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The NJ Watershed Watch Network is a program acting as an umbrella for all of the volunteer monitoring programs within New Jersey. The goal of this new program is to provide acceptable protocols and QA/QC requirements for volunteers if they chose to submit their data to the NJDEP, to assist volunteers in designing and building upon their existing programs and...

The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (JMZ) is working to create an accessible facility from the ground up as they plan for a new building, zoo habitats, and exhibits. During construction of the new JMZ the institution will occupy a temporary space in Palo Alto. The new JMZ is scheduled to open in 2019. To inform their planning process, Tina...

The author reflects on the use of some media channels to disseminate information about astronomy. He states that there is a striking absence of regularly maintained blogs hosted by major astronomical institutions. He asserts that social networking sites offer a quick and efficient channel for dissemination of content to a younger audience. He offers information on Second Life, the most...

In this article, Mark St. John of Inverness Research Associates offers new metaphors for thinking about assessment in informal settings. These metaphors relate to architecture, criticism, investigative journalism, anthropology/geography, product evaluation, narrative (storytelling), committee hearings, marketing, and cognitive science....

The mission of the New Mexico Informal Science Education Network (NM ISE Net) is to provide opportunities and resources for informal educators to work together to impact science teaching, science learning, and science awareness throughout the state of New Mexico. The NM Museum of Natural History and Science leads NM ISE Net with support from NM EPSCoR....

This document evaluates a meeting held by the New Mexico ISE Network (NM ISE Net) to link research and informal education institutions with one another to build capacity for informal science education....

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque will design and construct a 6,250 square foot permanent exhibit on the geology and biology of the intracontinental Cretaceous Period seacoast environment of New Mexico. Using more than 20 interactive exhibits as well as modern and extinct plant and animal species, visitors will experience and explore this ancient, yet familiar world...

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have released a new report entitled Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem.  The report examines the ways in which universities and industries can collaborate to strengthen local STEM workforces, through strategies such as higher quality course offerings, lab activities, work-based learning programs, and more.

Informalscience.org posts funding opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education research and development on our Calendar. This month, two solicitations from the National Science Foundation were released: Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12): The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of STEM by preK-12 students and teachers, through ... Read more

From the National Science Foundation (NSF): The Discovery Research PreK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by PreK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of STEM education innovations and approaches. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and ... Read more

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a new Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The Guide is applicable to all proposals submitted after December 26, 2014. The GPG has helpful information for those submitting NSF grant applications, including pre-submission information, proposal preparation instructions, and details on the proposal review process. A summary of changes from the ... Read more

This paper suggests new strategies for introducing students to robotics technologies and concepts, and argues for the importance of providing multiple entry points into robotics. In particular, the paper describes four strategies that have been successful in engaging a broad range of learners: (1) focusing on themes, not just challenges; (2) combining art and engineering; (3) encouraging storytelling; (4) organizing...

This paper briefly describes a new academic discussion project first presented on November 29th, 2016, at the "Universum Sciences Museum" in Mexico City. Interdisciplinary professionals comprise the Museological Reflections Group (MRG), whose aim is to think and explore new possibilities for science museums. The group's first edition, offered the theme "The Sciences behind Showcases: Anthropological and Archaeological Processes"....

Earlier this year, the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to produce a series of original, creative radio stories on STEM topics that would educate and excite listeners. Story topics include trends in science education, developments in forensic and space engineering, science history, and many more. Read all of ... Read more

Last fall, Culture Kettle (a new nonprofit that explores innovation in the cultural sector), the Program in Science, Technology & Society at MIT, and the MIT Museum convened a two-day workshop as part of their Evolving Culture of Science Engagement Initiative. The Initiative explores a new wave of public science engagement activity that is blurring ... Read more

A new report from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled “Science Literacy: Concepts, Contexts, and Consequences” provides new insight into science literacy on a community level. “Historically, assessments of science literacy have focused on individuals, but we see now that communities can engage in science and produce scientific knowledge in a ... Read more

Richard Hudson of Twin Cities Public Television reports out on how 2014 AISL PI Meeting participants are using technology to support informal STEM learning. The use of digital media, particularly smartphones, continues its explosive growth, becoming an ever more important opportunity for STEM learning. A new report from comScore, a digital analytics firm, describes the ... Read more

Several reports released over the past month have data, perspectives and field-wide implications of interest for science education, communication and engagement. All three are now available on InformalScience.org. These include a report from the Center for Innovative Research on Cyberlearning (CIRCLCenter), the RAND Corporation, and the Pew Research Center. Cyberlearning Community Report: The State of Cyberlearning ... Read more

Research and Practice Collaboratory has launched a new website and we invite you to visit, sign up for the forthcoming newsletter, comment on useful resources, and send early feedback through the site’s contact link. The Research+Practice Collaboratory is an NSF-funded project funded to address the challenging gap between research and practice in STEM education across ... Read more

After three years of NSF-funded research on staff-facilitated family learning in museums, the REVEAL project team (http://www.informalscience.org/research-researching-value-educator-actions-learning-reveal) has released a new website with resources for museum educators, managers, and researchers: http://REVEAL.TERC.edu. The site is designed especially for those interested in museum educator professional development, family learning at interactive exhibits, and informal math education. All of the ... Read more

Come hang out with the Teen Science Cafe Network (TSCN) staff and other TSCN Members in this FREE webinar about marketing for your café program.  This webinar will provide you with marketing strategies and resources to reach new teen audiences for your Teen Science Café. Topics include creating a simple marketing plan, messaging to teen ... Read more

The scandal of the “biotechnology evangelist” erupted in Korea at the beginning of the new year: a commission from Seoul National University announced that it had proof that Dr Woo Suk Hwang, considered one of the world’s foremost experts on cloning by nucleus transfer, had manipulated the data concerning experiments in human cell cloning and the creation of eleven lines...

In 1988 and 1989, ASTC offered a seven-day institute for founders of new science centers, funded by the National Science Foundation. The impact of these institutes was profound, making the difference between success and failure for several, and helping many others clarify and strengthen their plans. Since then demand for technical assistance to new science centers has increased rather than...

This month, PLOS Biology published an article by Kalie Sacco, Jamie Bell, and John Falk of CAISE. PLOS Biology is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the nonprofit organization PLOS. The article, “Informal Science Education: Lifelong, Life-Wide, Life-Deep”, describes the range of learning opportunities in out-of-school environments and how scientists can work with informal learning ... Read more

The Journal of Research in STEM Education is a new journal that will facilitate the sharing of new ideas among science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. In addition to original research articles, J-STEM will feature articles on innovative pedagogies developed by both formal and informal educators. This international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal ... Read more