Quest, produced by KQED, is a multimedia initiative designed to raise the profile of STEM issues throughout the Northern California region and activate citizens to discuss and investigate them. Led by KQED, Quest is created and maintained by an active consortium of 16 participating informal science education organizations. Based on the successful Quest model, KQED will build on its prior collaborative work to develop regional partnerships with other public broadcasting stations and community-based organizations around the country, making possible a new and innovative partnership in science media production and informal science education. This grant will support a) a growing collaborative of science centers, museums, research institutes, and community-based organizations for editorial development, education outreach, and content creation; b) the production of at least 10 hours of television, weekly radio science news reports, and a dynamic online website that supports and extends the broadcast material; and c) educational resources and professional development workshops. STEM content will encompass research drawn from the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth sciences. Most of the stories will also incorporate content about the technology and engineering used to support scientific endeavors. The KQED Educational Network (EdNet) will administer the community and educational outreach initiatives, including creating viewer/listener guides, developing and delivering workshops, and providing information built around Quest media. Project collaborators include the Bay Institute, California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Space and Science Center, East Bay Regional Park District, Exploratorium, Girl Scouts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Hall of Science, Museum of Paleontology, Oakland Zoo, and The Tech Museum of Innovation. In expanding the model to regional hubs, Quest will also involve the Coalition for Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), the Encyclopedia of Life, and an array of peer public broadcasting organizations. This project offers a useful and exciting model for public television and radio stations nationally in building community collaborations that advance informal science education. The detailed and informed ways in which the team works with its community partners via multiple platforms are innovative. This proposal builds on prior work in Northern California to explore additional regional partnerships with other public broadcasting stations and community-based organizations, making possible a unique partnership in science media production and informal science education. This project extends reach by developing up to ten regional "hubs" across the country. Evaluation will be conducted by Rockman et al.
The STAR Library Education Network: a hands-on learning program for libraries and their communities, (STAR_Net for short) is led by the National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (PI: Paul Dusenbery). STAR stands for Science-Technology, Activities and Resources. Team members include NCIL staff, the American Library Association (ALA), Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), and the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP). STAR_Net is developing two comprehensive, informal education programs: Discover Earth and Discover Tech. The project also includes a comprehensive evaluation plan and a research component that explores how public libraries can serve as a STEM learning center in rural, underserved communities. STAR_Net is supported through a grant from the National Science Foundation. The STAR_Net project includes two traveling library exhibits: Discover Earth: A Century of Change and Discover Tech: Engineers Make a World of Difference. The Discover Earth exhibition features interactive, multimedia displays that allow exhibit visitors to interact with digital information in a dynamic way, encouraging new perspectives on our planet. Discover Tech introduces the many extraordinary ways that engineers solve problems to help people and societies around the world. Similar to a science center experience, visitors and families will be able to explore and tinker with their own engineering solutions. A number of STEM activities and resources will be developed by project staff and by other organizations to help librarians and community partners offer a wide variety of programs for their patrons. Besides the traveling exhibits and programs, STAR_Net also includes library staff training (online and in-person) and a Community of Practice (CoP) for librarians (including non-host librarians) to interact and partner with STEM professionals and organizations. NCI's Kate Haley Goldman and staff from Evaluation and Research Associates are conducting the project's evaluation.
