This is the final evaluation report from RMC Research Corp. for the PES@LTERs project. Appendix includes instruments.
RMC Research designed evaluation activities to provide formative and summative feedback to Harvard Forest and the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation (Hubbard Brook) on their plan to embed public engagement with science (PES) into the cultures and practices of Long-Term Ecological Research Sites (LTERs) in the northeastern US. The purpose of this project was to build PES mechanisms into long-term ecosystem studies that create on-going, open exchanges between scientists and
This study researched whether and how affiliation with the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) led to change in informal science education organizations’ (ISEs) practices. The NISE Net provided an opportunity to look at how participation in a large but loosely-structured network of museums, science centers, educators, and scientists can influence museums to experience organizational change and adopt new practices.
By conducting qualitative case studies of a few selected partners, this research aimed to understand the conditions that facilitate or impede the influence of
Merging art and science, "Self Reflected" aims to communicate the incredible complexity of the neural signaling in our brains that makes us who we are. The artists, Dr. Greg Dunn and Dr. Brian Edwards, invented a novel technique called reflective microetching to simulate the microscopic behavior of neurons in the viewer’s brain as they observe this work of art. "Self Reflected" is currently on display in the Your Brain exhibit at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. This summative evaluation study explores museum visitors’ behavior, reactions, and learning outcomes as they interact with