By Emily O’Hara and Beth Krusi
From ASTC Dimensions
July/August 2010

As a small, regional museum drawing from a small population, the Montshire Museum of Science in rural Norwich, Vermont, attracts a high proportion of repeat visitors. About 80 percent of visitors have been to the museum before, and we average 18 individual visits per membership household each year. Our reliance on repeat visitation challenges us to constantly evaluate and refine both new and existing exhibits in our 11,000-square-foot interior exhibit space and 110 acres of woodlands.
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IN THIS ISSUE
May/June 2010

The United Nations has declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. Defined as the variety of life on Earth, biodiversity refers not only to the world’s diverse array of species, from animals to plants to micro-organisms, but also to the genetic variation within species, and the ecosystems where species live and interact. Whether through exhibitions, workshops, outreach programs, community partnerships, or Public Participation in Scientific Research projects, science centers can play an important role in increasing public understanding of biodiversity, its value, the threats it faces, and what can be done to help.

Contents

• Biodiversity: Time for Action, by Gérard Cobut
• The Calumet Environmental Education Program: A Model for Science Learning, by Kirk Anne Taylor
• An Oasis in the City: Tokyo’s Institute for Nature Study, by Miki Takahashi
• Variety is the Spice of Life: Biodiversity and its Conservation as a Basic Commitment, by Francisco J. Franco del Amo and Francisco Armesto Ramón
• Biodiversity in China, by Frances Leung
• Lessons from the Tree of Life, by Jane Pickering and Ellen Giusti
• Partnering for Conservation in the Solomon Islands, by Brian Weeks, Catherine Smith, and Eleanor Sterling
• Grassroots Gardening, by Jenny Fortier and Dana Murchison
• Making Big Abstract Science Accessible, by Marilyn Hoyt and Dan Wharton
• Public Participation in Scientific Research

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By Kirk Anne Taylor
From ASTC Dimensions
May/June 2010

“I always wanted to be able to connect what I taught in class to a real-world situation. [The Calumet Environmental Education Program (CEEP)] allows students to not only learn about environmental issues, but also take action on an issue. I feel my students learned more during this year than any other year.”
—Milton Katsaros, CEEP Teacher

In 2002, the Field Museum in Chicago launched the Calumet Environmental Education Program (CEEP) as a new model of conservation education that translates science into action for students and teachers. Developed by the museum’s Division of Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), CEEP began as a pilot project for schools in the Calumet region of southeast Chicago. Since its inception, CEEP has grown to serve more than 2,700 students and 100 teachers from 23 Calumet schools annually. Students in grades 4 to 12 learn about local biodiversity through a consecutive ladder of environmental education programs that build content knowledge grade level upon grade level.
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IN THIS ISSUE
March/April 2010

According to Positive Youth Development theory, youth programs should promote positive relationships, provide safe environments, build confidence and competence through meaningful work, foster leadership opportunities, and recognize youth for their assets. Science centers incorporate all of these elements into their youth programs, while introducing youth to science careers, developing their science literacy, or giving them tools to address global issues. In this issue, we look at a variety of youth programs, aimed at young people ages 10 to 19.

Contents

• A Journey with CAUSE: Putting Positive Youth Development into Museum Youth Programs, by Angela Wenger and Susan Foutz
• Finding a Second Family, by Rariety Monford
• Creating Empowerment at Thinktank, by Nick Winterbotham
• The Science Career Ladder Dissemination Project, by Preeti Gupta
• Think Globally, Play Locally: Bringing Social and Global Issues to Teens, by Karen Hager
• School Science Society: Making Science Relevant to Youth, by Sara Calcagnini
• Girls’ I.D.ea of Science, by Jennifer Stancil
• Girls, Science, and Policy, by Jennifer Stancil
• Girls on the RISE
• Engaging America’s Youth, by Judy Koke and Lynn D. Dierking
• ASTC’s Handbook for Youth Programs
• Building Bridges to Technology: SAASTA’s Techno Youth Program, by Bafedile Kgwadi

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By Angela Wenger and Susan Foutz
From ASTC Dimensions
March/April 2010

The New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences (the Academy) in Camden is now in the 17th year of its Community and Urban Science Enrichment Program (CAUSE). The program was created to address one of the Academy’s key mission elements: to provide educational and economic opportunity to Camden City residents.

Through the CAUSE program, local high school students receive training in marine science and biology, and work as mentors for younger students and as educators. To date, 150 students have participated in the program. The current demographics of the CAUSE teens are 41 percent African American, 54 percent Hispanic, and 5 percent of mixed backgrounds. By gender, 56 percent are female, and 44 percent are male. The overwhelming majority of participants are from low-income households.
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