The National Science Festival Network project, also operating as the Science Festival Alliance, is designed to create a sustainable national network of science festivals that engages all facets of the general public in science learning. Science Festivals, clearly distinct from "science fairs", are community-wide activities engaging professional scientists and informal and K-12 educators targeting underrepresented segments of local communities historically underserved by formal or informal STEM educational activities. The initiative builds on previous work in other parts of the world (e.g. Europe, Australasia) and on recent efforts in the U.S. to create science festivals. The target audiences are families, children and youth ages 5-18, adults, professional scientists and educators in K-12 and informal science institutions, and underserved and underrepresented communities. Project partners include the MIT Museum in Cambridge, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The deliverables include annual science festivals in these four cities supported by year-round related activities for K-12 and informal audiences, a partnership network, a web portal, and two national conferences. Ten science festivals will be convened in total over the 3 years of the project, each reaching 15,000 to 60,000 participants per year. STEM content includes earth and space science, oceanography, biological/biomedical science, bioinformatics, and computer, behavioral, aeronautical, nanotechnology, environmental, and nuclear science. An independent evaluator will systematically assess audience participation and perceptions, level/types of science interest stimulated in target groups, growth of partnering support at individual sites, and increasing interactions between ISE and formal K-12 education. A variety of qualitative and quantitative assessments will be designed and utilized. The project has the potential to transform public communication and understanding of science and increase the numbers of youth interested in pursuing science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Loren ThompsonJeremy BabendureBen Wiehe
The Ross Sea Project was a Broader Impact projects for an NSF sponsored research mission to the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The project, which began in the summer of 2010 and ended in May 2011, consisted of several components: (1) A multidisciplinary teacher-education team that included educators, scientists, Web 2.0 technology experts and storytellers, and a photographer/writer blogging team; (2) Twenty-five middle-school and high-school earth science teachers, mostly from New Jersey but also New York and California; (3) Weeklong summer teacher institute at Liberty Science Center (LSC) where teachers and scientists met, and teachers learned about questions to be investigated and technologies to be used during the mission, and how to do the science to be conducted in Antarctica; (4) COSEE NOW interactive community website where teachers, LSC staff and other COSEE NOW members shared lesson plans or activities and discussed issues related to implementing the mission-based science in their classrooms; (5) Technological support and consultations for teachers, plus online practice sessions on the use of Web 2.0 technologies (webinars, blogs, digital storytelling, etc.); (6)Daily shipboard blog from the Ross Sea created by Chris Linder and Hugh Powell (a professional photographer/writer team) and posted on the COSEE NOW website to keep teachers and students up-to-date in real-time on science experiments, discoveries and frustrations, as well as shipboard life; (7) Live webinar calls from the Ross Sea, facilitated by Rutgers and LSC staff, where students posed questions and interacted directly with shipboard researchers and staff; and (8) A follow-up gathering of teachers and scientists near the end of the school year to debrief on the mission and preliminary findings. What resulted from this project was not only the professional development of teachers, which extended into the classroom and to students, but also the development of a relationship that teachers and students felt they had with the scientists and the science. Via personal and virtual interactions, teachers and students connected to scientists personally, while engaged in the science process in the classroom and in the field.
The Coalition for Science After School (CSAS) was established in 2004 in response to the growing need for more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning opportunities in out-of-school time. CSAS sought to build this field by uniting STEM education goals with out-of-school time opportunities and a focus on youth development. Over a decade of work, CSAS Steering Committee members, staff and partners advocated for STEM in out-of-school-time settings, convened leaders, and created resources to support this work. CSAS leadership decided to conclude CSAS operations in 2014, as the STEM in out-of-school time movement had experienced tremendous growth of programming and attention to science-related out-of-school time opportunities on a national level. In its ten-year strategic plan, CSAS took as its vision the full integration of the STEM education and out-of-school time communities to ensure that quality out-of-school time STEM opportunities became prevalent and available to learners nationwide. Key CSAS activities included: (1) Setting and advancing a collective agenda by working with members to identify gaps in the field, organizing others to create solutions that meet the needs, identifying policy needs in the field and supporting advocates to advance them; (2) Developing and linking committed communities by providing opportunities for focused networking and learning through conferences, webinars, and other outreach activities; and (3) Identifying, collecting, capturing, and sharing information and available research and resources in the field. The leadership of the Coalition for Science After School is deeply grateful to the funders, partners, supporters, and constituents that worked together to advance STEM in out-of-school time during the last decade, and that make up today's rich and varied STEM in out-of-school time landscape. We have much to be proud of, but as a movement there is much more work to be done. As this work continues to expand and deepen, it is appropriate for the Coalition for Science After School to step down as the many other organizations that have emerged over the last decade take on leadership for the critical work that remains to be done. A timeline and summary of CSAS activities, products, and accomplishments is available for download on this page. All resources noted in the narrative are also available for download below.
