The "Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute" is a three-year project to increase the capacity of museum educators and exhibitors to design and implement technology-integrated inquiry activities for the public. The collaborators include the Exploratorium, MIT Media Lab, Science Museum of Minnesota, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Explora Science Center and the Children's Museum of Albuquerque. The deliverables include a portfolio of technology-rich activities, professional development institutes, online educator resources and a handbook of pedagogical design principles for museum educators. This project builds upon prior NSF supported work that developed the PIE Network, which among other things developed the "cricket," an inexpensive computer that makes informal learning inquiry activities more compelling. This project has the potential to impact both the theory and practice of informal science education in museums. It will implement new theories and tools that represent a new approach to engaging and supporting visitors' learning experiences using play and experimentation that mirrors the processes of laboratory investigation. It also provides an innovative model of collaboration that develops and implements a major complex project by bringing together science centers with unique and complementary expertise.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mike PetrichCollen BlairKaren WilkinsonKristen MurrayKeith BraafladtRobert LindseySamuel Dean
Community Ambassadors in Science Exploration (CASE) is a new model for encouraging the appreciation and understanding of science among underserved families through: a corps of teen and adult peer presenters; a curriculum of hands-on learning experiences for families of diverse ages and backgrounds; a regional network of museum-community collaboration; integration of community and museum resources through joint programming; and a longitudinal research study of program impacts. CASE will serve over 20,000 people over three years with peer-presented family learning opportunities and museum experiences. In addition, CASE will train a total of 108 science ambassadors who will offer science workshops at community-based organizations in the languages spoken by their constituencies. Through CASE, the ambassadors will gain training and experience in informal science education that can open the door to possible future career opportunities in community and museum settings. Building on a ten-year history of museum-community collaboration, CASE will be conducted by PISEC, the Philadelphia/Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative. PISEC includes four major Philadelphia informal science institutions: The Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, The Academy of Natural Sciences and The New Jersey State Aquarium. This organization conducts research and outreach projects in support of family science learning.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Minda BorunKathleen WagnerAngela WengnerNaomi Echental
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
"Saving Species" will engage large and diverse public audiences in inquiry-based learning and environmental stewardship through a system of exhibits at zoos and other informal science education institutions throughout the U.S. The exhibit system will include more than 70 touch screen interactives and related technological infrastructure being created by Project Dragonfly at Miami University (Ohio). Project partners include the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Brookfield Zoo, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Denver Zoo, Liberty Science Center, Louisville Zoological Garden, New York State Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Pittsburgh Zoo, Riverbanks Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Toledo Zoo, The Wilds, Woodland Park Zoo, and Zoo Atlanta. Touch screen exhibit components will be designed for specific programs at partner zoos. The partner institutions in this consortium are establishing exhibits nationwide linked to one of three Saving Species campaigns: 1) the Great Ape Campaign allows families to conduct research on captive ape populations and to help save wild apes by joining the work of experienced field researchers; 2) the Wild Cat Campaign focuses on endangered cat species and allows families to join in conservation efforts along with professionals; 3) the Sustaining Life Campaign builds on widespread interest and growing exhibitry in environmental stewardship, renewable energy, and climate change. The consortium includes a shared library of public inquiry and public-action tools (e.g., cell phone recycling), as well as remote monitoring capabilities that provide real-time measures of station success, facilitating the development of variations of exhibit interactives across the country. More than 500 staff from informal science institutions are participating in "Saving Species" professional development through workshops and graduate courses in major cities and conservation sites worldwide. The formal educational opportunities include two new Master\'s degree programs co-delivered by Miami University and informal science institutions: (1) the Advanced Inquiry Program, and (2) the Global Field Program. Strategic partners include the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, public television, Conservation International, and the Society of Conservation Biology. Project evaluation by the Institute for Learning Innovation includes specific assessment protocols that are identifying patterns of engagement by gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic class so that disparities can be addressed across these demographics. A planning study and front-end evaluation will inform the future development of personalized, post-visit engagement opportunities on social networking platforms. "Saving Species" will achieve broad impact nationally, reaching millions of visitors to the participating institutions annually during the funding period and beyond, fostering the relationship between science inquiry and public action, and building multi-institutional partnerships committed to sustaining life on our planet.
