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This report is the summative evaluation of Moon Adventure Game. The Moon Adventure Game is a challenge-based immersive game, inspired by “escape room” experiences, which asks visitors to take on activities to help them think about what people might need to live and work on the Moon. Creation of the game was a collaborative effort between Arizona Science Center (ASC)...

Over the past few decades, the science museum field has been working toward better understanding of and approaches to designing exhibits that reflect more diverse ways of learning and knowing, and support broader participation in STEM and informal STEM learning. This project, led by the local Hawaiian community organization Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (INPEACE), will develop and...

In collaboration with TERC and informal learning organizations across the United States, COSI’s Center for Research and Evaluation (CRE) is part of an NSF-funded project, Research to Understand and Inform the Impacts of Ambient and Designed Sound on Informal STEM Learning. Known informally as Sound Travels, the project brings together a collaboration of informal STEM learning (ISL) researchers, designers, and...

In collaboration with TERC and informal learning organizations across the United States, COSI’s Center for Research and Evaluation (CRE) is part of an NSF-funded project, Research to Understand and Inform the Impacts of Ambient and Designed Sound on Informal STEM Learning. Known informally as Sound Travels, the project brings together a collaboration of informal STEM learning (ISL) researchers, designers, and...

In 2020, Kera Collective (formerly RK&A) partnered with the Mercer Museum and a team of experts in support of the experimental exhibition project, Plus Ultra. Through Plus Ultra, the museum created three prototype exhibitions that utilized previously underutilized spaces in the museum to enhance the experience of local community members around the museum’s core exhibition.  Given that Plus Ultra is an...

Scientific and environmental literacy are valuable outcomes linked to academic learning, career pathways, and broader engagement in science and environmental fields and causes. However, while current tools for measuring these concepts are useful for measuring some dimensions of impact, they are aligned with dominant views that can marginalize, exclude, and erase the knowledge and expertise of communities of color. This...

The Museum of Science and Boston University received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop and implement a pilot program exploring how mentorship in science research, communication, and education practices contributes to changes in high school students' science identities. This toolkit shares guidelines, resources, and curricula materials that were developed and refined over the project period, with a focus on:...

Building community with rural and underrepresented groups has been a challenge in the field of citizen science. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a team of scientists, educators, Extension professionals, and evaluators have joined efforts to take on this challenge across Alaska. The goals for Arctic Harvest-Public Participation in Scientific Research are to: 1) investigate how shifts in environmental conditions...

Community and citizen science on climate change-influenced topics offers a way for participants to actively engage in understanding the changes and documenting the impacts. As in broader climate change education, a focus on the negative impacts can often leave participants feeling a sense of powerlessness. In large scale projects where participation is primarily limited to data collection, it is often...

Plants with persistent fleshy fruits that last throughout fall and into winter and spring are an important source of nutrition for animals and people in boreal, subarctic, and arctic regions, but little information on fruit retention or loss is available for these regions. We evaluated fruit loss for four species across Alaska using data from our Winterberry community science network....

Latiné communities in the United States represent a dynamic and diverse population reflecting varied backgrounds, experiences, and contributions. These contributions can form the foundation for a future STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce that is prepared to meet pressing local, societal, and global challenges. Quality STEM learning experiences, which fully recognize these contributions, can also strengthen the well-being of...

Youth-focused community and citizen science (CCS) is increasingly used to promote science learning and to increase the accessibility of the tools of scientific research among historically marginalized and underserved communities. CCS projects are frequently categorized according to their level of public participation and their distribution of power between professional scientists and participants from collaborative and co-created projects to projects where...

The Arctic Harvest-Public Participation in Scientific Research (which encompasses the Winterberry Citizen Science program), a four-year citizen science project looking at the effect of climate change on berry availability to consumers has made measurable progress advancing our understanding of key performance indicators of highly effective citizen science programs. These indicators include preparation to participate in the program, alignment of goals...

Discussions of climate science have become more common in children's literature in recent years. Studies show that books and other media can teach children effective techniques for managing the risks they and their families face from floods, fires, excessive heat, and other weather-related disasters. However, Black voices and stories are rare within this literature, despite the fact that these disasters...

Attracting and retaining youth from all sociodemographic backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a national priority for ensuring equity and diversity in the STEM workforce. Prior research recognizes that a strong science identity increases the likelihood of youth persistence in STEM, and out-of-school STEM experiences are crucial for developing and maintaining science identity. However, access to...

This project builds on two prior NSF awards that supported development of a climate change exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah through deep engagement with research and rigorous prototyping. Grounded in key ideas from science communication, this exhibit is designed to support new, productive types of engagement around the topic of climate change among the diverse communities of...

Despite a long history of considering and attempting to address issues of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, visitor-serving organizations such as museums, botanical gardens, and zoos tend to serve disproportionately white, able-bodied, and high-income audiences. Traditionally, efforts to address this challenge have focused on reducing barriers (cost, transportation, etc.) in order to get more people to participate in informal science...

Over the span of three months, our team at Harvard Graduate School of Education conducted a formative evaluation to assist the Museum of Science in Boston with their efforts to build a new exhibit, the Live Animal Garden. The goal of our evaluation was to determine how museum visitors responded to the museum's existing live animal exhibits and identify recommendations...

This literature review is funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation #1713567 and prepared for Indiana University as part of a larger project entitled Data Visualization Literacy: Research and Tools that Advance Public Understanding of Scientific Data (Dr. Katy Börner, Principal Investigator). This white paper is one component of a larger review. The larger review consists of three...

This literature review is funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation #1713567 and prepared for Indiana University as part of a larger project entitled Data Visualization Literacy: Research and Tools that Advance Public Understanding of Scientific Data, Dr. Katy Börner, Principal Investigator. This white paper is one of three of a larger review. The larger review...

This literature review is funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation #1713567 and prepared for Indiana University as part of a larger project entitled Data Visualization Literacy: Research and Tools that Advance Public Understanding of Scientific Data (Dr. Katy Börner, Principal Investigator). This white paper is one component of a larger review. The larger review consists of three...

Imagine a space filled with cardboard and endless possibilities where early engineering and creativity thrive. An inclusive makerspace that builds on design principles that work for a diversity of visitors and more museums. We’ve imagined that space over the past 10+ years, testing and iterating to make it a reality. Our iteration continues, and this guide shares some of the...

This is a practitioner guide sharing the findings. The Cardboard Collaborative is the product of 10 years of work at the Science Museum of Minnesota and part of a larger collaboration with local community organizations to center BIPOC family priorities and experiences. This guide is intended to share what they have learned and support others to create their own cardboard maker...

Conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion in science communication are in danger of generating much concern without effecting change and systematic transformations. This radical volume, authored by Elizabeth Rasekoala (African Gong: The Pan African Network for the Popularization of Science & Technology and Science Communication) addresses these circular discourses and reveals the gaps in the field. Putting the spotlight on the marginalised...

Air pollution is a data-rich problem space, with vast networks of sensors constantly capturing and reporting measurements. The measured pollutants are superficially familiar to many people, but few understand the specific sources, acceptable levels, and negative effects of any individual pollutant. In addition, coverage of air quality in formal school curricula is limited. This project seeks to deepen the public's...