This MSP-Start Partnership, led by Widener University, in partnership with Bryn Mawr College, Delaware County Community College, Philadelphia University, Lincoln University, and Haverford Township School District, is developing the Greater Philadelphia Environment, Energy, and Sustainability Science (ES)2 Teacher Leader Institute. Additional partners include the Center for Social and Economic Research at West Chester University, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center, Energy Coordinating Agency, US EPA Region 3 Office of Innovation, National Center for Science and Civic Engagement and its SENCER program, Pennsylvania Campus Compact, Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development, Project Kaleidoscope, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, and the 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education. Building on a base of relationships developed over the past five years by many partners in the Math Science Partnership of Greater Philadelphia, the project brings together faculty and resources from multiple institutions (a "Mega-University" model) to develop a coherent, innovative, and content-rich, multi-year curriculum in environment, energy, and sustainability science for an Institute that leads to a newly developed Master's degree. Teachers participating in the Institute (A) improve their STEM content knowledge in areas critical to human environmental sustainability, (B) improve their use of project based/service learning and scientific teaching pedagogies in their teaching, (C) engage in real-world sustainability problem solving in an externship with a local business, non-profit or government organization that is active in the newly emerging green economy, and (D) develop important leadership skills as change agents in their schools to improve student interest, learning, and engagement in STEM education. The Institute aims to serve as a regional hub, connecting educational, business, non-profit and government organizations to strengthen the STEM education and workforce development pipelines in the region and simultaneously support positive social change toward environmental sustainability and citizenship. The project's "Mega-University" and "Institute as a regional connector-hub" approaches are powerful models of collaboration that could have widespread and significant national applicability as organizations and systems adjust to the new challenges of our global economy and to the needed transition to sustainability.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen MadigoskyWilliam KeilbaughVictor DonnayBruce GrantThomas Schrand
This Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) is a collaboration among Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California—Santa Barbara, and the Museum of Science—Boston with participation by Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), the University of Basel (Switzerland), the University of Tokyo (Japan), and the Brookhaven, Oak Ridge, and the Sandia National Laboratories. The NSEC combines "top down" and "bottom up" approaches to construct novel electronic and magnetic devices with nanoscale sizes and understand their behavior, including quantum phenomena. Through a close integration of research, education, and public outreach, the Center encourages and promotes the training of a diverse group of people to be leaders in this new interdisciplinary field.
The intent of this project is to use social network methods to study networks of afterschool and informal science stakeholders. It would attempt to create knowledge that improves afterschool programs access to informal science learning materials. This is an applied research study that applies research methods to improving access to and enactment of informal science education programs across a range of settings. The investigators plan to collect data from 600 community- and afterschool programs in California, conduct case studies of 10 of these programs, and conduct surveys of supporting intermediary organizations. The analysis of the data will provide descriptions of the duration, intensity, and nature of the networks among afterschool programs and intermediary agencies, and the diffusion patterns of science learning materials in afterschool programs. The project will yield actionable knowledge that will be disseminated among afterschool programs, intermediary organizations, funding agencies, and policymakers to improve the dissemination and support of afterschool science learning opportunities. The project is focused on free-choice settings where every day the largest numbers of children attend afterschool programs at schools and in other community settings. It seeks information about what conditions are necessary for informal science programs to significantly impact the largest possible number of children in these settings.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara MeansAnn HouseCarlin LlorenteRaymond McGhee
resourceevaluationProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
As part of community building efforts, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network undertook regional site visits during Year 5 of the project. The purpose of the site visits was to deepen relationships with a small group of partners. The Network Community Group saw the site visits as an opportunity to create a stronger sense of community within the Network and build institutions' capacity to engage their local public in nano. Partners with the highest potential to infuse nano into their institution and/or become actively involved with the Network were chosen for a site visit. A
