Designing Our World Summative Evaluation Year 4

Designing Our World (DOW) was a four-year NSF-funded initiative in which the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) sought to promote girls’ pursuit of engineering careers through community-based programming, exhibition development, and identity research. The overarching aim of DOW was to engage girls ages 9–14 with experiences that illuminate the social, personally relevant, and altruistic nature of engineering. In addition to programming for girls, the project also included workshops for parents/caregivers, professional development for staff from community partners; and an exhibition located at OMSI. Year 4 programming was delivered in 2017 in partnership with Adelante Mujeres, a community-based organization that serves low-income Latinas and their families in western Washington County, Oregon. (A separate summative report exists for Year 3, which also included Girls, Inc. as an additional partner and related programming.)

OMSI contracted with Garibay Group to conduct a summative evaluation of Designing Our World impacts on four distinct audiences: a) girls participating in the program; b) parents/caregivers of girls in the DOW program; c) staff who participated in professional development activities; and 4) the general public who visited the DOW exhibitions. Evaluation also assessed the DOW educational model. This study was grounded in culturally responsive approaches to evaluation and employed a mixed-methods design that combined quantitative and qualitative data.