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: 1. Develop and investigate the reliability of a tactile instrument to test blind and low vision youths’ spatial ability levels. 2. Contribute to the knowledge base of effective practices regarding informal STEM
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gary TimkoTheresa GreenDaniel KaneWade GoodridgeLaura Weiss
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
This front-end evaluation study is part of Designing Our Tomorrow: Mobilizing the Next Generation of Engineers, a five-year project (2018–2023) led by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF, DRL-1811617) and project partners: Adelante Mujeres, the Biomimicry Institute, and the Fleet Science Center. The Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT) project seeks to promote and strengthen family engagement and engineering learning via compelling exhibit-based design challenges, presented through the lens of sustainable design exemplified by
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
This document contains the appendices and literature review from the report "Art+Science: Broadening Youth Participation in STEM Learning." It includes assessment tools used during the project.
The Designing Our World (DOW) project centers on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) equity and addresses the need for more youth, especially girls, to pursue engineering and fill vital workforce gaps. DOW will integrate tested informal science education (ISE) programs and exhibits with current knowledge of engaging diverse youth through activities embedded in a social context. Led by teams of diverse community stakeholders and in partnership with several local girl-serving organizations, DOW will leverage existing exhibits, girls’ groups, and social media to impact girls’
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Oregon Museum of Science and IndustryAnne Sinkey
Front-end and formative evaluation of the Science Museum of Minnesota's Invention, Design, Engineering, and Art (IDEA) Cooperative youth development program was carried out from June 2008 - May 2009. The front-end and formative evaluation activities were guided by four overarching questions. 1. To what extent are youth able to apply IT and engineering process skills to design challenges? Can they come up with multiple solutions to challenges? Are they persistent problem solvers? 2. To what extent does the program provide youth with the necessary resources to help youth prepare for both
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Amy Grack NelsonMelissa FitzenbergerKathleen MillerClaire Phillippe
resourceevaluationMuseum and Science Center Programs
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is a National Science Foundation funded project which developed a national traveling exhibition on science and technology themes depicted in the Star Wars movies. The Museum of Science, Boston (MOS) developed the exhibition in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. and Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC). The exhibition will travel to members of the SMEC in Los Angeles, Portland, Fort Worth, St. Paul, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Boston. Other venues will display the exhibition after the Collaborative tour. Tisdal Consulting was contracted to
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 Salmon Camp Research Team (SCRT) project was created to address the under-representation of Native Americans in information technology (IT) and IT-intensive professions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) partnered with the Native American Youth and Family Association (NAYA) under renewed National Science Foundation funding to strengthen community involvement and work directly with students year round. The 2007-2008 evaluation of the project found evidence of effective implementation and data on important student
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Phyllis AultOregon Museum of Science and Industry
Given its ongoing commitment to universal design and the integration of technologies into the museum experience, the Museum of Science decided to employ a handheld Multimedia Tour to accompany Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, an exhibition about the real world meeting Star Wars technologies. With the help of leading tour guide developer, Antenna Audio, a 22-stop tour was produced featuring narration, Behind the Scenes interviews with individuals who had worked on the films, Star Wars film clips, still photos and the ability to send information home. An American Sign Language version
This study was conducted to document how members of the Design Challenges team currently assist visitors as they engage in engineering design activities as a way of informing the practices of informal technology education at the Museum of Science about the types of scaffolds and supports visitors need when engaging in future engineering design labs in exhibitions. To collect data for this study, educators from the Design Challenges team were observed as they helped visitors complete the Solar Cars activity in Investigate! The Solar Cars activity was not designed as an engineering design lab