This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. The aim of this project is to foster activities in science museums through which public audiences can engage with scientists and engineers in conversations about what synthetic biology is, how research is carried out, and the potential products, outcomes, and implications for society of this work. Researchers and publics will explore personal and societal values and priorities as well as research outcomes so that both groups can learn from each other.
This is a report of a project titled ‘The Contribution of Natural History Museums to Science Education’, funded by the Wellcome Trust and ESRC with a Phase 1 grant from the Science Learning+ initiative. The project explored how Natural History Museums (NHMs) and schools can complement one another to maximise learning among school-age learners, and researched the long-term benefits to learning and engagement with science that NHMs can provide. During the course of our work, our team, which consisted of museum professionals and academics in the UK and the US, worked in the UK and the US with
In 2014 Poets House received a planning grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for Discovering the Natural World through Poetry at Libraries & Natural History Museums. Activities included discussions among the project team about how to support learning in a hybrid program; a two-day set of pilot public event experiments at the Oakland Museum of California and the Oakland Public Library; and a one-day workshop for poets, scientists, museum and library leaders, and researchers to explore the potential of poetry and science to promote deeper public connection to the natural world
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Magnetic Neighborhood is an interactive where visitors build their ideal neighborhood on a cookie tray using magnets of various urban features.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. DEVISE was conceived to address the need for improved evaluation quality and capacity across the field of citizen science.
In 2011 the Bishop Museum and two collaborating organizations, University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UH) and the Pacific Voyaging Society (PVS), were awarded a multi-year grant from the Native Hawaiian Education Program (NHEP) to develop classroom and dockside curricula, an online resource center for educators, teacher workshops, a planetarium show, and a field-trip program for middle school students. The overall goal of these educational products and programs is to make STEM content accessible to Native Hawaiian students by presenting it through the lens of ancient Hawaiian navigational systems.
To inform development of the Curious by Nature exhibit and related programs, staff at the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (JMZ) wants to hear from parents. Staff are especially interested in the experience of families with children who have special needs. In recent years the JMZ has developed an audience in this community of often close-knit friends and organizations. JMZ is also part of a successful collaboration with Abilities United and PACE (Pacific Autism Center for Education) in which disabled adults volunteer in the Zoo on a weekly basis. The institution’s intimate nature, good design and
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Wendy MeluchPalo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (JMZ) is working to create an accessible facility from the ground up as they plan for a new building, zoo habitats, and exhibits. During construction of the new JMZ the institution will occupy a temporary space in Palo Alto. The new JMZ is scheduled to open in 2019.
To inform their planning process, Tina Keegan, Exhibits Director at JMZ, contracted with Wendy Meluch of Visitor Studies Services (the evaluator) to conduct community conversation with two groups of parents on site at the Museum. Staff reached out to JMZ members and visitors, and local
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Wendy MeluchPalo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
The Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo offers a satisfying mix of interactive exhibit experiences, close-up animal viewing, and a warm, welcoming staff in a small-scale setting which makes it easily manageable for families with special needs. In recent years the JMZ has attracted and embraced this audience of often close-knit friends and organizations. In addition to an ongoing dialog with visitors at the institution, on multiple occasions JMZ has invited families to participate in community conversations to share their perspectives, experiences and suggestions.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Wendy MeluchPalo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
Adams, Gupta, and Cotumaccio examine the STEM interest and identity development of a small group of young women of color who participated in a multi-year, museum-based, out-of-school time program as middle and high school students. Through their positive experiences in the program, participants developed positive STEM identities, which supported their persistence as STEM college majors.
Citizen Science 2015 was the inaugural conference of the Citizen Science Association (CSA). The conference planned for two days of building connections and exchanging ideas across a wide spectrum of disciplines and experiences and was held February 11th and 12th in San Jose, California, as a pre-conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Annual Meeting.
In addition to the other strands, a specific strand dedicated to education was held to identify opportunities and strategies to support the integration of citizen science into the Science, Technology
Bathgate, Schunn, and Correnti investigate students’ motivation toward science across three dimensions: the context or setting, the way in which students interact with science materials or ideas, and the activity topic. Findings point to the importance of understanding children’s perceptions of specific science topics, not just science in general.