The Multi-Site Public Engagement with Science—Synthetic Biology (MSPES) initiative was an Innovations in Development project funded by the National Science Foundation (DRL-1421179) through the Advancing of Informal STEM Learning program (AISL). MSPES promoted public engagement with science (PES)—a model of mutual dialogue and learning between public and scientist audiences—through the creation and distribution of PES kits to nearly 200 informal science education sites around the country. Kits included two types of learning experiences: (1) forum programs during which scientists and teen or
NOVA Labs (pbs.org/nova/labs) is a free digital platform that engages teens and lifelong learners in activities and games that foster authentic scientific exploration. From building RNA molecules and designing renewable energy systems to tracking cloud movements and learning cybersecurity strategies, NOVA Labs participants can take part in real-world investigations by visualizing, analyzing, and playing with the same data that scientists use. Each Lab focuses on a different area of active research. But all of them illustrate key concepts with engaging and informative videos, and guide participants as they answer scientific questions or design solutions to current problems. Supporting pages on each Lab site explain the purpose and functions of the Lab, help teachers incorporate it into their classrooms, foster collaboration between users, and help users make connections to the broader world of STEM. Users are encouraged to explore potential career paths through “Meet the Scientists” profiles, and to obtain information about local and national STEM resources.
This poster shows the development of the project Scientists for Tomorrow during the three years of its implementation: two first years under the full funding of the NSF and the third year as a no-cost extension. Also the poster describes how the project was incorporating more community centers and with it more participants through the development of the "self-sustained" mode of implementation. The poster introduces also the next step of the project - the Scientists for Tomorrow - National Alliance.
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), with six science centers across the U.S., will develop, implement, and evaluate the National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS), a three-year full-scale development project to increase informal learning opportunities for blind youth in STEM. Through partnerships and companion research, the NCBYS will lead to greater capacity to engage the blind in informal STEM learning. The NCBYS confronts a critical area of need in STEM education, and a priority for the AISL program: the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in STEM. Educators are often unaware of methods to deliver STEM concepts to blind students, and students do not have the experience with which to advocate for accommodations. Many parents of blind students are ill-equipped to provide support or request accessible STEM adaptations. The NCBYS will expose blind youth to non-visual methods that facilitate their involvement in STEM; introduce science centers to additional non-visual methods that facilitate the involvement of the blind in their exhibits; educate parents as to their students' ability to be independent both inside and outside the STEM classroom; provide preservice teachers of blind students with hands-on experience with blind students in STEM; and conduct research to inform a field that is lacking in published material. The NCBYS will a) conduct six regional, two-day science programs for a total of 180 blind youth, one day taking place at a local science center; b) conduct concurrent onsite parent training sessions; c) incorporate preservice teachers of blind students in hands-on activities; and d) perform separate, week-long, advanced-study residential programs for 60 blind high school juniors and seniors focused on the design process and preparation for post-secondary STEM education. The NCBYS will advance knowledge and understanding in informal settings, particularly as they pertain to the underrepresented disability demographic; but it is also expected that benefits realized from the program will translate to formal arenas. The proposed team represents the varied fields that the project seeks to inform, and holds expertise in blindness education, STEM education, museum education, parent outreach, teacher training, disability research, and project management. The initiative is a unique opportunity for science centers and the disability population to collaborate for mutual benefit, with lasting implications in informal STEM delivery, parent engagement, and teacher training. It is also an innovative approach to inspiring problem-solving skills in blind high school students through the design process. A panel of experts in various STEM fields will inform content development. NCBYS advances the discovery and understanding of STEM learning for blind students by integrating significant research alongside interactive programs. The audience includes students and those responsible for delivering STEM content and educational services to blind students. For students, the program will demonstrate their ability to interface with science center activities. Students will also gain mentoring experience through activities paired with younger blind students. Parents and teachers of blind students, as well as science center personnel, will gain understanding in the experiences of the blind in STEM, and steps to facilitate their complete involvement. Older students will pursue design inquiries into STEM at a more advanced level, processes that would be explored in post-secondary pursuits. By engaging these groups, the NCBYS will build infrastructure in the informal and formal arenas. Society benefits from the inclusion of new scientific minds, resulting in a diverse workforce. The possibility for advanced study and eventual employment for blind students also reduces the possibility that they would be dependent upon society for daily care in the future. The results of the proposed project will be disseminated and published broadly through Web sites; e-mail lists; social media; student-developed e-portfolios of the design program; an audio-described video; and presentations at workshops for STEM educators, teachers of blind students, blind consumer groups, researchers in disability education, and museum personnel.