The Museum of Science, Boston (MOS) and its primary collaborators, the Science Museum of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN) and the Exploratorium (San Francisco, CA), are continuing and expanding the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), which has been in operation since 2005. NISE Net has established a national infrastructure of over one-hundred hands-on science centers and universities within seven regional hubs with the goal of fostering public awareness, engagement and understanding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE). As part of this undertaking, NISE Net partners have: - created a nation-wide set of annual events called NanoDays; - developed dozens of interactive exhibits, media-based products, programs, and public forums based on NSE; - generated new knowledge about the design for learning about NSE, its applications, and societal implications; - produced a network that involves informal educators and researchers; and - developed a Web site for professionals, www.nisenet.org, that includes several resources for educators and researchers, including a catalog of educational products. During the next five years (2010 - 2014), NISE Net will continue to develop new educational products, deepen the involvement of current partnerships in nanoscale informal science education, and expand the number of partners overall to 300 organizations. The advisory committee, content steering committee, regional hubs, and other work groups will continue to develop collaborative relationships between museums and university-based NSE research centers, including Materials Research Science and Engineering Research Centers (MRSECs) and Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSECs). A Diversity, Equity, and Access group will actively support, foster, and encourage the NISE Net\'s efforts to reach diverse audiences with regard to geography, dis/ability, gender, race/ethnicity, language, and income. Four research studies will be conducted: Partnership and Network, Institutional Change, Learning Progressions, and Evidence-Based Decision Making.
Cosmic Serpent - Bridging Native and Western Science Learning in Informal Settings is a four-year collaboration between the Indigenous Education Institute and the University of California-Berkeley targeting informal science education professionals. This project is designed to explore the commonalities between western science and native science in the context of informal science education. The intended impacts are to provide informal science education professionals with the skills and tools to gain an understanding of the commonalities between native and western worldviews; create regional networks that bridge native and museum communities; develop science education programs in which learners cross cultural borders between western science and indigenous peoples; and meet the needs of diverse audiences using culturally-responsive approaches to science learning. Participants are introduced to topics in physical, earth, space, and life science, using an interdisciplinary approach. Deliverables include professional development workshops, peer mentoring, museum programs for public audiences, a project website, and media products for use in programs and exhibits. Additionally, regional partnerships between museums and native communities, a legacy document, and a culminating conference jointly hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian and the Association of Science and Technology Centers will promote future sustainability. Strategic impact is realized through participants' increased understanding of native and western science paradigms, museum programs that reflect commonalities in the two approaches, partnerships between museums and native communities, and increased institutional capacity to engage native audiences in science. This project directly impacts 270 informal educators at 96 science centers and tribal/cultural museums nationally while the resulting programs will reach an estimated 200,000 museum visitors.
Portal to the Public is a program designed to assist informal science education (ISE) institutions as they seek to bring scientists and public audiences together in face-to-face public interactions that promote appreciation and understanding of current scientific research and its application. Led by Pacific Science Center (WA), in collaboration with Explora (NM), the North Museum of Natural History and Science (PA) and the Institute for Learning Innovation (MD), the program model was implemented and evaluated at five additional museums and science centers during 2007-2011. The project goals were to create a flexible and scalable guiding framework that would support ISE institutions build relationships with their local scientific community, design professional development workshops for scientists, and create public program formats featuring scientists. The project included thorough research and evaluation of the guiding framework, dissemination process, and implementation at expansion sites. The Portal to the Public project team has produced an Implementation Manual as a guide for institutions planning to implement a Portal to the Public-type program, available for download at the project website (http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/Portal-to-the-Public/portal). It includes the Catalog of Professional Development Elements, a practical guide to creating and facilitating professional development experiences for scientists.
Citizen science projects engage members of the general public in professionally directed research and participatory action research projects that investigate local environmental issues. The Cornell University - Laboratory of Ornithology is requesting funding to support a national conference and the development of a web-based Citizen Science Toolkit to inform these programs. The Toolkit will provide a framework for scientists and educators to develop, implement and evaluate independent citizen science projects. Deliverables include an invitational conference where best practices will be identified, in addition to the electronic toolkit that will include a Citizen Science Manual and instruments for assessing the effectiveness of projects. A virtual community of educators that develop and implement citizen science projects in a variety of STEM areas will be created. It is anticipated this work will improve the quality of citizen science projects across the country.
The project's goal is to facilitate the growth and use of the web site informalscience.org for posting reports of research and evaluation of Informal Science Education (ISE) funded projects. The project leaders will also synthesize the posted evaluation reports of informal science education research and development projects into readable documents. This synthesis will cover all available data from evaluation and research studies reported to informalscience.org across all sectors of ISE (e.g., museums, after school programs, video, radio, film, and technology). The investigators will provide the ISE community with information about these studies through publication on the site, through peer-reviewed publications for a research and evaluation audience, and through communications at conferences focused on ISE policy-makers and ISE practitioners. The report writing will be managed by a small staff of professional researchers and practitioners at the University of Pittsburgh, Minnesota Museum of Science, and Visitors Studies Association. The project will be continually evaluated by a board of advisors that will provide a yearly written report about the web site and synthesis work. The evaluators are researchers familiar with syntheses and meta analysis methods, experts from media, museum, and community programs, and also experts on development and use of professional development web sites. The evaluation will address whether or not the syntheses of evaluation reports was as rigorous as possible given the type of reports that are available. The usefulness of the reports and web site to the field of practice and research will also be a matter for concern by the advisory board. The long term aim of the project is to create a network that promotes deeper connections between evaluation and practice. Also, the network is expected to meet the needs and working styles of the various ISE sectors and to create exchanges and synergies among them. The site is expected to become more usable and useful to the field in each succeeding year, and it is expected to maximize its impact for practitioners, evaluators, policy makers, and funders.