The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) is a partnership of 13 institutions (Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Howard University, North Carolina State University (affiliate), Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Washington) that provides multi-faceted, interdisciplinary, and broadly-accessible infrastructure supporting both near-term and long-term needs identified in the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The partnering facilities are open laboratories providing outstanding service to the external user, comprehensive training and staff support, and support of interdisciplinary and emerging areas of research, with openness to new materials, techniques, and applications.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandip TiwariDaniel RalphRoger Howe
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Museum of Science (MOS) seeks to establish a Network, a national infrastructure designed to foster public awareness, engagement and understanding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE). As part of this undertaking, MOS will create a set of interactive, media-based and discourse-based educational productes based on NSE; generate new knowledge about design for learning and produce a sustainable network that involves inromal educators and researchers. Core partners are the Exploratorium and the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). This project will establish for the first-time an open national network that links science centers across the nation, focusing for this award on the development and delivery of exhibits and programs addressing the interdisciplinary content areas of NSE. In addition, the Network will establish ties and collaborative relationships with university-based NSE research centers, including MRSEC's and NSEC's. An educational research and development component will address the challenges of public understanding of a difficult-to-grasp emerging field. Project deliverables will be created primarily at three sites. The Center for NISE Research at the Exploratorium will collect, develop and disseminate knowledge about how to communicate to target audiences. The NISE Center for Public Engagement at MOS will develop a network media framework for dissemination to other science centers, network radio (with WBUR), and produce forums for dialogue and deliberation with adult audiences. The NISE Center for Exhibit and Program Production and Dissemination at SMM will develop interactive exhibits, exhibition packages for distribution, and immersive media environments programs. Development of deliverables will involve the following science-technology center partners: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), OR; New York Hall of Science, NY; Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, TX; Museum of Life and Science, NC; Sciencenter, NY; and Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). NSE research partners include Main Street Science, Cornell University; Materials Research Society; University of Wisconsin Madison, MRSEC Interdisciplinary Education Group; and Purdue University, Envision Center for Data Perceptualization. The resulting Network and the knowledge gained as a result of this project are intended to produce a dramatic improvement in the capacity of the science center field to engage and educate the public about NSE, both in quality and quantity. By Year Five, there are expected to be NSE exhibits and activities at some 100 sites across the nation. In addition, the NSE research community should gain a deeper appreciation of the role that science centers can play as intermediaries in conveying scientific research to the public.
The National Resource Center of the 122 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLIs), in collaboration with the Exploratorium and three regional OLLI sites at California State University-East Bay, University of South Florida, and University of Missouri-Columbia, explored, via this planning grant, a variety of scenarios for engaging target audiences of "third age" (50+) participants in informal STEM learning activities. Six collaborative partnerships between OLLIs and science centers in Maine, Virginia, California, Oregon, Montana and Pennsylvania were given $1000 each to create, test, and evaluate a STEM program/activity. The collaborative projects supported by the planning grant engaged 1186 older adults in ISE activities. Data collected from the partnership projects, and from national surveys of OLLIs and science centers, from a literature search, and from a CAISE Forum discussion were used to develop a full scale proposal to NSF in 2010 to fund a national Science Education Center for the Third Age. That proposal was declined but has been significantly reworked based on reviewer feedback and further efforts of the planning team and was submitted in its new form for the January 11, 2012 ISE deadline. This new project would be a largely virtual national Center based at the University of Southern Maine. The project would include creation of an interactive website, 30 funded OLLI/ Science Center collaborative partnerships nationwide ($10,000 each to create new ISE activities for older learners), and 3 regional/national summits to share results.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kali LightfootBette FeltonAracelis RogersLucille Salerno