The Louisiana Children’s Museum is developing a comprehensive set of resources entitled “Water Dialogues–Living with Water,” designed around its new exhibits and landscape resources, to strengthen the community’s understanding of the challenges associated with water management. They are creating a new field trip series and water-based science curriculum, “Water Pathways” as well as an outreach program, “Steward’s Ship,” to bring the program’s environmental messages to schools and camps. The museum will also conduct a professional development training series on science education for local educators implementing the state’s new science standards, in addition to a series of literacy workshops where children ages four to eight will write “how-to” books and “water journals.” To further spread the associated environmental and sustainability messages, they will organize an annual “Water Fest” program for the community.
Gateway to Science will partner with the University of Mary Early Childhood Education Program to develop interpretive materials for a new Science First exhibition. Science First will serve young children up to age 5 and their parents, caregivers, and educators. It will increase adults’ knowledge and confidence to facilitate children’s science learning experiences in their daily lives. Adult visitors will gain an increased understanding of how children learn science. The program will equip them to engage young children in science inquiry and to build 21st century skills.
The Virginia Air and Space Center will enhance its Space Gallery exhibit and increase its capacity to deliver high-quality, high-impact STEM programming. The museum will purchase, adapt, and install three interactive, digital exhibits that will complement existing displays and enhance visitors’ overall experiences. The digital exhibits will include a moon lander that users can pilot; a simulated Mars rover and micro-copter that will allow guests to navigate a Martian atmosphere and surface; and a stellar playground where users can build their own solar system through an intuitive touch-interface that incorporates planets, stars, violent supernovas, black holes, and other space oddities. The project team will develop new curricula related to the exhibits to use with school groups and summer camps.
The Northwest Passage Project explored the changing Arctic through an innovative expedition aboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden to conduct groundbreaking ocean science research, while it actively engaged 22 undergraduate and graduate students from the project’s five Minority Serving Institution (MSI) partners and 2 early career Inuit researchers in the research at sea. Over 35 hours of training in Arctic research techniques, polar science, and science communication was provided to these participants, who were engaged in the Northwest Passage expedition and worked with the onboard science team
Kidzeum of Health and Science will partner with Springfield, Illinois School District 186 to create a two-week STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) residency for approximately 1,000 second graders in the district. The residency will take place at Kidzeum during the 2021-2022 school year. The program will include a curriculum created by teachers, school administrators, and museum staff, featuring a collaborative STEAM project that builds on Kidzeum exhibit content. Literacy, physical education, music, social studies, and social-emotional wellness will also be included in the curriculum as the Kidzeum tests the hypothesis that museums can benefit young learners and their families by serving as a place for longer term, immersive education programs. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine will provide project evaluation and subsequent reporting.
The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum will create a mobile cart with hands-on, immersive experiences and educational materials to expand programming to the open-air plaza in front of the museum. To educate visitors about the Chicago River ecosystem, the museum will develop and deliver three live science experiences utilizing the mobile outdoor cart, which will include a 3-D model of a watershed. Additionally, the museum will contract with photographers and a graphic designer to generate content for educational displays and curriculum. By creating a mobile cart with hands-on, immersive experiences and educational materials, the Bridgehouse Museum will reach more diverse audiences on the plaza, which extends onto the Chicago Riverwalk.
The science center movement that gained momentum in the 1970s — and ASTC, the first organization to represent the field — were in many ways the creation of the scientific community. This article, published in the September/October 2007 issue of ASTC Dimensions, recalls key people and events that laid the groundwork for what was to become the informal science education field. Quoting longtime NSF program officer George Tressel, it expresses concern about the diminished role of scientists in science centers as many became "more a business."
The Cincinnati Museum Center will develop a permanent exhibition to showcase its invertebrate paleontology collection and develop related educational programming that builds on a strong commitment to gender equity. Using focus groups, prototypes, surveys, and feedback from existing programs, the museum will incorporate community input from key audiences into the design of the 4,800 square-foot immersive gallery, which will blend science, history, and technology. The museum will engage external designers to create schematic and final exhibit designs. The museum will develop and test related educational programs for families and students, with a special focus on engaging girls ages 7 to 14 in STEM activities.
The Exploratorium will increase the museum community's understanding of the impact of a single science museum visit on "emerging adult" learners-young adults aged 18-29, who are not yet married and have no children. In particular, the study will attempt to understand how museum visits help young women build crucially important science self-confidence. The project will build on prior IMLS-funded research that found that a science museum visit mitigated a pre-existing gender gap in science confidence, or self-efficacy (SSE). The research team will replicate and investigate this effect further by observing male and female young adults during their visits, and over the course of the following three months. The study will gather data before, during, and after the visit through interviews, surveys, experience-sampling, and analysis of participants' social media posts. Results of this research will provide valuable information to the science museum community, as they seek to address the challenges of achieving gender equity in STEM education and the workforce.
The L.C. Bates Museum will deliver STEAM programming to neighboring rural, mostly low-income second grade children and their families through the Observing Ornithology science project. Over a two-year period, the museum will work with 40 teachers in 12 schools to support student learning tied to Next Generation core science performance measures. The project activities will use museum collections and other resources to present a series of three ornithology programs designed to motivate curiosity and engage children in observation activities that support a new approach to thinking, analyzing and solving. The museum will loan a new pop-up display to each of the 12 school libraries and will present four family and four children's museum bird days at the museum for participating students and their families during each year of the project. An external evaluator will measure the project's success in achieving defined performance measures that include strengthening the children's knowledge, understanding, and attitude toward the regional environment.
DuPage Children's Museum will enhance visitor engagement by incorporating current research on infant and toddler development to redesign two exhibits and develop an educational program for low-income caregivers. The museum will partner with two community-based organizations, Teen Parent Connection and Family Focus DuPage, to collaborate in the project and refer clients to participate in the educational programs. The museum will present twelve onsite sessions that will enable parents and caregivers to nurture an understanding of STEM fundamentals at the museum and at home for their young children. Participants will be given educational videos and take-home kits that correspond with the educational sessions. Project activities will also include training to help museum staff use the exhibits to further a visitor's learning experience. The museum will disseminate project results to other children's museums and early childhood educators and professionals.
Miami Children's Museum will redesign its Construction Zone Gallery into a STEM-learning space providing children, primarily ages eight and under, with a stimulating and interactive experience. The exhibition will incorporate 13 distinctive exhibition components, allowing full engagement in a variety of STEM-based learning activities. The museum will conduct focus group activities with field interpreters, specialists and educators working in STEM fields to guide and refine content development of the script and exhibition layout, followed by testing of the themes, programming activities, exhibition props and tools, software concepts, and learning outcomes. The project team will develop accompanying programming for children to be presented at the museum and at area public libraries. All components of the exhibition will support Florida's Early Learning Standards, and will meet the evolving educational needs of its youngest learners.