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COMMUNITY:
Project Descriptions

Zoo Explorers Club: Community-Based Informal Science for Middle School Students

October 1, 2018 - September 30, 2021 | Public Programs

The Brookfield Zoo will launch the Zoo Explorers Club to provide underserved middle school students with free informal STEM education in public libraries and community centers in majority African American and Latino neighborhoods in Chicago, Cicero, and Melrose Park, Illinois. The program will consist of two four-week units per year, themed around STEM topics of interest to sixth-eighth graders. Students will participate in informal sessions that include hands-on science experiments, outdoor observations, craft projects, or animal experiences designed with the varied learning styles of middle school students in mind. Students will also participate in a free field trip to a zoo, nature center, museum, or other destination related to the unit topic. The curriculum will be designed to facilitate science learning through inquiry for up to 180 students per year, and empower young people to see themselves as agents of conservation solutions.

Funders

IMLS
Funding Program: Museums for America
Award Number: MA-10-18-0018-18
Funding Amount: $199,875

TEAM MEMBERS

  • REVISE logo
    Principal Investigator
    Brookfield Zoo
  • Discipline: General STEM
    Audience: Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Library Programs | Aquarium and Zoo Programs
    Access and Inclusion: Ethnic/Racial | Black/African American Communities | Hispanic/Latinx Communities

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