Informal STEM learning experiences (ISLEs), such as participating in science, computing, and engineering clubs and camps, have been associated with the development of youth’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics interests and career aspirations. However, research on ISLEs predominantly focuses on institutional settings such as museums and science centers, which are often discursively inaccessible to youth who identify with minoritized demographic groups. Using latent class analysis, we identify five general profiles (i.e., classes) of childhood participation in ISLEs from data
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Remy DouHeidi CianZahra HazariPhilip SadlerGerhard Sonnert
The project team published a research synopsis article with Futurum Science Careers in Feb 2023 called “How Can Place Attachment Improve Scientific Literacy?”
The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum will create a mobile cart with hands-on, immersive experiences and educational materials to expand programming to the open-air plaza in front of the museum. To educate visitors about the Chicago River ecosystem, the museum will develop and deliver three live science experiences utilizing the mobile outdoor cart, which will include a 3-D model of a watershed. Additionally, the museum will contract with photographers and a graphic designer to generate content for educational displays and curriculum. By creating a mobile cart with hands-on, immersive experiences and educational materials, the Bridgehouse Museum will reach more diverse audiences on the plaza, which extends onto the Chicago Riverwalk.
Hanohano o Oahu: The Geology and Moolelo of Kona to Ewa project will provide learning opportunities for 500 fourth grade students and their teachers from ten public schools located in central and leeward Oahu, Hawaii. A geology unit will be developed that includes a 90-minute class presentation, hands-on classroom activities, a Discovery Box to extend learning opportunities, and a full-day (5-hour) field trip experience. The multi-stop bus tour will be centered on the moku (district) of Kona and Ewa and highlight significant Oahu cultural sites, their moolelo (stories, history) and geology. A culture-based student activity booklet, hands-on activities, and other education materials will also be developed for the unit. The project will target rural communities with underserved families, large Hawaiian homestead neighborhoods, and little access to museum services. Participation in the programming will provide students and teachers with a better understanding of the connection between scientific information and Hawaiian knowledge.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mahealani Merryman
resourceresearchMuseum and Science Center Programs
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is one of the world's single largest employers of science communicators, with over 350,000 students and 40,000 staff. Its science communication activities include five museums (Universum, Museo de la Luz, the Geology Museum, Museo de la Medicina Mexicana and Musem of Geophysics), botanical gardens, as well as a wide range of cultural and outreach activities. It has several programmes for training professional science communicators. The science communication staff are spread across the campuses in Mexico City and four other cities, including
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ana Claudia NepoteElaine Reynoso-Haynes
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 Department of Geological Sciences at Rutgers, in collaboration with the Liberty Science Center, the New York State Museum, Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Appalachian Trail Conference, and ABS-Capital Cities, Inc., has a planning grant to develop a universal model that will encourage science education in conjunction with outdoor recreational activities in wilderness parks near urban centers. The initial effort will focus on the Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks and the Sterling Forest lands, all near New York City. Current plans for the full project include development of: 1) an illustrated guidebook describing the features chosen as "exhibits" at the sites, 2) a map showing locations of the "exhibits", 3) plaques marking the features of the exhibits, 4) proposals for new trails to access outstanding botanical and geological features, 5) a web site with virtual reality filed trips of the sites chosen, 6) museum displays and media programs at Liberty Science Center, the New York State Museum, and other sites, 7) regular field trips from Liberty Science Center, New York State Museum, and Bear Mountain Trailside Museum, 8) workshops for high school teachers, and 9) special project to get more public use of the park resources. During the planning stage the project will gather data on public interest, determine the most effective means of dissemination, identify and contact other organizations and scientist that could contribute to the full project, and develop a coordination plan and schedule for this complex project. Small examples and/or written descriptions of the web-site, the guidebook stops, museum displays, and field trips will also be produced in the planning phase.
This planning project seeks to study new ways to tap into family vacation agendas as opportunities for increased learning. It will assess and prototype a variety of program development activities related to outdoor and indoor experiences for families on vacation to the Grand Strand coastal region of South Carolina, and potentially to other such vacation spots around the country. Such experiences are intended to facilitate family learning about coastal ecosystems. The planning work is a collaborative effort among professionals in university and museum organizations along with the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
This article highlights some of the diverse ways that different types of museums use place-based education to further their missions and benefit their audiences. Authors include Janet Petitpas, Assistant Director of the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Maggie Russell-Ciardi, Education Coordinator for the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Lori Salles, Exhibit Manager at the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, and Mary Jo Sutton, Director of Exhibitions at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Janet PetitpasMaggie Russell-CiardiLori SallesMary Jo Sutton