Exhibit Design for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE) began as an NSF-funded research project led by the Exploratorium to learn how science museums can better engage girls aged 8–13 with STEM exhibits. Over the course of the research, we identified nine design attributes that were consistently positively related to girls’ engagement with these exhibits. The Exploratorium then went on a three-year journey funded by the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation to explore ways to fold the EDGE design attributes into our exhibits, with a focus on existing exhibits. This was an exciting opportunity to put the EDGE
Children’s storybooks are a ubiquitous learning resource, and one with huge potential to support STEM learning. They also continue to be a primary way that children learn about the world and engage in conversations with family members, even as the use of other media and technology increases. Especially before children learn to read, storybooks create the context for in-depth learning conversations with parents and other adults, which are the central drivers of STEM learning and development more broadly at this age. Although there is a body of literature highlighting the benefits of storybooks
Engineering is a critical yet understudied topic in early childhood. Previous research has shown that even young children can engage in (versions of) engineering design practices and processes that are similar to those of adult engineers and designers. In this session, we will share and discuss current research projects to explore how different in-school and out-of-school contexts and activities support 3- to 8-year-old children as they engage in engineering design. We will consider ways that the different characteristics of the activities and spaces, as well as the practices of teachers
These are slides from John Besley and Anthony Dudo's presentation on "Communication Training Landscape View." Besley and Dudo discuss how the communication training community is incredibly passionate, bu also like the wild west.
This talk was given at the Support Systems for Scientists' Communication and Engagement Workshop I held December 4 – 6, 2017 at SUNY’s Global Campus, to explore how communication trainers support scientists’ engagement and communication. The workshop was intended to explore the systems where communication trainers are thriving, where they are running into obstacles
The Science Festival Alliance (SFA) is a professional association of independent science and technology festivals. We are dedicated to supporting both new and existing festivals, and to fostering an international conversation about how to make public science events more meaningful, entertaining, and instructive.
This annual report provides information in two distinct categories:
1) member activities—the accomplishments of the independently organized science festivals that comprise SFA membership; and
2) network activities—SFA efforts that support the exchange of inspiration, advice, and