This document describes the summative project evaluation of 5 annual cohorts of STE(A)M teachers, mostly from California, Florida, and New Mexico participating in out-of-school authentic research experiences collecting fossils and learning about geology, biology, and the natural history along the Panama Canal, and their experiences with museums and research collections. The STEM content of this project is based on the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) of animals and plants across the Isthmus of Panama over the past 5 million years. This report also describes the efficacy of sustained
Through Project BUILD, a STAR Library Network (STAR Net) program funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) offered the virtual Dream, Build, Create program which consisted of (1) the award-winning documentary Dream Big: Engineering Our World and (2) five live-streamed panels of diverse engineers (Dream Teams) who shared their stories of what it means to be an engineer.
The external evaluation, conducted by Education Development Center (EDC), aimed to examine how
The Space Science Institute’s (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL), in partnership with the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the University of Virginia (UVA), was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop and implement a 3-year program, Project BUILD (Building Using an Interactive Learning Design). Project BUILD aims to bring together public library staff from six libraries (three rural and three urban) and professional engineers from ASCE to engage youth in grades 2-5 and their families in age-appropriate, technology-rich
With funding from NIH SEPA, OMSI is creating a mid-sized travelling exhibition that will promote public understanding of neuroscience research and its relevance to healthy brain development in early childhood.
The purpose of this report is to support the project team by assessing the extent to which the prototype activities, content, and labels tested contributed to visitor engagement, understanding, confidence, and future use of one or more strategies outlined. It was important to the project team that the exhibition be developed in collaboration with the communities for whom it is
The Farrell Fellows Summer Internship program consists of teen educators leading science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities for children at libraries and park locations across Chicago. The goal of this study was to learn more about the families who attend the sessions and to also look for evidence of learning and how that may be related to the moods and attitudes of the teen educators. Data was collected through observations of the sessions, pre- and post-session surveys of 26 teen educators, and 90 surveys of the parents of participating children. Field notes were coded using
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), in partnership with scholars from Utah State University and educators from the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM), has developed the Spatial Ability and Blind Engineering Research (SABER) project to assess and improve the spatial ability of blind teens in order to broaden their participation in STEM fields. The goals of the project include:
Contribute to the knowledge base of effective practices regarding informal STEM education for the blind, particularly relating to the development of spatial reasoning abilities.
Educate families, blind
Are you interested in an innovative approach to collecting a large amount of formative data via Facebook? RMC Research Corporation conducted a formative evaluation for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) to ensure the social media tag lines and clips created by OPB engage the target audiences. The primary target audience for the Hacking Your Mind (HYM) television series is the PBS primetime television viewing audience. According to the PBS Research Audience Insight 2016 Annual Report, the PBS primetime audience is older (median age of 65) and college educated (43% have a 4-year degree). To
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Jean Hiebert LarsonChandra LewisCorynn Del Core
The Saint Louis Science Center (SLSC) project Bridging Earth and Mars (BEAM), based upon work supported by NASA under grant award NNX14AD08G, engages the general public and children from schools and community groups. Visitors learn of NASA’s exploration of Mars through exhibits simulating control of robotic rovers on the surface of Mars, as well as related educational programming. Two public exhibition galleries opened on November 21, 2015: (1) Mission: Mars Control, located on the second floor of the SLSC Main Building; and (2) Mission: Mars Base, located in the SLSC Planetarium Building
Program evaluators from the Education Development Center (EDC) used a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design to evaluate the impact on girls’ awareness and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). After the final year of the project, EDC delivered a summative report to Techbridge Girls (TBG), which was based on data collected during the five-year grant period, with a particular focus on the final year that grant funds supported programming (2017-18). Data included pre- and post-surveys with TBG participants and comparison students, participant focus groups, and
The purpose of the Science Center Public Forums project was to engage citizens with NOAA data about climate-related hazards, resilience strategies, and related policies. Forum modules about four climate-related hazards were created, and used as a part of forum programs at eight museums around the US. Evaluation findings are structured around three themes: 1) learning, 2) interest, engagement, and attitudes, and 3) educator outcomes. Data showed high levels of prior knowledge about environmental hazards and interactions between human and natural systems; resilience efforts; and the ways science
This report summarizes the evaluation outcomes of the Collaborative Project Management (CoPM) Institute project, a two-day convening centered on bringing proven project management skills and approaches in the for-profit world to the informal science education (ISE) community to support effective collaborations and successful outcomes. The CoPM Institute was conceptualized as a pilot effort to test the effectiveness of porting of tools and frameworks for collaborative project management from the business/for-profit environment to advance the following project goals:
Build the capacity of
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Amazon Adventure is an Innovations in Development project directed by Pacific Science Center in partnership with: SK Films; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Embodied Games; and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Tangled Bank Studios. The project deliverables produced during the grant period include a giant screen film, live stage presentation for use at informal science education (ISE) institutions, and educational resources.
The centerpiece of the project, the Amazon Adventure film, is a 45-minute giant screen film shown in