This project will establish a research foundation for archaeological education in informal learning environments. It will investigate the use of archaeological content and concepts to help museums and other informal learning organizations increase and diversity their audiences. In addition to generating information and a data base, the effort will develop a research framework for presenting this subject to various public audiences with emphasis on underrepresented groups. The plan is to develop and implement a Delphi survey for a variety of stakeholders, including 60 museums, to determine what they do to attract diverse audiences, what is needed to create effective archaeology learning opportunities, and how successful they have been in communicating archaeological content and concepts. The result will be a synthesis that informs a broad spectrum of the informal science education community.
The "Successful scaffolding strategies in urban museums: Research and practice on mediated scientific conversations with families and museum educators" project seeks to simultaneously advance existing research on learning in informal settings, and to improve museum educator practice in mediating understanding with families in an urban museum. This collaboration between the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Florida, and the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) will focus on three research questions: 1. What are several underlying characteristics of successful and unsuccessful strategies for scaffolding understanding of collaborative groups while interacting and talking at life science based exhibits?; 2. How can such identified strategies for scaffolding understanding of collaborative groups be best translated to inform teaching practices in museums, using teacher research as the focus?; 3. Can these scaffolding strategies be disseminated beyond MOSI in a published and replicable model for other informal learning centers? This project is designed to identify, practice and disseminate successful scaffolding strategies, studying, first, how they are used by families visiting MOSI without mediators, and, second, with museum educators. They then will collaborate with museum educator researchers (MERs) to analyze digital audio/video and other data, carefully abstracting new scaffolding tools. This is followed by practice and reflection and broader dissemination with the goal of understanding essential aspects of successful and unsuccessful scaffolding. A "teacher research model" will be used for museum educator professional development. By intertwining demonstrated and effective scaffolding research and practice with populations typically left out of informal education research, the anticipated strategic impact will be in: * Advancing current understanding of a new area of informal learning research centering on scaffolding practices; * Redefining scaffolded teaching practice with museum educator researchers; * Creating a model for conducting collaborative research with families, youth and schools typically not included in museum research and evaluation; * Contributing to overall research on collaborative sense-making conversations in museums; and * Increasing the ability of museum educators who interact with the public, their supervisors and trainers to promote self-directed learning. Once the researched strategies and methodologies for identifying those strategies are documented, future researchers can efficiently add to the body of understandings. This project will have broad implications for all informal learning, no matter the location.
This planning grant award addresses the subject of cosmology using contemporary film technology. A screen play and film prototype will take viewers from the historical Big Bang phenomena to contemporary thinking on dark energy and matter. STEM disciplines incorporated within this project are mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry and geology, in addition to astronomy. An additional significant issue in this award will be the effort to form a network of dome and planetarium theaters. Such an organization could facilitate promotion and evaluation of this project and future projects. In the future, the network will be positioned to assess the differences in educational impact from large format flat screen, large format dome screen and planetarium dome presentations. Collaborations on this project include The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, the Mathematics Science Research Institute, and advisors George Smoot and Saul Perlmutter of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Barbara Flagg is the project evaluator. Specific needs for the planning grant are to: 1. gather formative evaluation on audience parameters; 2. develop a short prototype film and a first draft of the screen play; 3. complete the advisory team; 4. translate the deliverables into Spanish language; 5. evaluate and bid the computer animation facilities; and 5. identify a network of dome and planetarium theaters for their evaluation.
The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, CA is forming and leading a national collaboration producing Maya Skies, a full-dome digital planetarium theater project with several deliverables: a 25-minute Maya Skies show, a model for collaborative production in the full-dome field, research on full-dome immersion experiences and learning, the establishment of a national consortium of seven full-dome theaters and professional development workshops for the field. The research, conducted by the Institute for Learning Innovation, will test the degree to which personal relevance influences free-choice learning experiences. New technologies for digital, high resolution image data-capturing of archaeological sites will be employed. The project's goal is to advance the digital planetarium field with innovations in show production and research and with increased impact on public audiences and the practice of planetarium professionals.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alexander ZwisslerAlexandra BarnettMartin StorksdieckDavid Beining