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EDGE: A Guide for Practicing Gender Equity in Exhibit Design

April 1, 2021 | Exhibitions

Exhibit Design for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE) began as an NSF-funded research project led by the Exploratorium to learn how science museums can better engage girls aged 8–13 with STEM exhibits. Over the course of the research, we identified nine design attributes that were consistently positively related to girls’ engagement with these exhibits.  The Exploratorium then went on a three-year journey funded by the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation to explore ways to fold the EDGE design attributes into our exhibits, with a focus on existing exhibits. This was an exciting opportunity to put the EDGE research findings into practice.

The Guide for Practicing Gender Equity in Exhibit Design shares ideas and suggestions, based on the lessons learned first-hand by the Exploratorium team, on how to creatively explore the possibilities of EDGE. This guide is designed to be helpful for anyone on the journey to create more engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) exhibit experiences for girls—no matter where they are starting.

For our team, EDGE is a new, essential way of centering girls’ engagement with STEM exhibits. We hope this guide is useful, wherever you find yourself on the journey toward gender equitable exhibit design.

TEAM MEMBERS

  • photo
    Project Staff
    Exploratorium
  • Eric Dimond
    Principal Investigator
    Exploratorium
  • Janet Petitpas
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Exploratorium
  • IMG 6172
    Project Staff
    Exploratorium
  • Citation

    Funders

    Private Foundation
    Funding Program: The Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation
    NSF
    Funding Program: AISL
    Award Number: 1323806
    Resource Type: Reference Materials | Research and Evaluation Instruments
    Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM
    Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits
    Access and Inclusion: Women and Girls

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