In 2007 Miami University, in partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Zoo) and the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), received a National Science Foundation Grant to develop, create, implement, and evaluate the impacts of Wild Research, a whole zoo exhibit. The purpose of Wild Research was to promote Zoo visitors' engagement in inquiry, across generations, and increase visitors' awareness of conservation issues. ILI was charged with conducting the summative evaluation for Wild Research. This study was conducted to answer the question: What is the impact on visitors to
In preparation for the development of the NSF-funded exhibition Places of Invention, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation. The study explored interest in, misconceptions of, and potential barriers to the content in the Places of Invention exhibition, which tells stories of historic and modern communities where people, resources, and spaces have come together to spark inventiveness. RK&A conducted 50 in-depth interviews with
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Smithsonian InstitutionLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and InnovationNational Museum of American History
This study was conducted as part of the formative evaluation of the NISE Network Forum Nanomedicine in Healthcare. The purpose of the forum was to bring members of the public together to discuss the conditions under which nanotechnology applications in medicine and personal care products should be made available to the public. During the forum, participants learned about nanotechnology and its societal and ethical impacts from expert speakers, had chance to ask questions of the experts, participated in a small group discussion in which they talked about the pros and cons of releasing
The NISE Network Forums were created to provide an in-depth learning experience that would (1) enhance participants' understanding of nano and its potential impacts; (2) increase participants' confidence in participating in public discourse about nanotechnologies; and (3) build informal science educators' knowledge and ability to conduct this type of programming at their institution (NISE Network Public Forums Manual, 2007). In an effort to reach out to a more diverse audience, the NISE Network Forums Team translated into Spanish the existing NISE Net forum "Nanomedicine in Healthcare" to
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth KollmannJane MorganNanoscale Informal Science Education NetworkRoxana del Campo
Illuminated Verses explored issues of traditional culture and modernity, as well as differences and diversity within the Islamic world, and offers an interpretive bridge to these content areas for both scholarly and general audiences. Through a symposium and a series of pre-events leading up to that program, Poets House and CityLore explored ways of using poetry, discussion and interpretation of poetry to create bridges for intercultural understanding. The symposium and pre-symposium events also served as a springboard to explore the potential for a broader, potentially national, program. This
Premiering on PBS in January 2011, Design Squad Nation (DSN) is a 10-part series of TV shows and video blogs that build on the success of the award-winning PBS reality competition series Design Squad to get kids excited about engineering. Concord Evaluation Group (CEG) was hired to conduct an evaluation of DSN in 2011. The evaluation was designed to measure WGBH's success in achieving the following impacts on students and teachers: After using the DSN resources Middle school students will increase their knowledge of science and engineering concepts and the design process. Middle school
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) received a NOAA-ELG grant for a three-year project, entitled Exploring Earth Systems: Expanding Data Visualizations Experiences for Museum Learners (or Data Visualizations). The project focuses on the development, testing, and distribution of Visualizations for the Earth and Bio content strands of the AMNH's Science Bulletins program. The Visualizations are short media pieces that use satellite data to tell the story of Earth processes on land, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere, with the larger goals of helping viewers to understand the dynamic
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Susan FoutzAmerican Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) received a NOAA-ELG grant for a three-year project, entitled Exploring Earth Systems: Expanding Data Visualizations Experiences for Museum Learners (or Data Visualizations). The project focuses on the development, testing, and distribution of Visualizations for the Earth and Bio content strands of the AMNH's Science Bulletins program. The Visualizations are short media pieces that use satellite data to tell the story of Earth processes on land, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere, with the larger goals of helping viewers to understand the dynamic
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Susan FoutzAmerican Museum of Natural History
This front-end study aimed to capture baseline information about students' science interests and skills in support of the development of a new program called the Koshland Youth Research Lab. Specifically, the evaluation was driven by the following questions: 1) What are students' current attitudes and interests toward four selected science topics: adolescent sleep needs, teen sexuality and risky behaviors, water quality in your community, and adolescent health and nutrition? 2) What are students' current knowledge and skills with regard to scientific research methods and research design? Data
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Jes A. KoepflerMarian Koshland Science Museum
The Lost Ladybug Project, led by Cornell University's Department of Entomology and funded by the National Science Foundation, is a citizen science project that uses ladybugs as a focal species in order to involve children, families, adults, and other groups in field science experiences to illustrate scientific concepts, including invasive species, biodiversity, and conservation. In the project's third year, its activities included the refinement of online mechanisms for participation and submission of data, finalization of guides, curriculum materials, and tools for public audiences including
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Jessica SicklerCornell UniversityTammy Messick Cherry
This report describes the findings of an evaluation of the K-5 school tour program at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington. These school tours observed in this study are based in the methods of the educational model of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), but take place during hour-long tours in the galleries, rather than repeatedly over longer periods of time, and are integrated with other questions, information, and activities developed specifically at the Frye. The findings reveal positive correlations between the use of VTS questions by gallery guides and desired student participation
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Valerie GrabskiLauren LeClaireAmanda Mae BomarFrye Art Museum
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative national field test study of the PEEP Explorer's Guide in early childhood education (ECE) classrooms. Participating teachers used four-to-six Explorer's Guide Units with their students over the course of one school year. GRG assessed changes in teachers' science-teaching practices after using the PEEP Explorer's Guide over an extended period of time and examined potential barriers to using the PEEP Explorer's Guide throughout the course of a school year. The evaluation sought to measure the following professional audience impacts and