EDGE: A Guide for Practicing Gender Equity in Exhibit Design

Exhibit Design for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE) began as an NSF-funded research project led by the Exploratorium to learn how science museums can better engage girls aged 8–13 with STEM exhibits. Over the course of the research, we identified nine design attributes that were consistently positively related to girls’ engagement with these exhibits.  The Exploratorium then went on a three-year journey funded by the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation to explore ways to fold the EDGE design attributes into our exhibits, with a focus on existing exhibits. This was an exciting opportunity to put the EDGE research findings into practice.

The Guide for Practicing Gender Equity in Exhibit Design shares ideas and suggestions, based on the lessons learned first-hand by the Exploratorium team, on how to creatively explore the possibilities of EDGE. This guide is designed to be helpful for anyone on the journey to create more engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) exhibit experiences for girls—no matter where they are starting.

For our team, EDGE is a new, essential way of centering girls’ engagement with STEM exhibits. We hope this guide is useful, wherever you find yourself on the journey toward gender equitable exhibit design.