How can we begin to chart a course toward a future for science museums in which we maintain our status as sources of trusted information, while also fulfilling our potential as sites of genuine participation and social interaction? In 2019, with funding from the National Science Foundation, the New York Hall of Science hosted a three day conference to discuss new and equitable approaches to exhibit design. With leading exhibit designers, educators, researchers, and community engagement specialists, we began to rethink the exhibit design process, toward a goal of helping our museums become more
Although virtual conferences have become commonplace in the age of COVID-19, this format poses both challenges and opportunities for organizers to design, implement, and engage participants in productive and connected ways. We created this brief to share an example of the process and lessons learned as we designed and hosted a virtual NSF-funded conference called: Mapping Connections Between STEM and Social-Emotional Development (SED) in Out-of-School Time (OST) Programs. This conference focused on identifying outcomes at the interface of STEM and SED in OST research and practice (e.g
This is a report from Workshop IV, part of the Support Systems for Scientists' Communication and Engagement workshop series. Workshop IV was held May 2-3, 2018 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA. In this study, researchers sought to explore and understand the mechanisms, motivations, and outcome metrics utilized by individuals and organizations that facilitate scientists’ communication with the public. To capture the full range of engagement methods, facilitators from a wide variety of organizations were contacted and interviewed. After contacting 30 leaders the realm of science
Scientists (and engineers) wishing to conduct public engagement do so in the context of established disciplinary norms and complex institutional systems that may support or limit their success. This report seeks to convey the known complexity, unique challenges, and opportunities for universities to better support for scientists in their public engagement work. The report is intended to drive discussion towards deeper exploration and development of actionable next steps.
This is a report from Workshop III: Academic Institutions, part of the Support Systems for Scientists' Communication and
This report summarizes the Generating Engagement and New Initiatives for All Latinos (GENIAL) Summit, which was held on June 5–6, 2017, at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California. With generous support from the National Science Foundation, 91 participants, a mix of practitioners, community leaders, media specialists, government officials, policy professionals, and researchers from across the United States and Puerto Rico attended the Summit.
With generous support from the National Science Foundation, the Exploratorium held the Generating Engagement and New Initiatives for All Latinos (GENIAL) Summit on June 5–6, 2017, in San Francisco, California. The goals of the GENIAL Summit were to:
- Identify needs and opportunities for Latinos in informal science learning (ISL) environments.
- Facilitate and strengthen professional relationships.
- Identify recommendations, emerging research questions, and actionable insights with an outlook toward the future.
- Contribute to a more informed ISL field.
A total of 91 participants, a
With generous support from the National Science Foundation, the Exploratorium held the Generating Engagement and New Initiatives for All Latinos (GENIAL) Summit on June 5–6, 2017, in San Francisco, California. The goals of the GENIAL Summit were to:
-Identify needs and opportunities for Latinos in Informal Science Learning (ISL) environments.
- Facilitate and strengthen professional relationships.
-Identify recommendations, emerging research questions, and actionable insights with an outlook toward the future.
-Contribute to a more informed ISL field.
A total of 91 participants, a mix
Improving STEM education in and out of schools depends on the collaborative efforts of educators, policy makers, education researchers, and community leaders. One promising strategy for structuring such collaborations is research-practice partnerships (RPPs) that bring researchers and educators together for sustained joint work around a key problem of practice of mutual concern. In June 2014, the Research + Practice (R+P) Collaboratory held two workshops focused on building capacity for research-practice partnerships in conjunction with the 11th International Conference of the Learning
As a part of the strategy to reach the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Science Education and Public Outreach Forum Objective 1.2: Provide resources and opportunities to enable sharing of best practices relevant to SMD education and public outreach (E/PO), the Informal Education Working Group members designed a nationally-distributed online survey to answer the following questions: 1. How, when, where, and for how long do informal educators prefer to receive science, mathematics, engineering, and/or technology content professional development? 2. What are the professional development and