In January 2012, New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) hosted Design-Make-Play: Growing the Next Generation of Science Innovators. The two-day conference brought together leaders of schools, community-based programs, research and development organizations, the funding community, universities, government and business. They gathered at NYSCI to assemble evidence supporting the belief that designing, making and playing can create new pathways into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), particularly among children. A core argument of Design-Make-Play is that informal learning centers like
Recognizing that the Maker movement embodies aspects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning that are the hallmarks of effective education — deep engagement with content, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, learning to learn, and more — NYSCI, in collaboration with Dale Dougherty and Tom Kalil, approached the National Science Foundation to sponsor a two-day workshop. Over 80 leaders in education, science, technology and the arts came together at NYSCI to consider how the Maker movement can help stimulate innovation in formal and informal education
What makes “making”—the next generation of inventing and do-it-yourself—worth paying attention to? In this report, we explore the three categories of makers, the ecosystem growing around those categories, the role technology plays in this ecosystem, and, finally, how business can take advantage of the opportunities this movement represents.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John HagelJohn Seely BrownDleesha Kulasooriya
Young people’s participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a matter of international concern. Studies and careers that require physical sciences and advanced mathematics are most affected by the problem and women in particular are under‐represented in many STEM fields. This article views international research about young people’s relationships to, and participation in, STEM subjects and careers through the lens of an expectancy‐value model of achievement‐related choices. In addition it draws on sociological theories of late‐modernity and identity, which situate
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Maria Vetleseter BoeEllen Karoline HenriksenTerry LyonsCamilla Schreiner
Governmental and institutional policy making in a number of countries has embedded public engagement strategies as a primary channel to connect citizens with scientific and technological innovation. Robotics is emerging as a key site for such new technological activity and its applications are likely to be increasingly notable in our lives in coming years. Robotics researchers are investing considerable time and effort in “engaging” publics. Concentrating on the findings of 24 qualitative interviews with those actively organizing or engaging publics, across 11 public engagement activities
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Clare WilkinsonKaren Bultitudeemily dawson
The Iowa Children’s Museum designed and built a new aviation exhibit, Take Flight: The Science of Aviation, that delivers NASA’s Informal Education Program to the public by providing high-quality active learning experiences for children and their families outside the formal school classroom setting. This exhibit is a vehicle through which NASA and the Museum build public understanding of the key science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines that make it possible for humans to safely fly through the atmosphere.
The Museum has developed the following products/deliverables to support our project goals.
1. Created a comprehensive Take Flight! Exhibit Guide will be developed for three different types of users: Adult and Child Museum Visitors, Educators, and Museum Staff
2. Created revised curriculum for a week-long Summer Day Camp Aeronautics program and girl and boy scout programs
3. Created additional “Fun-tivities” themed around aviation for general public
Partners include University of Iowa Science Education Center, University of Iowa Delta Center for Brain Development , University of Iowa Women in Engineering, University of Iowa Engineering School, Iowa State University Extension, Grantwood Area Education Agency, 21st Century After School Program, Iowa After School Alliance, Mississippi Valley Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts of America, Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Community School Districts, and STEM Regional Networks of Iowa.
Stennis Space Center (SSC) Office of Education and Visitors Center provided relevant education activities and experiences for teachers, students, and the general public. Activities included partnerships with INFINITY Science Center, 4-H of Mississippi, the Boys & Girls Club of America, development and delivery of educator professional development workshops that meet national curriculum standards; inquiry-based activities that emphasized the International Space Station, robotics, aeronautics, and propulsion testing; and development and installation of an interactive exhibit at the Infinity Science Center. The opening of the Infinity Science Center at Stennis Space Center in April 2012 allowed a new opportunity for SSC to partner and expand NASA’s outreach. A commercial-grade playground was professionally installed at the Infinity Science Center, along with OSHA-approved safety matting. The goal of the project was to utilize a commercially available playground and add graphics and quiz-based activities modifications enabling young visitors to INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center, the official visitor center for Stennis Space Center, to have an interactive, yet educational, experience.
STEMtastic: NASA in Our Community is a two-year project designed to educate and inspire teachers, students and life-long learners to embrace NASA STEM content. The project will increase awareness of NASA activities, while educating and inspiring students to train for careers that are critical to future economic growth of the country in general, and NASA’s future missions in particular. The Virginia Air & Space Center (VASC) will partner with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. to accomplish this project. VASC will deliver NASA STEM content through (1) STEMtastic Teacher Institutes and Education Modules: (a) a series of two five-day professional development institutes for educators which will result in the (b) development and dissemination of new education modules for grades 4-9; and (2) STEMtastic Exhibits and Demonstrations: new interactive exhibits to used for live demonstrations at VASC; those demonstrations will also be delivered to traditionally underserved schools in the region. All classroom and teaching materials—educator institutes, education modules, exhibit software and demonstration modules—will be developed using NASA content and shared with other institutions to promote the expansion of knowledge about best practices in providing STEM education in both formal and informal education settings. STEMevals, a robust evaluation plan, will be implemented to assess success in each project area. Adjustments will be made along the pipeline to increase effectiveness in reaching the target audience. The project has the potential to reach countless educators, students and museum visitors throughout the U.S."
