Perot Museum of Nature and Science will expand its museum-based professional development offerings for Dallas-area teachers by launching, testing, and evaluating a scalable Perot Museum STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Teacher Institute and Mentor Program. Participating K-12 teachers will attend a weeklong, intensive "Summer Academies at the Museum" designed to measurably improve the quality of formal science instruction in public, charter, private, and parochial schools by creating and sustaining a collaborative formal and informal STEM learning community. The museum aims to increase teachers' knowledge of science content as well as their competence, confidence, creativity, and consistency in science instruction through this program, and ultimately increase interest and engagement among their students in STEM subjects.
The Long Island Children's Museum, in partnership with the Westbury School District, will expand its Westbury STEM Partnership program to provide additional professional development and ongoing support for teachers, and experiential STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning opportunities for both first- and second-grade students in their classrooms and at the museum. The program will support inquiry-based, hands-on STEM learning in a high-need school district neighboring the museum, provide professional development to teachers, bring students to the museum to experience exhibits and programs, and make the museum's education staff available to educators for mentoring and content support as they integrate new teaching strategies into their classrooms. The project will promote improved STEM teaching and student learning by supporting teachers in integrating inquiry-based teaching strategies, enriching experiential learning for students both in and out of the classroom, and strengthening local school and community partnerships.
Monterey Bay Aquarium will provide to 130 middle school teachers its yearlong Project-Based Science Institute professional development program covering strategies for implementing ocean science and conservation project-based science in the classroom. The program includes two levels: Level I Institute will introduce teachers to the concepts, strategies, and examples of how to implement project-based science in the classroom. Level II Institute will provide additional support through one-on-one coaching, collaborative problem-solving and a focus on longer-term, student-run projects including data collection and analysis. By implementing these strategies, teachers will have the tools to positively impact student STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning outcomes and expose children to interesting, real-world science experiences.
Sciencenter will develop and deliver "Science from the Start," a program to empower parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators to integrate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) into everyday activities for preschool children. Using workshops to help parents, caregivers, and educators engage children in science discovery, the museum will provide support, training, and inquiry-based activities to increase their comfort and knowledge of methods to encourage their children's STEM learning. "Science from the Start" will increase the museum's capacity in early childhood education and disseminate results to science and technology centers to promote a deeper understanding of the importance of early childhood education as the foundation for lifelong learning.
The Missouri Botanical Garden will work with six urban schools, to create new educational opportunities for teachers and students who use the garden's institutional research as a foundation for STEM Programming (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Students in the program will focus on one of three core garden research themes: medicinal uses of plants, plants as a food source, or the ecological value of plants. Anchored by multiple field experiences at the garden and its satellite sites, follow up programming, and teacher professional development, the program will be aligned with state standards to address concerns with student proficiency in the STEM disciplines.
Science Museum of Minnesota will create three live theater productions highlighting current laboratory and field research studies of science issues with strong topical relevance to families with school-age children, school groups, and adult lifelong learners. Shows will align with the appropriate grade levels of the Minnesota Science Education Standards in three age levels: early elementary (grades 1–3), upper elementary and middle school (grades 4–8), and high school students and adult learners. The shows will be performed in daily rotation at the museum to entertain, inform, and challenge visitors to reflect on current science issues. Theater staff will disseminate the shows through various national conferences, websites, and professional associations, enabling colleagues nationwide to download the scripts free of charge and present topical science issues at their own museums.
The Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens will link and integrate its digital geographic information system (GIS) to its plant collections database, making possible the creation of GIS-derived applications that will ultimately impact all areas of the museum's operations. Following the system integration, the institution will develop applications and train staff members on how to develop GIS-derived applications tailored to enhance the learning experiences of visitors and program participants. The integrated database will serve as a resource that will positively impact learning experiences for the gardeners who maintain the plant collections, visitors to the garden, participants in education programs, and people accessing information online. The project will also help demonstrate the potential of spatial data to benefit collections-management activities and public programming.
The Magic House will research, develop, fabricate, and assess a new early childhood STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) exhibit for children ages two through six. The museum will create a new guided field trip program and a professional development workshop to support early childhood educators in STEM instruction, in addition to a 1,500-square-foot learning environment that will present age-appropriate STEM learning experiences, content, and programming that align with state and national educational standards for science and math. Through interaction with the exhibit, young children will be engaged in self-directed activities that promote STEM exploration and learning, teachers will find support and inspiration for their instruction of STEM, and parents, caregivers, and other adults will be provided with the tools and resources to foster children's STEM learning.
Poets House will plan for a national project that will combine scientific knowledge with the expressive art of poetry. The planning project will lay the groundwork for a five to six city national program that will offer 1) public poetry-and-science programs at libraries and natural history museums; 2) poetry enhanced exhibits at natural history museums and libraries; and 3) self-directed learning through poetry and science resources at public libraries. The planning project will bring together experts in science, natural history museums, libraries, and poetry to share information; test-pilot public programs on both the East and West coasts, including a poetry-enhanced tour of natural history exhibits at the Oakland Museum; and determine the content, protocols and strategy for implementing a multi-city national program.
The Detroit Zoo will develop an innovative partnership to help underrepresented students achieve success in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) higher education and careers. The “Learning Classroom—Community of Practice” project will bring together the zoo’s informal educators and STEM content experts with partners at the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program and Oakland University’s School of Education and Human Services in four workshops designed to create a shared language, vision and values around program development and implementation. The group will develop methods for addressing developmental needs of youth while providing science education relating to wildlife conservation and environmental stewardship. They will also build a process for bringing new members into the collaborative with the ultimate goal of delivering large and sustained STEM projects in the metropolitan Detroit area. While focusing on creating a positive impact on STEM achievement and success in Detroit area youth, the project will identify aspects of the process that can be replicable in other regions.
Natural History museums have identified a need to transform their traditional spaces into vital forces for science education. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) will implement “Seeing as a Scientist,” a design-based research initiative to develop and test gallery interventions that have the potential to increase scientific observation skills for family groups. Working with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE), CMNH will pilot a series of quick changes and additions to dioramas and outline expectations for each. Visitors will be observed to measure the degree of engagement in scientific observation (deliberate looking in order to understand visual evidence)--an essential skill for learning across scientific disciplines. The four most promising interventions will be evaluated to determine which are most successful in providing the necessary support for families to establish shared focus and two-way, science-based conversation. The project will include a blog to share information and to disseminate the results to other museums.
The New York City Department of Education will build a digital gateway for students and teachers called “Project ECS@ESC: Encouraging Connections through STEM” at the Environmental Study Center. This will offer rich and engaging experiential environmental science programs for students and teachers at all grade levels. The project will develop a digital depository of educational materials and digital resources that connect instructional content and programs. Educators and students will access the instructional resources beyond the walls of ESC, facilitating STEM-focused inquiry experiences in the classroom and utilizing instructional materials, e-content, and digital resources. It will also create a digital depository using Springshare’s Libguides, an online content management system, to provide e-content focused on STEM topics and themes.