We have a wide spectrum of informal programs that include museum-based programs, afterschool programs, an NSF AISL project on science identity formation in girls, observatory visitor center programs, night-based programs, programs for Native American groups, undergraduate student-based outreach programs,and professional development for informal educations.
The IRIS Education and Public Outreach program draws upon the seismological expertise of Consortium members and combines it with the staff expertise to create products and activities that advance awareness and understanding of seismology and geophysics while inspiring careers in Earth science. These products and activities are designed to impact 6th grade students to adults in diverse settings: self-directed exploration over the Web, interactive museum exhibits, major public lectures, and in-depth exploration of the Earth’s interior in formal classrooms. Each year, a select group of undergraduates spends the summer conducting research under the expert guidance of Consortium members and affiliates. Other highlights include the widely distributed Teachable Moment slide sets for use in college and school classrooms within a day of major earthquakes, new animations and videos, new content for the Active Earth Monitor, and expanded use of social media.
The Franklin Institute (TFI), in collaboration with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), will conduct a research effort that explores the role that informal science learning plays in supporting girls' long-term interest, engagement and participation in science communities, hobbies and careers. Five longstanding programs for girls, begun 5-20+ years ago, will be the focus of the proposed study and include the National Science Partnership (NSP), Girls at the Center (GAC), Wonderwise, and Women in Natural Sciences (WINS). The selected study projects have access to girl participants who are high-school aged or older and represent diverse race, ethnicity and SES. A national Research Advisory Council will ground the investigation and review the findings at each stage of the research. The Community of Practice (CoP) literature (Lave and Wenger, 1991) will provide the theoretical frame for the overarching research question. Findings will document long-term impacts of girls' participation in identified informal science programs, determine how informal contexts in general contribute to girls' science learning and achievement, and develop a model for understanding the impact of informal science learning initiatives. Deliverables will include specific examples of informal learning experiences that support girls' long-term participation in science and evidence of the types of influences, including significant adults and particular activities, that contribute to girls' trajectories of participation. Dissemination tools will be a national conference, a research monograph and a series of workshops conducted in conjunction with professional conferences for informal science educators. By better understanding the impact of informal programs in science, specifically and more generally, and by developing and demonstrating an effective model for understanding such impact across projects, the proposed research stands to inform the field and provide a base for future project development and research efforts. The research results will improve the understanding of practice in these arenas and will document the significant role that informal programs place in influencing girls' vocational and avocational choices and participation in STEM fields. The study will also demonstrate the applicability of the CoP research model and its lessons to other informal science programs.
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.
Overview of the Local Voices, Clever Choices Project: As part of the National Science Foundation funded "Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Decision Making in Informal Education" project, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and its partners developed a bilingual (Spanish/English) outreach campaign- Local Voices, Clever Choices/Nuestras voces, nuestras decisiones. The goal of this and other deliverables was to promote sustainable decision making by building skills that allow participants to weigh the tradeoffs of their choices and thereby choose more sustainable practices. The
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Oregon Museum of Science and IndustryRenee B. CurtisKyrié Thompson Kellett
Overview of Clever Together/Juntos somos ingeniosos and Evaluation: As part of the National Science Foundation funded "Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Decision Making in Informal Education" project, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and its partners developed a bilingual (Spanish/English) exhibition. The goal of this and other project deliverables was to promote sustainable decision making by building skills that allow participants to weigh their choices and choose more sustainable practices. Clever Together/Juntos somos ingeniosos is a permanent, bilingual exhibition at
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Oregon Museum of Science and IndustryRenee B. Curtis
Overview of Sustainability
Events and Evaluation: As part of the National Science Foundation funded Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Decision Making in Informal Education project, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) project team designed and hosted seven events between September 2011 and July 2014. In line with the overall project goals: Participants will 1) capture the big idea, “We can cultivate a more sustainable community by building skills and making decisions that maximize positive impacts,” 2) practice skills necessary for making more sustainable choices that consider
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Oregon Museum of Science and IndustryRenee B. Curtis
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.