September 1st, 2019 - July 31st, 2023 | PROJECT
This program will derive knowledge on extreme weather and its concepts to be shared with youth in the Boston and Kansas City areas. Subsequently, the youth will share this knowledge by displaying it as art work on the rapid transit systems. The art projects will culminate in broad-based exhibition at the end of each group's sessions. The project will involve 200 youth per region resulting in an impact of 1000 youth per year, 80 adult mentors and 20,000 adult transportation riders in learning about extreme weather concepts. Participant organizations are the University of Mass-Boston, University of Mass-Lowell, The Massachusetts College of Art, the University of Kansas Center for Research Inc., and the Goodman Research Group Inc.
The goals of this project are to bring the topic of extreme weather to the foreground by educating youth and in turn having them educate a selected group of adults that use the rapid transit system. Groups of youths will learn about the topic through a series of meetings with mentors who are experts on the issues around extreme weather. The youth will derive their own art-works with their interpretation. These art-works will be displayed on the rapid transit systems in New England (Merrimack Valley and Worcester regions) and the Mid-West (Topeka and Kansas City areas). Using a quasi-experimental mixed methodology (demographics, bus ridership, initial level of science awareness, and interest) the goal is to understand science learning outcomes associated with the creation and public display of youth art. Research questions of importance in this regard are 1. In what ways does blending art with the science enhance youth learning about extreme weather concepts? 2. To what extent does youth art support adult learning of science? and 3. How does regional context affect learning about extreme weather?
Broader impacts will result from the youth diversity as well as the diversity of riders of the rapid transit systems where the art of extreme weather is displayed.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of learning settings.
Project Website(s)
(no project website provided)
Team Members
Robert Chen, Principal Investigator, University of Massachusetts, BostonLois Hetland, Co-Principal Investigator
Jill Lohmeier, Principal Investigator, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Stephen Mishol, Co-Principal Investigator
Steven Schrock, Principal Investigator, University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
Claudia Bode, Co-Principal Investigator
Funders
Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)
Award Number: 1906793
Funding Amount: $722,462
Funding Program: Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)
Award Number: 1906640
Funding Amount: $391,457Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)
Award Number: 1906810
Funding Amount: $475,329
Tags
Audience: Adults | Evaluators | Learning Researchers | Museum | ISE Professionals | Youth | Teen (up to 17)
Discipline: Art | music | theater | Climate
Resource Type: Project Descriptions | Projects
Environment Type: Community Outreach Programs | Public Programs