In March 2011, the Exploratorium hosted a conference called Art as a Way of Knowing. The conference brought together some 125 leading international thinkers—representing work in education, art and science museums, contemporary art, and interdisciplinary research. Participants gathered for two days of presentations, discussions, performances, and roundtable conversations about art as a method of inquiry … Read more
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Trail of Time (ToT) is a three-mile-long and fully accessible, interpretive walking timeline trail located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Fifteen years in the making by the Grand Canyon National Park, University of New Mexico, and Arizona State University, the ToT features bronze markers … Read more
The ZAARC project is investigating how action research efforts can be implemented in informal science settings (particularly zoos and aquariums) and in what ways it can impact both individual practitioners and institutions. ZAARC (funded by NSF, DRL-1114355) is a collaborative effort of Andee Rubin and Tracey Wright at TERC (Technical Education Research Centers, a non-profit … Read more
Introduction Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums is a program funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Initiated as a public/private partnership as part of the White House Educate to Innovate campaign, this program supports the planning and design of spaces in museums … Read more
To produce a public exhibition to study how children use evidence to construct scientific explanations, the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose (CDM), in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Department of Psychology and the University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), launched Lupe’s Story, a Full Scale Development project funded … Read more
Contextualizing Science Learning and Motivation in Rural and Indigenous Adolescents through Mapping Sustainable Practices (The MSP Project) is based at the University of New Hampshire and funded by the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program (DRL-1223703). This interdisciplinary research project will explore and address the disconnect that many indigenous and majority adolescents … Read more
The HERP Project is a collaborative, statewide informal science education project directed by faculty from three institutions of higher education: PIs Catherine Matthews, Ann Somers, and Heidi Carlone (University of North Carolina Greensboro), PI Terry Tomasek (Elon University), and PI Andy Ash (University of North Carolina Pembroke). The HERP Project is funded by the National … Read more
In September 2012 the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded supplemental funding to five Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) to partner with professional informal science education (ISE) providers to expand their education and outreach efforts with innovative strategies outside the classroom. These projects reflect a growing movement of STEM researchers whose work is achieving broader impacts … Read more
A hands-on learning program for libraries and their communities (or STAR_Net) is a national program led by the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) nc4il.org. Core partners include the American Library Association, Lunar and Planetary Institute, and the National Girls Collaborative Project. Other collaborators include ASTC, National Academy of Engineering, Engineers Without … Read more
Cool Science is an innovative approach to bridging the worlds of informal and formal science education. Cool Science hosts a climate change art competition for K-12 students throughout the state of Massachusetts. Using the visual arts as a medium, Cool Science engages teachers, parents, and students in climate change science. Then, by displaying the winning … Read more