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Ice Worlds: A Giant Screen Film and Outreach Project, is a documentary media project that invites public audiences to explore their connections to the Earth’s changing climate and their own identities as changemakers. Centered on a large format film for IMAX and other giant screens, the project seeks to engage audiences in media experiences and storytelling initiatives, including a special...

This is a short video showcasing the Ojibwe tradition of black ash basket making....

Exploring the Universe from Antarctica takes users on a journey from the South Pole into outer space in efforts to better understand high-energy neutrinos and the research that takes place surrounding them at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. Take the role of an IceCube scientist who has the ability to travel deep into space to seek out...

Embody an Antarctic Adelie Penguin in this National Science Foundation funded educational VR experience that aims to provide perspective on the challenges of everyday life of these animals. ...

On the Ice: Weather Station transports you to remote locations in Antarctica, where you are tasked with repairing a collection of weather stations. At each station, you’ll identify the components that are in disrepair, fix them in your mobile repair workshop, and then reinstall them. You’ll need to work quickly, though, to avoid getting stuck in a dangerous windstorm or...

In On the Ice: Hatched, you play as a novice wildlife biologist making your first visit to Ross Island in Antarctica to study Adélie penguins. Your daily research tasks, such as conducting population counts, placing identification bands, and removing GPS trackers can be challenging - especially when the penguins don’t cooperate. But don’t worry, you’ll have Margo, your trusted digital...

Empathy is important for fostering social engagement with ecology. In this study we describe Waddle, a virtual reality (VR) experience designed to facilitate the direct embodiment of an Adélie Penguin moving through the key stages of their life cycle as an intervention to increase empathy. By collecting pre and post questionnaire data from forty-three grade 3 through 8 students attending...

This study explores the role of explanatory narration, delivered as non-diegetic audio—in supporting conceptual understanding and long-term motivation in immersive virtual reality (VR). Building on an open-source VR simulation where users embody an Adélie penguin, we conducted a between-subjects experiment (N = 30) to examine how synchronized narration impacts learning outcomes, embodiment, and post-experience engagement. Participants performed four embodied tasks—waddling, nesting,...

Developed in collaboration with polar science experts, this virtual reality game immerses users in the life of a scientist maintaining weather stations in Antarctica. Designed for the Meta Quest 3, the game challenges players to complete realistic repair tasks reimagined as engaging tactile puzzles. As players tackle these challenges, a virtual assistant provides guidance, not only assisting with gameplay mechanics...

In this article, we review the literature highlighting early science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities in U.S. Latine family contexts. We describe and synthesize research on Latine families' STEM-related beliefs and practices (i.e., STEM activities and STEM talk), as well as patterns related to the research areas, methodologies, and theoretical foundations among STEM learning studies focused on U.S....

The Engaging Hispanic Communities in Authentic NASA Science: Broadening Participation in Science Activation through Local Partnerships and National Networks (“Co-creating with Communities”) project brought together educators, community members, and subject matter experts to connect STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) with local places and community assets. Collaborators at six locations worked together using co-creation and community engagement approaches to...

Using identity theory and drawing data from an NSF-funded survey of 1,134 participants, this study examines the impact of prior educational experiences on STEM identity and career aspirations among individuals attending at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The study’s findings indicate that although positive reinforcement positively correlates with the STEM identity construct, the efforts are not always supportive enough to predict...

A poster of initial findings of career interest for racially and ethnically minoritized youth presented as Association of Science-Technology Centers annual conference in Chicago, IL. Findings include participation rates in OST programs, STEM career pathways between the start of middle school and the start of college, barriers to participation in OST STEM experiences, and factors influencing STEM interest, and career...

This paper presents findings of a study which explored how family conversations beyond STEM content contribute to the development of STEM identity. Using structural equation modeling, we found that family disposition to engage in conversations about a broad range of topics was linked to more frequent STEM-related conversations during childhood and, in turn, greater identification as a “STEM person” in...

Findings from a study that explore factors that affect STEM interest, identity and career interest for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM were presented during a webinar hosted by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching....

The findings of a research project which investigated the factors that affect STEM interest, identity and career interest for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM were presented as an online workshop hosted by NISE Network. Using science equipment and talking about STEM topics with parents and caregivers were associated with STEM interest and STEM career interest....

This presentation about middle school and high school predictors of STEM identity was part of a larger panel titled Belonging for Nurturing Future Earth and Space Scientists presented at the STEM Learning Ecosystems and Community Partnership meeting, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, August 4-6, 2025, hosted by Arizona State University in partnership with NASA's Science Activation program and NISE Network....

This conference presentation describes how professional learning for afterschool educators can build understanding of youth mattering through coaching in facilitation practices that elevate youth voice and choice....

We shared this presentation with members of the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE). In these slides, we provide resources to guide professional learning leaders in encouraging and using popular artifacts of practice in professional learning. We specifically look at popular artifacts of practice we have seen in our work: video of practice with youth, audio of student/educator interaction, and...

We illustrate how our professional learning program (Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM) responds to the strands of the 2009 National Academies report on the status of informal science learning. We identify several Strands discussed in the report, questions that those strands raise for practice and research, and how we have addressed these questions in our work....

In this discussion, we create a practical, peer-supported space to work through AISL project puzzles related to costing, evaluation, sustainability, and pressures to justify the budget using a tool...

We describe the activities that afterschool educators engage in as they facilitate programming using the language of engineering practices, illustrating how educators act as "educational engineers"....

Assessing professional learning outcomes can be difficult, particularly for complex behavioral tasks such as asking purposeful questions, without costly and time-intensive data collection. In this article, we describe how we developed and implemented an assessment tool, the Scripted Animation Survey, to measure the impact of our professional learning program for out-of-school educators, particularly our Asking Purposeful Questions in STEM module....

This open-access article describes how our afterschool coaching program invited and valued diverse artifacts of practice that educators contributed to a virtual peer-learning professional learning environment. We show specific strengths and weaknesses of different artifacts of practice and offer coaching guidance for using these artifacts to facilitate peer-to-peer STEM professional learning....

This is the final evaluation report for the Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM (ACRES) program, provided by external evaluators Karyl Askew and Monifa Beverly...