Bill Nye Family Fun Calendar of Science - Evaluation

During fall 1998, KCTS produced 50,000 “Bill Nye Family Fun Science Packets"" that included a family calendar and a ten-minute video. This outreach packet was meant for distribution to families with school-age children and designed to encourage family science activities at home. KCTS distributed these Packets in sets of 25-1,000 to community organizations, PBS stations, and member agencies of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). This study focused on capturing information about family and child involvement in science activities before and after they receive the BILL NYE Family Fun Science Packet and characterizing the use patterns and impact of the Packet.\r\n\r\nEvaluation Activities =\r\n*Partner Organization: Telephone Interviews Beginning in November 1998, we contacted 204 of KCTS's partner organizations for interviews about their distribution of BILL NYE Family Packets.\r\n*Questionnaires: We sent “before"" questionnaires to 38 of the 204 sites for distribution at a parent meeting or event. The parents completed the form prior to receiving the calendar and video. Approximately two months later, this same group of parents from the 23 sites received a follow-up questionnaire in the mail asking them about their use of the BILL NYE Family Packet to date. We sent the second survey to all those who completed the first survey and had included a legible, complete address—846 participating families.\r\n*Focus Groups: After completing telephone interviews with parent-outreach coordinators, we selected six organizations in five cities which were willing to help us conduct focus groups. The five cities included: Seattle, Boston, New York, Dayton and Chicago.\r\n

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