Pipeline for Remote Sensing Education and Application (PRSEA), will increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of remote sensing technologies and associated disciplines, and their relevance to NASA, through a combination of activities that build a “pipeline” to STEM and remote sensing careers, for a continuum of audiences from third grade through adulthood. This program will be led by Pacific Science Center. The first objective is to engage 50 teens from groups underrepresented in STEM fields in a four-year career ladder program; participants will increase knowledge and understanding of remote sensing as well as educational pathways that lead to careers in remote sensing fields at NASA and other relevant organizations. The second objective is to serve 2,000 children in grades 3-5, in a remote sensing-based out-of school time outreach program that will increase the participant’s content knowledge of remote sensing concepts and applications and awareness and interest in remote sensing disciplines. PRSEA’s third objective is to engage 180 youth, grades 6-8, in remote sensing-themed summer intensive programs through which youth will increase knowledge of remote sensing concepts and applications and increase awareness and interest in educational and career pathways associated with remote sensing and NASA’s role in this field. The final objective is to engage 10,000 visitors of all ages with a remote sensing-themed Discovery Cart on Pacific Science Center’s exhibit floor. By engaging in cart activities, we anticipate visitors will increase their level of awareness and interest in the topic of remote sensing and NASA’s role in contributing to this field.
The NASA Science Research Mentoring Program (NASA SRMP) is an established mentoring program that presents the wonders of space exploration and planetary sciences to underserved high school students from New York City through cutting-edge, research-based courses and authentic research opportunities, using the rich resources of the American Museum of Natural History. NASA SRMP consists of a year of Earth and Planetary Science (EPS) and Astrophysics electives offered through the Museum’s After School Program, year-long mentorship placements with Museum research scientists, and summer programming through our education partners at City College of New York and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The primary goals of the project are: 1) to motivate and prepare high school students, especially those underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, to pursue STEM careers related to EPS and astrophysics; 2) to develop a model and strategies that can enrich the informal education field; and 3) to engage research scientists in education and outreach programs. The program features five in-depth elective courses, offered twice per year (for a total of 250 student slots per year). Students pursue these preparatory courses during the 10th or 11th grade, and a select number of those who successfully complete three of the courses are chosen the next year to conduct research with a Museum scientist. In addition to providing courses and mentoring placements, the program has produced curricula for the elective courses, an interactive student and instructor website for each course, and teacher and mentor training outlines.
The NASA Saturday in the Pee Dee, an underserved region of South Carolina, is a three year project led by ScienceSouth, partnering with The Dooley Planetarium at Francis Marion University, to deliver hands on programming, astronomical viewing sessions, and planetarium programs to increase public awareness of NASA and its on-going missions, and to generate an interest in the areas of STEM education and the pursuit of careers in these fields. The audience is the residents in a ten-county region of South Carolina known as the Pee Dee, with Florence, South Carolina as the economic hub of the region. The Pee Dee has a very high percentage of minority residents, people living at or below the poverty level, and poor performance on standardized test especially in the STEM related topics. There will be a total of ten hands-on programs directly related to on-going NASA missions, including astrobiology, near earth objects, robotics, rocketry, geocaching, deep space, weather systems on Earth, the sun and distant stars, telescopes, and planetary objects. These programs will be held at the ScienceSouth Pavilion or Dooley Planetarium. The programs will be complemented initially with eight observation sessions the first year, with the number expanding in the following years to include more rural areas in the Pee Dee. The Florence County Library system and Florence School District One have agreed to assist in increasing public awareness of programs and provide additional resources for further information about related topics.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen WelchJeannette MyersNathan FlowersAnthony Martinez
NASA Now: Using Current Data, Planetarium Technology and Youth Career Development to Connect People to the Universe uses live interpretation and new planetarium technology to increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of NASA missions and STEM careers among schoolchildren, teens and the general public. Pacific Science Center seeks to achieve two primary goals through this project. The first goal is to create and deliver live planetarium shows both on- and off-site to schoolchildren and the general public that showcase NASA missions and data, as well as careers in physics, astronomy, aerospace engineering and related fields. The second goal is to engage underrepresented high school students through a long-term youth development program focused on Earth and space science that provides first-hand knowledge of science and careers within the NASA enterprise along with corresponding educational pathways. Over the course of this project Pacific Science Center will develop four new live planetarium shows that will be modified for use in an outreach setting. All of these shows (for both on- and off-site delivery) will be evaluated to determine the impact of the program on various audiences. In addition, the project will provide an understanding of the impact that an in-depth youth development program can have on high school students.