RISES (Re-energize and Invigorate Student Engagement through Science) is a coordinated suite of resources including 42 interactive English and Spanish STEM videos produced by Children's Museum Houston in coordination with the science curriculum department at Houston ISD. The videos are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, and each come with a bilingual Activity Guide and Parent Prompt sheet, which includes guiding questions and other extension activities.
In this chapter we present the ways in which institutional cultural differences impact the development and implementation of learning activities in informal settings. Five university-based centers for the study of chemistry worked with informal learning professionals to re-envision educational and public outreach activities about science. The projects were part of a broader effort to catalyze new thinking and innovation in informal education and chemistry centers. The set of projects illustrates the broad possibilities for informal learning settings, with projects targeting diverse audiences
Chemistry plays a critical role in daily life, impacting areas such as medicine and health, consumer products, energy production, the ecosystem, and many other areas. Communicating about chemistry in informal environments has the potential to raise public interest and understanding of chemistry around the world. However, the chemistry community lacks a cohesive, evidence-based guide for designing effective communication activities. This report is organized into two sections. Part A: The Evidence Base for Enhanced Communication summarizes evidence from communications, informal learning, and
This CRPA award demonstrates to the public the unique use of nanoscience in Nature. The Blue Morpho butterfly is large, has blue wings and is eye catching to say the least. Its wings have been shown to exhibit interesting color characteristics under varying conditions. These characteristics and uniqueness are due to nano-molecules that are a chemical construction in the wing structure. Thus, this butterfly is the hook and segues into a discussion of nanoscience and crystal structures in Nature. Furthermore, the exhibit which is referred to as a flex-hibit is small and portable facilitating its use in out-of-museum demonstrations at public events and in rural areas. This is a colorful demonstration that is quick, interesting and reversible so audiences can be entertained for a short 5-10 minutes during which the "scientist" or staff member can briefly discuss nanoscience and how the butterfly uses this disguise. Other scientists may find this flex-hibit idea useful in their desire to demonstrate science concepts, as well. The integration of this work into the NISE network may pay large dividends in helping others with demonstrations. This is a collaboration between Georgia Tech and the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley. This is a colorful demonstration that is quick, interesting and reversible so audiences can be entertained for a short 5-10 minutes during which the "scientist" or staff member can briefly discuss nanoscience and how the butterfly uses this disguise. Other scientists may find this flex-hibit idea useful in their desire to demonstrate science concepts, as well. The integration of this work into the NISE network may pay large dividends in helping others with demonstrations.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded funding to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and Portland State University (PSU) in Portland, Oregon to support a “Connecting Researchers and Public Audiences” (CRPA) project titled ResearchLink: Spotlight on Solar Technologies. The primary goals of CRPA projects are to communicate to the public about specific NSF research projects. This ResearchLink project promoted public awareness of two NSF-funded projects led by Dr. Carl Wamser at PSU, Integrating Green Roofs and Photovoltaic Arrays for Energy Management and Optimization of
The mission of the New Mexico Informal Science Education Network (NM ISE Net) is to provide opportunities and resources for informal educators to work together to impact science teaching, science learning, and science awareness throughout the state of New Mexico. The NM Museum of Natural History and Science leads NM ISE Net with support from NM EPSCoR.
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New Mexico Museum of Natural HistorySelena ConnealyCharlie Walter
ResearchLink: Spotlight on Solar Technologies was a Collaborative Research Connecting Researchers and Public Audiences (CRPA) Project led by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Portland State University, funded by the NSF AISL program from 2012-2014. This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC.
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Portland State University and Oregon Museum of Science and IndustryLauren (Russell) MorenoCarl Wamser
This CRPA award will address the science behind solar energy, its capture, measurements, and uses. It is a collaborative effort between scientists at Portland State University (PSU) and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Materials for the OMSI staff will be prepared by the scientists and the OMSI staff will work with the scientists on making presentations to the public. OMSI will translate information from the exhibits, displays, and presentations into Spanish to engage the Hispanic population. Scientific café?s will be part of this engagement. The PI and OMSI museum have had a working relationship for some time adding to the potential success of the project. The PI and his colleagues at PSU have a major effort going in research on photonic science suggesting that this engagement can continue to be updated as the time goes on. The project will be evaluated by the well established evaluation group at OMSI. Further, Spanish speaking public will be embraced with this material as will rural residents from traveling exhibits and displays.
Research chemists from the Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (CENTC) worked collaboratively with the Liberty Science Center (LSC) to develop a hands-on activity to educate visitors about how small molecules derived from petroleum feedstocks are used to make larger molecules that are then utilized in the production of everyday consumer goods. Researchers, faculty, and students provided the chemistry content and LSC worked with Blue Telescope Studios to create a user-friendly program for the Ideum Multitouch Table. The resulting “Molecule Magic,” an engaging and intuitive
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Center for Enabling New Technology Through Catalysis (CENTC)Abby O'Connor
This article reports on part of a larger study of how 11- and 12-year-old students construct knowledge about electricity and magnetism by drawing on aspects of their experiences during the course of a school visit to an interactive science museum and subsequent classroom activities linked to the science museum exhibits. The significance of this study is that it focuses on an aspect of school visits to informal learning centers that has been neglected by researchers in the past, namely the influence of post-visit activities in the classroom on subsequent learning and knowledge construction
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David AndersonKeith LucasIan GinnsLynn Dierking
The Community STEM Outreach Project at the Saint Louis Science Center (SLSC) received funding from the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR) from October 2010 through September 2013. Klein Consulting, with support from Tisdal Consulting, conducted the evaluation of the three-year project. The original proposal from the SLSC to ONR laid the foundation for the Community STEM Outreach Project by describing the institution and its youth program, the Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program. Plans were underway to reach out to existing and new national partners to document and disseminate a