Lessons Learned from and for the Field: Cultivating a National Network for Informal Science and Literacy through Leap into Science

This document summarizes lessons learned from implementing Leap into Science: Cultivating a National Network for Informal Science and Literacy (Leap into Science) from 2017-2023. This project occurred across varied informal education settings, sectors, and states. We offer these reflections so that others might understand the project’s successes and, most importantly, its challenges and apply them to your considerations when scaling an informal science or literacy education program. Through our learnings, we aim to support program directors, developers, implementers, evaluators, and funders as they plan for, design, and refine current and future programs