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The content below has been updated in the Project Planner Return to Developing Projects (2016) Communication, public engagement, and outreach are areas of activity that can foster curiosity about, appreciation for, or understanding of science concepts, processes and applications. Informal STEM education (ISE) exhibitions, public programs, media, and games also have these and other outcomes ... Read more

The Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL), within the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU), is actively seeking Program Directors with demonstrated expertise in education research or development within preK-12 formal and or informal learning environments. DRL supports innovative research, development, and evaluation of learning and teaching across all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ... Read more

Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) Summer Institute 2022 will be held online August 5-7, 2022. Submit proposals here by July 15. Check here for updates. The theme for this year is “Critical contexts and critical pedagogies for stem learning”. How can we go beyond civic engagement to advance democracy, social justice, ... Read more

The Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program funds innovative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and Informal Science Education (ISE) educational projects for pre-kindergarten to grade 12 (P–12).

The Science Events Summit will be held June 5-7, in Cambridge, MA. More information is here. The event is geared towards public science events organizers. It’s not an unconference, but sessions are designed around the interests of attendees. Read more on the about page.  

This article was migrated from a previous version of the Knowledge Base. The date stamp does not reflect the original publication date. Overview  Designing science exhibits for young children involves carefully considering the social context of early childhood learning and understanding the nature of science learning and engagement in early childhood. Findings from Research and Evaluation  ... Read more

The Science Fairs Under the ‘Scope project is looking for interviewees from the informal STEM learning community. Criteria: Interviewee must work at an informal institution (museum, afterschool program, YMCA, library, etc.) that has some involvement with a science fair. Involvement could include hosting a fair or providing space, mentors, materials, or other resources to a science ... Read more

On April 5-6, 2023, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center will host the inaugural Science for All Summit at the Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill, NC. The Summit is a community convening to advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The theme of this year’s Summit is From IDEA ... Read more

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center hosted the inaugural Science for All Summit in April 2023. The fourth annual Summit will take place on February 19 – 20, 2026. The Summit is a community convening to advance access and opportunity in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for people of all backgrounds and ... Read more

The Summit is a community convening to advance access and opportunity in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for people of all backgrounds and lived experiences. The purpose of the Summit is to engage educators, practitioners, researchers, thought leaders, and other change agents in conversation and knowledge building around emerging issues and ... Read more

This article was migrated from a previous version of the Knowledge Base. The date stamp does not reflect the original publication date. Overview  Interest is a fundamental motivator of behavior and learning, driving humans to explore the world around them and reengage with specific topics, objects, and activities (Hidi & Renninger, 2006; National Research Council, ... Read more

A recent article published in Science, the world’s leading journal of original scientific research, global news, and commentary, mentions informalscience.org as an example of an aggregator website that searches over large data sets. The article, Crowdsourcing and Curating Online Education Resources, co-authored by Darrell Porcello and Sherry Hsi, both at University of California Berkeley, Lawrence ... Read more

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and UK-based Wellcome Trust have announced the funding of five new projects through the Science Learning Plus (SL+) program. The projects will help to increase understanding of how informal science learning activities affect children and young people’s enjoyment and understanding of science. All five are collaborative partnerships between organisations in ... Read more

Science Learning+ was an open call for proposals for Planning and Partnership Grants through an international partnership between the NSF and the Wellcome Trust with the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The aims of Science Learning+ Planning and Partnership Grants were to strengthen the research and knowledge base; bridge the practice and research ... Read more

This month, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Wellcome Trust, and the U.K. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) announced 11 new awards that will improve the knowledge base and practice of science learning experiences that happen anywhere and at any time. These awards were made through the Science Learning+ program, which seeks to establish ... Read more

The Science Learning+ program, a partnership between NSF and the UK-based Wellcome Trust and ESRC, working in collaboration with other U.S. foundations, aims to explore the impact of informal learning experiences and improve understanding of how informal environments may help widen access to STEM. This program seeks to bring together partners from the U.S. and ... Read more

Recently, CAISE shared a new opportunity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Wellcome Trust (among other partners) called Science Learning+. The NSF will have several opportunities over the coming weeks for proposers to learn more about Science Learning+, and to begin developing partners and networks to include in the Science Learning+ Planning Proposals due ... Read more

The Science Media Awards & Summit (SMASH16) will be held from September 20-22, 2016. SMASH16 is a unique forum to network with top scientists and top science media makers from around the world to share new work, new approaches, new ideas. The unique collaboration between Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and WGBH Boston brings together a diverse ... Read more

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently opened the 100th Science On a Sphere® installation at its headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. Science On a Sphere is an interactive 3D display system for scientists, educators, and the general public to simulate and interact with planetary data. The Sphere’s origins were discussed in a recent ... Read more

A recent Guardian article had some interesting reflections on recent STEM programming in the UK, where critics of a popular science television show argued that it was “dumbing down” science education. One highlight from the article: “Science changes as it makes its way on to television, just as it does as it travels to newspapers, ... Read more

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will be hosting a science outreach-themed poster session at their annual meeting in Boston, MA on March 28, 2015, as part of the 2015 Experimental Biology meeting. The event will take place at the Boston Convention and Events Center from 7-8:30 PM, and is open to the ... Read more

This Knowledge Base article was written collaboratively with contributions from Scott Pattison and Josie Melton. This article was migrated from a previous version of the Knowledge Base. The date stamp does not reflect the original publication date. Overview  Research findings in the field of cognitive science have implications for the design and implementation of science programs ... Read more

SCIENCE TALK ’24 is being planned as a hybrid conference to take place both in-person in Portland, Oregon, and with real-time, online participation for speakers and attendees also available. Virtual (live-streamed) presentations will take place between April 3 and April 9. Precise dates and times will be based on presenter availability. All attendees will have access to virtual ... Read more

Celebrate 10 years of SCIENCE TALK with us! Registration is now open for SCIENCE TALK ‘26, the annual conference of the Association of Science Communicators. We are navigating unprecedented challenges: AI disruption, eroding public trust, rampant misinformation, and pressure to do more with fewer resources. For 10 years, SCIENCE TALK has brought together the brightest ... Read more

This article was co-written by Sciencenter staff Michelle Kortenaar, Director of Education, and Alli Sribarra, Grant Administrator. Three years ago, the Sciencenter, a hands-on science museum in Ithaca, New York, was approached by researchers from Cornell University’s Early Childhood Cognition Lab (ECC Lab) who were in search of a real-world setting in which to study ... Read more