Guide to supporting a science center-based Youth Advisory Research Board (YARB)

This is a guide to supporting a Youth Advisory Research Board, abbreviated to “YARB.”  A YARB integrates two well-established methods of working with youth: Youth Advisory Boards and Youth Participatory Action Research. Youth Advisory Boards give young participants an opportunity to implement real, observable change at institutions such as informal science education centers. 

A YARB is different from "typical" youth programming in science centers. Most youth programming is very structured with youth learning “demos'' and facilitating exhibits. The YARB program is focused on a socioscientific topic, in this case, climate impact education, and leaves room for the youth to co-create relevant programming to engage their communities and to advise the museum from the ground up. If youth start with the assignments to help their communities learn and to help museum professionals learn, the education approaches with communities and the input for the museum are much more diverse than without the youth leadership.