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Joel Miller, a SUNY Binghamton graduate student, engages a young Museum of Science visitor with a table-top activity about amorphous metal and scientific inquiry during the “Taking it to the Floor” workshop at the Fall 2008 MRS Meeting. |
Juan J. de Pablo, University of Wisconsin-Madison (DMR #0520527)
Lawrence Bell, Museum of Science (DRL #0532536)
Robert Semper, Exploratorium (DRL #0532536, Co-PI)
Thomas Rockwell, Exploratorium (DRL #0532536, Co-PI)
Paul Martin Science, Museum of Minnesota (DRL #0532536, Co-PI)
Carol Lynn Alpert, Museum of Science (DRL #0532536, Co-PI)
An important part of improving public understanding of science, as well as the quality of informal science education, is the education and training of those leading the activities. Toward this end, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Nanostructured Interfaces, the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) co-hosted a professional development series for researchers on education and outreach from November 29 through December 1, 2008, at the Fall 2008 MRS Meeting in Boston, MA.
The professional development series, titled “An Education-Outreach Package,” consisted of two parts and shared best practices and strategies for leading effective outreach activities and crafting high-quality broader impacts plans for NSF proposals.
The series began with a half-day, hands-on workshop at the Museum of Science-Boston (MOS), “Taking it to the Museum Floor: Sharing Science with Public Audiences in a Science Center,” led by UW MRSEC education director Greta Zenner. The 10 workshop attendees listened to a presentation by Zenner about best practices for outreach, and one by Zenner and Andrea Durham (MOS) about guidelines for making educational materials accessible to diverse audiences. Following the presentations, education professionals trained the attendees to lead an interactive science education activity, which they then got to lead on the exhibit floor of MOS with visitors – on one of the busiest days of the year for the museum. Evaluation of the workshop showed that this “on the floor” experience was the highlight of the day.
To help the attendees put their new knowledge and skills into practice, a breakfast seminar, “Crafting Successful Broader Impacts Plans for NSF Proposals,” was held the following Monday morning onsite at the MRS Meeting. Presentations by a museum professional (Dr. Eric Marshall from New York Hall of Science), CAREER grant PIs (Prof. Ainissa Ramirez from Yale University and Prof. David Lederman from West Virginia University), and an NSF official (Dr. Zakya Kafafi, DMR Director), helped attendees to develop their understanding of broader impacts, their ideas for broader impacts plans, and their connections to potential collaborators. Prof. Amy Moll, from Boise State University and chair of the MRS Public Outreach Committee, moderated the seminar.
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Dr. Zakya Kafafi, Director of NSF’s Division of Materials Research, helps researchers to understand broader impacts and to develop ideas for broader impacts plans. Dr. Kafafi contributed to a four-person panel during the Monday-morning seminar, “Crafting Successful Broader Impacts Plans for NSF Proposals,” held at the Fall 2008 MRS Meeting. |
