Network were chosen for a site visit. A
The Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network held an online workshop in February 2010 focused on NanoDays and activities in the NanoDays kit. A formative evaluation was designed to measure workshop outcomes and identify necessary improvements for future NanoDays workshops and inform other NISE Net online workshops. The outcomes stated that workshop participants would 1) become more familiar with the NISE Network, 2) become familiar with what NanoDays resources are available on nisenet.org and how to find them, 3) increase their comfort level using NanoDays activities with their
It is relatively unknown what impact the Museum of Science has on its visitors once they leave our doors. This study aims to create a baseline understanding of how visitors follow up on what they have learned at the Museum. We examined follow up interviews from the Star Wars: Where Science Meets the Imagination exhibition evaluation and some of its accompanying programming, the Rethinking Urban Transportation forums, Bionics and Prosthetics forums, and The Force and Its Many Faces lectures. The follow up interviews were conducted via email and phone six to 10 weeks after visitors came to the
Exploring Life's Origins is a project funded by the National Science Foundation through the Discovery Corps Postdoctoral Fellowship. Janet Iwasa was the recipient of this grant, and her goals were to help the public understand research on the origins of life conducted in the labs of Dr. Jack Szostak from Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital and the Center for Origins Research by creating molecular visualizations based on the research and communicating to the public scientific research concepts related to the origins of life. The science communication portion of this project was
Given its ongoing commitment to universal design and the integration of technologies into the museum experience, the Museum of Science decided to employ a handheld Multimedia Tour to accompany Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, an exhibition about the real world meeting Star Wars technologies. With the help of leading tour guide developer, Antenna Audio, a 22-stop tour was produced featuring narration, Behind the Scenes interviews with individuals who had worked on the films, Star Wars film clips, still photos and the ability to send information home. An American Sign Language version
On two Saturday mornings, December 3 and December 10, 2005, two groups of Deaf adults were invited to participate in a focus group to try out the Multimedia Tour in the Star Wars exhibition and provide feedback on both its effectiveness and how it could be improved. The purpose of the focus group was to gain rich in-depth feedback from many people at once, particularly because it is so difficult to capture Deaf users in our exit interviews due to language barriers. Focus groups followed a topical framework surrounding what visitors enjoyed about the handheld, improvements they might make to