July 15th, 2007 - June 30th, 2013 | PROJECT
A Youth-Directed Cafe Scientifique targets culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse youth ages 11-18 with a web-based program designed to engage students in active discourse on current STEM topics. Building on the adult program of the same name, this youth-centered project also provides opportunities for individual and group activities. Project partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Bradbury Science Museum, Sandia National Laboratory, Los Alamos Women in Science, and the University of New Mexico, which will serve as a source of scientists to act as speakers and mentors. Northern New Mexico Collefe, Santa Fe Community College, University of New Mexico, and theNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, as well as area high schools will host discussions and focus group meetings. Recruitment of youth participants will be carried out by New Mexico MESA as well as four local high schools. Project deliverables include a robust model for engaging youth in an active online community and Youth Leadership Teams (YLT). YLT's select topics, recruit members, and facilitate Cafe discussions and blogs. Cafe meetings enable youth to explore a topic of their choice in an online session led by a youth host in conjunction with a guest speaker. The follow-up sessions encourage more in-depth exlopration of the topic via interviews, articles, community meetings, and museum exhibits created in collaboration with the Bradbury Museum. The Cafe website will highlight youth produced podcasts, essays on science topics, and a blog. Strategic impact resulting from this project includes the development of a creattive model that effectively engages youth in STEM discourse while meeting the cultural and intellectual needs. It is anticapated that this project will serve over 5,700 youth in three years.
Project Website(s)
(no project website provided)
Project Products
A Youth-Directed Science Café: Impacts on Teen Participants
http://teensciencecafe.org
Team Members
Michael Mayhew, Principal Investigator, Science Education Solutions Inc.Selena Connealy, Co-Principal Investigator, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
Michael Mayhew, Former Principal Investigator, Science Education Solutions Inc
Funders
Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0714762
Funding Amount: 990012
Tags
Audience: Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum | ISE Professionals | Youth | Teen (up to 17)
Discipline: Engineering | General STEM | Mathematics | Technology
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Community Outreach Programs | Informal | Formal Connections | K-12 Programs | Media and Technology | Public Programs | Websites | Mobile Apps | Online Media