Roto, an exhibition design and production firm, contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation of Speed, an exhibition being developed for The Science Museum of Virginia (SMV) in Richmond, Virginia. RK&A explored visitors’ thoughts, perceptions, and understandings of exhibition concepts related to speed, defined as change over time. How did we approach this study? RK&A worked closely with Roto to identify the goals and objectives for the Speed exhibition. Findings from the front-end evaluation were designed to help Roto and SMV find common ground between
Project LIFTOFF works with local, regional, and national partners to engineer statewide systems for Informal Science Education that inspire: YOUTH to pursue STEM education and careers through increased opportunities for quality, hands-on STEM learning. AFTERSCHOOL STAFF to facilitate STEM learning experiences that contribute to the overall STEM education and aspirations of youth in their programs. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS to encourage and support staff in the integration of STEM enrichment into the daily programming. STATE LEADERS to sustain and expand afterschool learning opportunities so that all students have access to engaging STEM experiences outside of the regular school day. Project LIFTOFF is dedicated to the development of the following essential elements of statewide systems for informal science education:
Access to appropriate STEM Curriculum for youth of all ages, abilities, and socio-cultural backgrounds that meets the needs and interests of individual community programs
Systematic STEM Professional Development that matches individual skills in positive youth development with abilities to facilitate discovery and science learning
A diverse Cadres of Trainers who will deliver the professional development, technical assistance and curriculum dissemination in their local communities
Authentic Evaluation of informal science efforts that determine the impacts on youth aspirations and the capacity of youth programs to provide quality STEM experiences
Local STEM education leadership to identify the ways in which collaborative education efforts can advance the development of 21st Century Skills and the preparedness for STEM workforce and higher education
Partnerships in support of youth development and informal science education that convene local, regional, and statewide organizations and stakeholders
To advance national initiatives and states' sySTEM engineering efforts, LIFTOFF coordinates an annual convening, the Midwest Afterschool Science Academy, that brings together national informal science experts, system leaders and youth development professionals to elevate the levels of science after school. The 5th MASA will be in the spring of 2014 in Kansas City, MO
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Missouri AfterSchool NetworkJeff Buehler
This summative evaluation of the exhibition Robots & Us was designed to investigate how visitor audiences used and experienced this exhibition in relation to the project’s objectives and challenges. Visitors’ expectations and perceptions in relation to the project’s content goals prompted the summative evaluation to focus on specific challenges including: attitudes and perceptions about technology, connections between robots and people, appeal to a broad audience, and reactions to specific exhibits.
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Jeff HaywardJolene HartScience Museum of Minnesota
The project DIG: Scientists in Alaska's Scenery will perform proof-of-concept on integrating a tourist's visit with place-based stories of meaningful science research in the Arctic. DIG (Digitally Integrated Guide) will widen the general public's interaction with the cultural and natural environment by allowing them to access Web sites and load their handheld mobile devices with engaging descriptions of research. Access can occur before, during, or after their visit - even if the visit takes them far from computers, electricity and the Internet. The creation of user-friendly access to technology and to scientists' stories will provide a new information tool for the public. For these tourists, or others interested in research in Alaska, opportunities to learn directly from the scientists themselves are almost non-existent. Moreover, tourists have no capability to link such research with places they visit. DIG's place-based outreach will be delivered using standard media (broadcast TV, publications) and social media (Web, facebook, twitter, etc.) and mobile devices. DIG demonstration project will join scientists, Alaska Native peoples, tourists, media makers, interpreters and technology experts in inquiry-based learning designed to maximize engagement by the general public. The radically different approach to Arctic-focused science documentary proposed here fosters the close collaboration of the scientist and media maker. Video podcasts (vodcasts) and supporting Web-based materials will be created for three current research projects in Alaska, with a focus on NSF-funded projects. Such projects include anthropology and cultural/linguistic study, paleontology, climate change research, biology, and other areas. Delivery and evaluation will emphasize tourists who visit, or are planning to visit, the National Parks of Alaska. These tourists are accessible to the research team, and they are motivated to seek out information about the places they are visiting. If successful, our approach to science education and outreach will augment their knowledge about research in Alaska, resulting in a deeper and more informed experience.
