This document summarizes lessons learned from implementing Leap into Science: Cultivating a National Network for Informal Science and Literacy (Leap into Science) from 2017-2023.
The following summative report describes overarching evaluation findings from the evaluation of Leap into Science, including future considerations for the Leap into Science program team (program team). The report aims to summarize takeaways from 2018-2023 and report on overall insights pertaining to the core evaluation questions of interest.
The goal of this evaluation was to determine how museum visitors responded to the museum's existing live animal exhibits and identify recommendations for their new Live Animal Garden exhibit.
The executive summary of the Formative Research Report for the project: Fostering Joint Parent/Child Engagement in Preschool Computational Thinking by Leveraging Digital Media, Mobile Technology, and Library Settings in Rural Communities.
This is the formative research report for the project: Fostering Joint Parent/Child Engagement in Preschool Computational Thinking by Leveraging Digital Media, Mobile Technology, and Library Settings in Rural Communities
AlegreMENTE: Celebrando Conexiones Tempranas / Happy Brain: Celebrating Early Connections (hereafter referred to as AlegreMENTE) is a traveling exhibition designed for caregivers of children ages 0 to 5, seeking to convey research-based information that caregivers’ playful, loving interactions supports children’s brain development and has lifelong benefits. The bilingual, 1,500 square foot exhibition was developed by the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI). For summative evaluation, the exhibition was installed and tested in two locations OMSI (a science center) and San Jose Children’s
This assessment serves as the summative assessment of the IMLS-funded project at KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum: Natural History Mystery: Immersing families in a problem-solving game using museum collections. The assessment employs a mixed methods approach, in which both quantitative and qualitative data are collected. More specifically, quantitative data are generated from surveys that are administered to participants at the beginning and end of the game and analyzed by using descriptive statistics (i.e., mean, standard deviation, and histogram) and paired sample t-test
This is the summative evaluation report for the “Understanding the Physics of Collaborative Design and Play,” a collaboration between researchers and children’s museum practitioners to design and build a physics-based children’s museum exhibit to provide opportunities for children and their caregivers to tinker with play related to the STEM concepts of momentum, mass, velocity, friction, and balance in the context of informal learning related to skateboarding. The exhibit, “The Science of Skateboarding” at the Iowa Children’s Museum, was designed and fabricated as a result of this grant.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Deb DunkhaseKristen MissallBenjamin DeVane
resourceevaluationProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This evaluation report provides a brief review of the National Science Foundation (NSF) planning grant, Creating an Early Childhood STEM Ecosystem, as of August 2019. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide an external, independent overview of the work completed and some of the lessons learned to date.
This paper reports on a new media-based tool designed to develop new knowledge about joint parent-child participation in science talk and practices using a second screen app synced with a television program, called Splash! Ask-Me: Ocean Adventures (Splash!).[1] With funding from the National Science Foundation, Splash! is an app designed to work in conjunction with a marine science-focused television program, Splash and Bubbles, for children 2-8 years old that premiered nationally on PBS Kids in fall of 2016.
The free app includes a variety of "conversation catalysts" tied to the television
Peg + Cat is a popular broadcast television series, developed by The Fred Rogers Company and airing on PBS, in which a girl named Peg and her sidekick, Cat, solve everyday problems using mathematics, creativity, persistence, and humor. Peg + Cat: Developing Preschoolers’ Early Math Skills was a three-year project, funded by the National Science Foundation, that aimed to impact children’s interest and engagement with mathematics, as well as their development of positive social-emotional skills. The project supported early math learning via the creation of additional Peg + Cat episodes, online
Peg + Cat is a popular broadcast television series, developed by The Fred Rogers Company and airing on PBS, in which a girl named Peg and her sidekick, Cat, solve everyday problems using mathematics, creativity, persistence, and humor. Peg + Cat: Developing Preschoolers’ Early Math Skills was a three-year project, funded by the National Science Foundation, that aimed to impact children’s interest and engagement with mathematics, as well as their development of positive social-emotional skills. The project supported early math learning via the creation of additional Peg + Cat episodes, online