This poster, which was presented at the Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference on October 22, 2017, compares and contrasts evaluation findings across components of the Beyond Spaceship Earth project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The project focuses on educating families and students about life and work aboard the International Space Station and generating interest in STEM topics and careers. Project components reviewed include an exhibit, a space object theater, and workshop-style programs focused on engineering and robotics for both families and school
Summary
Girlstart’s mission is to increase girls’ interest and engagement in STEM through innovative, nationally-recognized informal STEM education programs. Girlstart examines in this report how STEM education directed toward elementary school girls influences long-term readiness and participation to math and science learning. This report compares Girlstart After School participants’ academic performance to nonparticipant performance. Specifically, it examines how Girlstart After School influences science STAAR performance and course enrollment in subsequent elementary and early middle
The Boston Schools Environmental Initiative (BSEI) program worked with several Boston Public schools to foster “hands-on, minds-on” science and environmental awareness. The overall finding from this evaluation, conducted over four academic years, was that the longer a school participated in the BSEI program, the more the culture and operations of the school changed in the direction of the intended BSEI outcomes. BSEI is a program of Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center (BNC), which places a teacher naturalist part time in each school, and provides ongoing professional development and project
In 2013, Shedd Aquarium launched a pilot Teacher Badging program with a set of Great Lakes Science Certified badges. Badges include Intro to Badging, Great Lakes Basics, Invasive Species Defined, Environmental Literacy, Science Literacy, and 21st Century Skills, culminating in the achievement of the Great Lakes Science Certified badge. Each badge includes 3-7 missions that teachers must complete to be awarded a given badge. As of December 31, 2013, 262 people have logged into the site, with 499.75 contact hours recorded in 1140 completed missions. The project was partially funded by the USDA
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
John G. Shedd AquariumHeather SchneiderStephanie Bohr