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 Spring 2022, Monterey Bay Aquarium opened its new exhibition, Into the Deep (En lo Profundo). The 7,000+ square-foot exhibition showcases characteristics of the deep sea and the animals that live there.
Life on the Edge is a traveling exhibition focused on educating children ages 8-14 and their families about how understanding Earth’s extreme environments helps us search for life in space. Created by Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY, the big idea of the exhibition is: “our exploration of extreme environments expands our understanding of life on Earth and the possibilities for life in our solar system and beyond.” Through five unique exhibit sections, the exhibition offers visitors information, activities, and questions focused on scientific exploration and discovery, life in space, and the origins
Creative Discovery Museum will create an indoor/outdoor, natural science gallery designed for children ages 2 to 12. Named “Unearthed,” the gallery will include exhibits on fossil layers, dinosaurs and paleontology, volcanos and volcanology, erosion and weathering, entomology, and insects. It will offer hands-on, exploratory experiences in natural science for children and their families. The new science gallery will align with state educational standards, provide more interactive learning experiences, and introduce children to real elements including dirt, water, and sand in an outdoor exhibit that reinforces the concepts presented inside the museum.
The Marine Discovery Center, a new, interactive 16,000 sq. ft. exhibition space will replace Feiro Marine Life Center’s existing 40-year-old facility. The planning of this accessible exhibition experience will prioritize engaging visitor connections to the ocean environment by improving scientific literacy skills, increasing awareness of historical and recent regional Tribal knowledge, encouraging stewardship actions in the marine environment, and developing deeper understandings of important local species. The Marine Discovery Center is a joint venture of Feiro Marine Life Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Monroe County’s Seneca Park Zoo will modernize the guest experience in the zoo’s Animal Hospital to increase accessibility and promote visitor engagement. The project will address existing barriers to visitor participation and engagement by updating the educational graphics and incorporating new technology into the exhibit to create a multisensory experience that engages visitors of all education levels, interests, and abilities. The modernized Animal Hospital will benefit the zoo’s 400,000 annual visitors and help accomplish its strategic goals of compelling storytelling and providing exceptional educational experiences to inspire conservation action.
The Wyoming State Museum will implement an exhibit plan developed with content experts from across the state to produce a Prehistoric Wyoming exhibit. The exhibit will explore the prehistory of Wyoming, with a special focus on the age of dinosaurs, and will serve the needs of the museum’s three main visitor groups—local families, out-of-state tourists, and students on field trips—as determined through formative surveys and visitor feedback. Visitors will learn about the geological forces that shaped the Wyoming landscape visible today, examine the different plants and animals that have called Wyoming home through the ages, and discover the history of fossil hunters in Wyoming.
The Nest: A Nature Inspired Space, Design Workshop, and Art Studio is a new project of the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Museum of American Bird Art designed to provide a dedicated space and robust mobile component for pre-K to grade 5 aged children, their families, and educators. Working with community partners, the museum will create an interactive exhibition integrating nature, art, and science, using existing underutilized space at the museum. The project team will test and develop prototypes of content, materials, and equipment for the Nest, along with curriculum and programmatic activities. Through the immersive exhibition and supporting programmatic activities, the museum will better serve an expanded group of learners with nature-based STEAM programs.
The Montana Natural History Center, in collaboration with the University of Montana, will develop an exhibit to showcase a selection of the university's extensive fossil collection. This new exhibit will help create inclusive, inquiry-based, educational opportunities for preschoolers through adults. University faculty will guide specimen interpretation and story development. The exhibit will explore modern research into evolution in a time of climate change, sharing ongoing university research and highlighting STEM careers and citizen science work. The project is based on interests identified through surveys, museum visitor recommendations, and a member focus group.
With input from its community and benchmarking against other natural history museums across the nation, the Delaware Museum of Natural History will transform its exhibits from static, taxonomy-based dioramas to interactive, ecosystem-driven engagement areas with more relevant STEM content and stories. The museum will work with an exhibit design firm to develop interpretive content, exhibit design, and related elements. Project activities will also include testing of exhibit prototypes and workshops for museum staff on best practices in evaluation. A final design development package will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval and the museum will change its name to the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science.