Moco Kidsco

THE LATINO STEM EDUCATION INITIATIVE: ENGAGING KIDS AND FAMILIES IN STEM PATHWAYS

KID MUSEUM WILL TRAIN ALL STAFF ACROSS ITS MUSEUM TO USE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ITS DIVERSE AUDIENCES AND MORE EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO STEM EDUCATION. PROJECT ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE HIRING A CONSULTANT TO OVERSEE THE DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY OF TRAINING SESSIONS AS WELL AS SMALL GROUP AND ALL-STAFF WORKSHOPS. BY PROJECT COMPLETION, ALL 46 STAFF WILL BE FULLY TRAINED AND ABLE TO ACTIVELY APPLY THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS WITHIN THEIR SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE MUSEUM. THE MUSEUM WILL INTEGRATE THE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICES INTO STAFF PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AND GOAL-SETTING PROCESSES TO HELP SUSTAIN THOSE PRACTICES.

KID MUSEUM WILL DEVELOP AND TEST A FRAMEWORK FOR WORKING WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO DESIGN LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND CREATE A FACILITATION GUIDE FOR INTEGRATING CULTURAL APPRECIATION WITH MAKER-BASED LEARNING. BUILDING ON ITS ESTABLISHED CULTURAL DAYS PROGRAMMING, THE MUSEUM WILL PARTNER WITH FOUR ORGANIZATIONS THAT REPRESENT THE REGION'S LARGEST ETHNIC POPULATIONS. TOGETHER, THEY WILL PLAN, DESIGN, PROTOTYPE, AND REFINE NEW PROGRAMS AND EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN AGES 4 TO 14 AND THEIR FAMILIES. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL ADAPT AN IMLS-FUNDED STEM-EXPERT CO-DEVELOPMENT MODEL TO DEVELOP AND PRESENT CULTURAL PROGRAMS BOTH AT THE MUSEUM AND IN THE COMMUNITY. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL EVALUATE AND REFINE THE PROGRAMS THROUGH VISITOR SURVEYS. THE MUSEUM WILL SHARE THE RESULTING FRAMEWORK AND FACILITATION GUIDE WITH OTHER INFORMAL LEARNING SPACES TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SIMILAR PROGRAMS.