This is the second annual report of the formative evaluation of a three-year project, Community STEM Outreach, funded by the Office of Naval Research. Focus of the project is the Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program at the Saint Louis Science Center. The report addresses the following questions: "Why conduct an evaluation?", "Who are the YES teens?", "What happens in YES?", "What are the program's outputs?", "What are the program's impacts?", ""What are the different points-of-view that stakeholders have about YES?", "What areas are important to stakeholders and program success?", "What
In October 2009, the Tennessee Aquarium began an ambitious program, Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean (CTWO), funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CTWO consists of several individual projects, all intended to increase the ocean literacy of Aquarium audiences and to promote their adoption of an ocean stewardship ethic. This evaluation report summarizes the extent to which the Aquarium accomplished these goals over the 3-year project period. The five project components and their key associated evaluation findings follow. 1. Classroom-based activities
The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to study the public art installation and project FLOW: Can You See the River? The project was conceived by visual artist Mary Miss to engage Indianapolis residents with the White River. The study, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), was designed to determine the effects of the FLOW project on Indianapolis residents, particularly in regards to their awareness and perceptions of the White River.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Indianapolis Museum of Art
A NSF EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) was awarded to Principal Investigator John Fraser, PhD, AIA, in collaboration with co-Principal Investigators, Mary Miss and William Solecki, PhD, for City as Living Laboratory for Sustainability in Urban Design (CaLL). The CaLL project explored how public art installations can promote public discussion about sustainability. The project examined the emerging role of artists and visual thinkers as people with the skills to encourage conversation between scientists and the public. The grant supported an experimental installation
The Great Immensity is a play with music created by the New York-based theater company, The Civilians. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), this production explores humans' relationship to the environment focusing on critical issues of conservation and climate change. It premiered at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre (KC Rep) from February 17 through March 18, 2012. This summative evaluation employs the Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects (Friedman 2008) to assess the play and its ancillary programs' impact on adult and student audiences
In August 2009, The Ohio State University at Lima (OSU) received a three-year award from the NSF Division of Research on Learning Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Program for It's About Discovery (IAD). IAD was a partnership between OSU Lima, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and regional rural schools in Northwest Ohio and North Carolina that equipped teachers to teach new Ford Partnership for Advanced Study (PAS) science curriculum, focused on the theme of Working Towards Sustainability. Ford PAS is focused on transforming teaching and learning
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Rucha LondheOhio State UniversityUniversity of North Carolina GreensboroMarkeisha GrantColleen ManningIrene F Goodman
The Koshland Youth Research Lab (Research Lab) began as an eight-month pilot program funded by the DEK Family Fund at the San Francisco Foundation. The project (initially implemented in 2011) used frontend and formative evaluation to develop the program in line with the needs and interests of its target audience of Hispanic youth. The summative evaluation took place in the last month of the program (December 2011). Researchers from UXR Consulting, Inc. were engaged to conduct all phases of the evaluation. This report includes the interview protocol and surveys used in the study.
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Jes A. KoepflerKoshland Science Museum
The overall goal of the project was to convene a large-scale, open conference on public participation in scientific research, bringing together science researchers, project leaders, educators, technology specialists, evaluators, and others from across many disciplines to discuss advancing the field of PPSR. The conference included three sessions for posters and conversations, and five plenary sessions of presentations. The meeting culminated in an open meeting to explore strategies for large-scale collaborations to support and advance work across this field of practice, through the development
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Joe E HeimlichPublic Participation in Scientific Research
This summative evaluation of Ocean Bound! was conducted by Serrell & Associates for the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY. The main message of the exhibition was: What we do on land not only affects the local environment, it affects the ocean as well. A healthy watershed means a healthier ocean. Four methods were used to collect data: unobtrusive tracking; pre-visit interviews; post-visit questionnaires; and a post-visit activity. Visitor comments and feedback showed strong evidence of understanding the exhibition's main concepts and included references to specific content from 7 of the 11 exhibits
Dimensions of Public Engagement with Science is a project funded through the National Science Foundation's pathways grant. It was designed to explore the relationship between Public Engagement with Science (PES), which involves mutual learning between experts and publics, and Public Understanding of Science (PUS), where information is transferred one-way from experts to publics, within Informal Science Education (ISE). To look at how PES and PUS were being incorporated into current and recent activities, the project team compiled a catalog of case summaries from institutions around the world
The University of Central Florida (UCF) received funding from the National Science Foundation through the Informal Science Education program (# 0638977) to create a series of exhibits entitled Water's Journey through the Everglades (Water's Journey). The project deliverables included ten kiosks integrated into an expansion of the Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) in Fort Lauderdale, FL, with the new exhibition areas opening in November 2011. The kiosks model aspects of Florida's ecosystems and natural history, highlighting the natural balance of the Everglades and the interplay between
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Susan FoutzKara HershorinUniversity of Central FloridaMuseum of Discovery and Science
Portal to the Public (PoP) is a proven, scalable guiding framework for Informal Science Educators (ISE) to engage scientists and public audiences in face-to-face interactions that promote appreciation and understanding of current scientific research and its application. The PoP approach has two important characteristics that set it apart for other efforts: PoP (1) focused exclusively on interactions between scientists and general public visitors; and (2) included professional development for the scientists interacting with the public. The three collaborating museums (Pacific Science Center