Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

"It wasn’t so much a realization about the power of collaboration–I’ve been lucky to know a lot of creative, smart, and passionate people. I think it was the realization that we could write a grant proposal and ask for money to make the thing happen, and sometimes we’d get that money and could really do the thing! Also, we could make the idea even better if we included the people who would participate in what we were creating in the design from the beginning. I remember getting my first grant funded and being so excited as it came to life. A big part of that grant was developing a youth program for middle school students in partnership with a school in Oakland. There was a subset of teens who were super engaged in the program and participated in every experience offered. As they started to age out, they told me they wanted to keep going, and I realized we could make that happen together. The next grant I wrote was with those teens. They co-designed a program with me, and then they got to participate in it when it was funded. I’m still in touch with a lot of those kids (well, they’re not kids anymore). The work we did together has informed all of my future work with youth." Our latest Behind the Science interview series features Emily Weiss (she/her), head of youth STEM pathways at The Lawrence. Emily has worked at The Lawrence for over 18 years, since 2006. Read the full interview: https://lnkd.in/g7wNTjRS #educator #STEM #stempathways #teacherlearning

How do you successfully develop and implement a camp #curriculum using culturally relevant and sustaining #pedagogy in STEM? In the summers of 2021, 2022, and 2023, middle school students from Alameda, California, gathered at the Alameda Boys & Girls Club (ABGC) to participate in Youth Engaged in STEM and Service (YESS), where they learned about solar technology and explored the value of science, technology, engineering, and math (#STEM) in their lives, communities, and the world. A team of educators and researchers from The Lawrence Hall of Science (The Lawrence), in collaboration with We Share Solar, the Alameda Boys and Girls Club, and Girls Inc. of the Island City, designed and implemented the YESS summer camp. YESS created a new opportunity for Black, brown, and female-identifying #youth to explore STEM concepts, #careers, and #pathways and experience STEM fascination in ways that are culturally relevant and sustaining for youth from a range of backgrounds and counteract the historical prioritization of cultural values and norms of dominant communities. Ultimately, YESS seeks to contribute to a more diverse STEM field, with more Black and brown women who self-identify as scientists and STEM professionals working in and leading solar and other STEM industries toward energy equity and climate change mitigation. Our recent article by Joanna Totino, Alex Sanchez, Melissa Collins, and Devin Cavero (he/him) along with our colleagues at Informing Change shares highlights and reflections on what it took to create and offer an informal STEM educational experience that was informative, meaningful, and culturally relevant and sustaining. Read the full program brief here: https://lnkd.in/gnFu8FeK

"I am most proud when I see students finding a love for science and when teachers feel empowered to teach science and when they have the time, instructional resources, and professional learning opportunities to be successful." Read National Science Education Leadership Association recent June Leadership Spotlight featuring Daniel Alcazar-Roman, Associate Director of our Center for K-12 Science. Read Daniel's full story here:https://lnkd.in/g3yyKjHg #k12 #leadership #education #scienceeducation #teachers

If you have pets at home, you know animal care isn’t cheap. Our Animal Discovery Zone is home to more than 35 live animals, with species originating from all over the world. 🐍🐢🦎 Donate before 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 30 to help us raise the $50,000 we need for animal care each year! Our axolotls, legless lizard, chinchilla, chameleon, rabbits, and more say "thank you!" https://lnkd.in/g3sQuB76

Looking to make your science more accessible & welcoming, share your science at conferences, with w/ journalists, & w/ community members?! If you answered "YES!" to any of those things, Science at Cal's Summer #SciComm Series is for you! 🤩 Learn more/RSVP: https://lnkd.in/g2v9Qvba University of California, Berkeley

Our Center for Transforming Science & Society center just returned from the Association of Children's Museums' Conference, where Ari Krakowski co-presented a session on engaging kids and families with artificial intelligence in museums. We loved seeing everyone's enthusiasm on how to engage kids and families with #AI! Thank you to the Association of Children's Museums for having us at an amazing conference and kudos to Ari for great presentation. We look forward to the next one! Learn more about our #AI exhibit Virtually Human: https://lnkd.in/gzfAtGQx #IA24 #ACM #Flourish

"STEM #equity is more than a trendy social media hashtag for Berkeley School of Education alums Rena Dorph PhD ‘99 and Jessica Parker PhD ‘09, MA ‘98, BA ‘96. It’s a mission. Conversations with Rena and Jessica are sprinkled as much with talk of their work being centered in equity, social justice, and effectiveness, as they are with the grounding of theory and practice in science and scientific research. And while that is natural for Rena, director of UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, and Jessica, the executive director of learning, they are both cognizant that it’s not that way for everyone." Read University of California, Berkeley, School of Education's full article: https://lnkd.in/gzYGF25H #scienceeducation #education #research #UCBerkeley

📐💻 What is the role of #computationalthinking within the K-12 math and science curriculum? What resources are available for researchers & practitioners? Hear from us at the "Empowering Future Generations" NARST Town Hall! 🍎 Join our Center for K-12 Science on Wednesday, June 5 from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. EST for a (virtual) session on Integrating Computational Learning Across the Disciplines in K-12 Ed. This session will not only showcase models for disciplinary integration of #computationallearning but also offer participants to engage in an interactive discussion on what is needed to develop empirically grounded, scalable resources aimed at integrating computational thinking across the #K12 disciplines. Register as a NARST guest or member here: https://lnkd.in/gzBFxE9r #k12leadership #EDleadership #stem #scienceeducation

⏰ We’ve updated our application due date! Applications are due May 15th, 2024 at noon PST. Visit lwrnce.org/WTRE to learn more and apply.

What is the impact of an #augmentedreality (AR) exhibit, Bugtopia, on family #learning conversations? What is Bugtopia? 🪲 Bugtopia was designed to allow visitors to interact with 3D models of animals, aiming to engage intergenerational (adult-child) groups. The study included observations and interviews with nine adult-child dyads. What did we find? 🔍 Findings suggest that AR enhances engagement and educational experiences, providing a dynamic learning environment that encourages collaboration, active participation, and addresses misconceptions. The study highlights the potential of AR in museums and science centers to support interactive and immersive learning, and suggests further exploration into gender differences in engagement and learning preferences. Read the full brief: https://lnkd.in/dKJCheBi #AR #educators #exhibit #science #education #gender #immersivelearning