Search Results – Repository and Website Combined

Wyoming EPSCoR's education, outreach and diversity programs include undergraduate and graduate research and student achievement support, K-12 educational programs and teacher trainings, diversity programs targeted at increasing the representation of URGs in the sciences, and research infrastructural improvements on the community college level. Our current Track-1 Award through NSF EPSCoR is related to understanding the water balance through hydrology, ecology,...

This paper describes the methodology and the development of the instruments for collecting and analyzing data to better understand 1) what people bring with them to their visit, 2) what people do during a visit, and 3) what people take away from a visit. Elements of what they bring intersect with Knology’s work, and what they do and what they...

The X-STEM conference will take place in Denver, CO from July 29-August 1, 2014. This conference—the first annual—will explore the many incarnations and benefits of experiential methods in STEM education, showcase programs, and catalyze a community of experiential STEM advocates. Learn more at the conference site and register before July 31 to receive a discounted ... Read more

This past July, a group of educators, researchers, evaluators, and policymakers gathered in Denver for the X-STEM conference, organized by the University of Colorado’s Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative. The term “experiential learning” encompasses a family of similar approaches to learning, including inquiry-based learning, service learning, and discovery learning. A core idea common to these ... Read more

This paper presents synthesized research on where XR is most effective within a museum setting and what impact XR might have on the visitor experience. It was funded via Re-Living Paleontology, a project which researched learning through differing AR experiences. It was led by researchers from USC’s Rossier School of Education and Institute for Creative Technologies partnered with from the Natural...

Xraise provides experiences that empower individuals by making science familiar and accessible. Immersed with scientists themselves, we facilitate hands-on, minds-on activities that involve the direct exploration of physics phenomena. Our relationship with K12 students, educators and community partners provides us with a platform for exploring personal intuitions, developing understandings and fostering excitement in science....

The X-Tech program will bring together the Exploratorium and staff at five Beacon Centers to create an innovative technology program using STEM and IT activities previously tested at the Exploratorium. At each X-Tech Club, two Beacon Center staff and two Exploratorium Youth Facilitators will work with 20 middle school students each year for a total of 300 participants. Youth Facilitators...

In the Community Science Learning through Youth Astronomy Apprenticeships (YAA) project, underrepresented urban high school youths, working with recent college grads, conducted astronomy investigations, then translated their personal learning and enthusiasm into outreach programs for younger children, families and community members in an astronomy and space science program. Science education centers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,...

Yale Peabody Museum is developing an exhibition for the general public to introduce and interpret the Tree of Life online project that involves many universities and museums and is being supported by the National Science Foundation. This front-end visitor study was conducted to inform exhibition development about the potential audience's understanding of Trees. Interview forms and images are included in...

The YardMap Network (see www.yardmap.org) is an NSF-funded citizen science project at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which will allow participants to map their habitat management and carbon neutral practices in backyards and parks, interact socially within the network, and display their activities and carbon footprints in an online platform such as Google maps. In 2010, the Institute for Learning...

The following is one of three focus point presentations delivered as part of the session titled “Citizen Science Project Design” on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Sandra Henderson, UCAR Citizen Science Programs Manager, discusses two citizen science campaigns, GLOBE at Night and Project...

The NSF-funded Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network produced exhibits and programs designed to develop awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology in the museum-going public. As part of the overall summative evaluation of the first five years of this grant, the Exhibits and Programs Study examines the measurable impacts of these public products on museum visitors....

As part of community building efforts, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network undertook regional site visits during Year 5 of the project. The purpose of the site visits was to deepen relationships with a small group of partners. The Network Community Group saw the site visits as an opportunity to create a stronger sense of community within the Network...

Annual compilations of trends and accomplishments from the ISE field

The Yellowstone Park Foundation created exhibits and integrated educational programs for a state-of-the-art visitor education center at Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park. The exhibits and programs focus ong eysers and hot springs on Earth and the unique microbial life forms that live in these thermal waters; current and emerging research critical to understanding issues and solving environmental problems facing...

In this letter, Ross Loomis, the president of the Visitor Studies Association, reflects on the VSA Conference in Birmingham and acknowledges key people for making the event possible....

This long-term follow-up study utilized mixed method design to elicit information from the previous alumni cohorts over the past ten years. Extensive qualitative analysis supports quantitative findings across five intended program outcomes (content; science identity, science communication, 21st century skills and positive youth development; and networking. It also documents additional non-specifically targeted outcomes (e.g., parenting and community involvement); influence of...

Raise the Bar: YOU Belong in STEM, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) signature initiative to modernize STEM education, has a simple message: all students, no matter their background, deserve a world-class education in STEM to prepare them and our country for the future. We have the resources and the vision to make this a ... Read more

Join the U.S. Department of Education, National Science Foundation, National Future Farmers of America, and others supporting rural students to learn about how rural schools approach STEM Education. Participants will hear from current members of those communities as well as community and federal partners to bring rigorous, joyful, and relevant STEM learning to their individual ... Read more

Join the U.S. Department of Education to learn from student voices and experts in the field, offering educators, parents, and policymakers concrete strategies to address the challenges and opportunities to support women and girls of color to excel in STEM pathways and careers. The webinar will feature the STEM experiences of three young women of ... Read more

Independent, Community-Based Organizations are threatened by the recent movement, supported by government money, to place after school programs in the same schools children attend all day. This article emphasizes the difference between community-based and school-centric afterschool programming....

This article describes an informal study study that investigated what it means to be a audience advocate. The author examines this question by describing the role in metaphorical terms....

With the support of a Wallace Excellence Award, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (the Gardner) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to study its young adult visitors. The study is part of an initiative to engage young adults between 18 and 34 years old, and to create conditions for a compelling experience at the Gardner that will foster...

In this article, Leonie J. Rennie and Terence P. McClafferty, researchers at Curtin University of Technology in Western Austalia, discuss their efforts to study how young children use interactive exhibits designed from 3 to 7 year olds. The authors analyze play and its relationship with learning....