FETCH, a children's television series produced by WGBH since 2005, is a competition-based game/reality show for 6-10 year-old children that includes both animation and live action footage. Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG), a research firm specializing in the evaluation of educational programs, materials, and services, served as the external evaluator for the FETCH series in Season Two. GRG's evaluation focused on the science and engineering challenges presented in the show, and assessed the influence of the series on children's understanding of science and engineering concepts and processes
In MIT’s NSF-funded Terrascope Youth Radio (TYR) program, urban youth, many from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences, worked as paid interns who received training in radio production, reporting and writing stories with scientific content and audio storytelling to create environmentally oriented audio pieces that were engaging and relevant to their own and their peers’ lives. Teen interns participated between July 2008 and Autumn 2012. TYR’s goals were to improve a broad audience of teens’ engagement with, knowledge of, and attitudes about science, technology, engineering, and
In 2012, Concord Evaluation Group (CEG) conducted an evaluation of the impact of Peep and the Big Wide World (Peep) resources on Spanish-speaking families with preschool-aged children. The three-pronged evaluation included a National Family Study in which 112 Spanish-speaking families who used the Peep resources were compared to Spanish-speaking families who did not use the Peep resources. It also included an In-Depth Family Study -- an experiment conducted in the metro Boston area in which 36 Spanish-speaking families who used the Peep resources were compared to Spanish-speaking families who
In August 2009, the Program Evaluation and Research Group (PERG) at Lesley University contracted with the project's PI at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to evaluate My Dome: Defining the Computational and Cognitive Potential of Real Time Interactive Simulations in an Immersive Dome Environment, an NSF funded grant. The project focuses on creating interactive experiences in immersive virtual environments, and builds off previous work the PI and co PIs have done in developing films and immersive experiences in domes and traveling domes. The project includes staff from the Carnegie Museum
Dimensions of Public Engagement with Science is a project funded through the National Science Foundation's pathways grant. It was designed to explore the relationship between Public Engagement with Science (PES), which involves mutual learning between experts and publics, and Public Understanding of Science (PUS), where information is transferred one-way from experts to publics, within Informal Science Education (ISE). To look at how PES and PUS were being incorporated into current and recent activities, the project team compiled a catalog of case summaries from institutions around the world
The Workshop to Explore Engaging Broader Publics in Conversations about Assessment of the Societal Implications of New and Emerging Directions in Science and Technology (ECAST Workshop) was created to explore network-building activities to more broadly involve the public in deliberations about the assessment of technology. The workshop aimed to develop models for leveraging the work done by ECAST (Expert & Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology), and specifically expand the reach of the World Wide Views (WWViews) on Biodiversity deliberations. The project team wanted to brainstorm ways
WGBH Boston (wgbh.org) was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to, in part, develop outreach materials based on the children's television series FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman. The outreach materials were designed to help typically underserved kids learn about science in informal camp or after-school settings. The centerpiece of this effort was the Camp FETCH! Guide (the Guide). The Guide is meant for anyone who wants to lead hands-on science activities with six- to ten-year-olds: camp counselors, afterschool providers, teachers, librarians, museum staff, and others. WGBH hired
This report presents visitors' perceptions of out-of-date and up-to-date exhibits at the Museum of Science, Boston. The purpose of this study was to learn about specific exhibits that visitors' view as outdated and any characteristics that influence visitors' opinions in this regard. For this report, data were collected in three stages between December 2009 and June 2010. Data from an exit interview, a prompted camera interview, and a post-refurbishment interview provide suggestions for the Exhibit Department to consider as they prioritize exhibits they plan to refurbish or replace. The
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ann Lindgren-StreicherMarta BeyerIyar MazarMuseum of Science
WGBH has produced NOVA scienceNOW (NsN) since 2005, with major funding from the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Alfred. P. Sloan Foundation. Along with the associated web site and outreach initiative, all NsN resources share the overarching goals of: (a) increasing the public's use of multimedia resources to learn about current science research, (b) increasing public awareness and understanding of cutting edge science content and its relevance to their lives, and (b) increasing public engagement in science-related activities. Goodman Research Group
The Luce Foundation Center (LFC) of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (hearafter, American Art or the Museum) ran an alternate reality game (ARG) titled PHEON as an online game application on Facebook from October 2010 through September 2011. The game built upon the success of the Museum's previous ARG, Ghosts of a Chance (GOAC; Goodlander, 2009). In the Facebook game, players accepted missions inspired by the Museum's collections, completed them in the real world, and uploaded evidence in order to win points and progress through the game. Despite an established audience of GOAC players
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jes A. KoepflerSmithsonian American Art Museum
In October 2007, The Franklin Institute Science Museum (FI) in partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia was awarded a 5-year National Science Foundation grant to build a model museum/library partnership. This partnership project, called LEAP into Science, integrates science content and inquiry into an existing afterschool program at the Library, called LEAP. More specifically, LEAP into Science has three overarching goals: 1) To increase the capacity of influential adults for science teaching and learning; 2) To increase the capacity of libraries for science teaching and learning; 3)
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jessica LukeFranklin InstituteJeanine E. AnceletClaudia Figueiredo
In 2001, The Franklin Institute Science Museum (TFI) received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop and implement Parent Partners in School Science (PPSS). A year project, PPSS was designed to demonstrate how a science museum can facilitate K-4 children's science learning in and out of school, working with teachers and parents from 3 urban elementary schools in Philadelphia. More specifically, three goals have informed the implementation of PPSS: 1) Promote science teaching at the elementary level; 2) Cultivate home-school collaboration in support of students' science
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jessica LukeFranklin Institute Science MuseumMartha Washington Academics PlusOlney Elementary SchoolR.B. Pollock Elementary SchoolSusan Foutz