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Gregory NewbyLiz O'ConnellDeborah Perry
Bio Med Tech: Engineering for Your Health was a 2,750 square foot exhibition at the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) that dealt with issues related to biomedical technology. Partially funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Awards program (NIH/SEPA), the project was developed through a partnership between GLSC and Case Western Reserve University. The SEPA grant also funded a variety of programming activities, including informal Exploration Cart activities in the exhibition, presentations in the exhibition's theater space, and teacher training
The objective of this youth media project is to provide 14-24 year olds with training and hands-on experience in engineering, and the physical and biological sciences. The project is designed around core practices that engage youth in original research and inquiry through experimentation, development, and creative use of new technologies and tools to communicate STEM to the public. Youth Radio project participants in Oakland, CA, Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC include 540 youth, 80% of whom are low-income and/or youth of color, plus another 400 youth via off-site outreach in schools and community centers. Core deliverables include: (1) "Brains and Beakers," eight live events per year where a visiting STEM researcher brings his/her work out of the lab and onto the stage at Youth Radio facilities, demonstrating key principles and discoveries and interacting with youth participants; (2) "Youth Radio Investigates," an annual 6-part multimedia series, where youth partner with university and industry-based researchers to explore the veracity of scientific claims applied to products and services and they use every day; (3) The "Application Development Lab," where youth develop, create and disseminate online embeddable and downloadable applications (12 annually) that serve real needs in youth communities. The digital media produced by the youth will be broadcast by National Public Radio and distributed online through various sites including iTunes and BoingBoing.net, one of the most frequently visited technology-focused sites on the web. Project advisors include STEM researchers in universities as well as highly experienced and successful new media technology developers. Project partners include National Public Radio, KQED, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Oakland Unified School District. This project builds on the successful prior work (NSF #0610272) that initiated a Science and Technology program within the Youth Radio organization. The summative evaluation by Rockman et al will measure how the program affects students' science and technology knowledge, skills, and attitudes. It will build on the evaluation from the prior NSF funded project (#0610272) that highlighted the organizational and staff growth processes as Youth Radio discovered how to design and implement successful, sustainable STEM programs. Rockman will evaluate the new programs (Youth Investigates, Brains and Beakers, and the Application Lab), measuring the following STEM-related student outcomes/impacts: perceptions of selves as producers/creators of science or technology; attitudes toward science and perceptions of scientists; understanding the process of scientific inquiry and research and/or technology skills development; and understanding or interest in careers in science or technology (based on National Research Council report, 2009). Data will be collected from the youth at the Oakland site and from the other Youth Radio bureaus to determine which aspects of the program transfer to multiple sites and which ones are unique to a specific location or set of circumstances. Methods include surveys of student attitudes, participant focus groups, interim assessments, objective skills assessments, and interviews. This project provides an innovative new model for collaborations between STEM researchers and under-represented youth resulting in digital media that impacts the youth as well as the public's understanding and engagement in science.
NOVA Labs (www.pbs.org/nova/labs) is a web-based platform designed to engage teens and educators with authentic data, scientific games, tools, and opportunities to communicate with and assist working scientists. The present study sought to investigate the outcomes achieved by users of the fourth NOVA Labs platform developed: RNA Lab. The RNA Lab includes several key components of the previous labs (e.g., videos, educator guides, etc.). The major difference is that the RNA Lab “research challenge” is a game component. The NOVA Education team's overarching goals for teens using the Lab focused