Mcwane Science Center

"MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER SCIENCE LITERACY ACCESS PROJECT"MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER, THROUGH THIS PROJECT, WILL FOCUS ON TWO AREAS: (1) ADVANCED EDUCATIONA

FOR EDUCATION AND SCIENCE LITERACY PROGRAMSTHE 2009 EARMARK FROM THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION IS A $400,000 APPROPRIATION THAT

THE MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER (MWSC) WILL CREATE A NEW EXHIBITION EXPERIENCE ENTITLED "DROPPING SCIENCE: HIP-HOP INTERACTIVE" THAT WILL CAPTURE THE ELEMENTS OF THE POPULAR MUSIC GENRE USING INTERPRETIVE EXPERIENCES. PROJECT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE EXHIBIT CONTENT DEVELOPMENT; DEVELOPMENT OF A FORMAL EVALUATION PLAN; EXHIBIT PROTOTYPING; REMEDIAL EVALUATION, AND A FINAL EXHIBIT DESIGN PLAN. AN IMPORTANT PROJECT GOAL IS TO DEVELOP THE PROCESS FOR CREATING LASTING, RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE LOCAL AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND THROUGHOUT THE REGION, THUS CREATING AN EXHIBIT SPACE THAT CONNECTS UNDERREPRESENTED AUDIENCES TO STEM AND ESTABLISHES MWSC AS A TRUE COMMUNITY PARTNER. THE OUTCOME OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE A NEW INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE THAT WAS CO-DEVELOPED WITH AND REPRESENTATIVE OF MWSC'S LOCAL COMMUNITY THAT HELPS MWSC CONNECT WITH AND ENGAGE LOCAL VISITORS IN SCIENCE THROUGH A MORE CULTURALLY AND PERSONALLY RELEVANT LENS.

MUSEUMS FOR AMERICA

MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER WILL STRENGTHEN OUR VISITOR EXPERIENCES BY TRAINING AND CERTIFYING MCWANE STAFF AND CORE VOLUNTEERS/DOCENTS THROUGH THE FORMAL NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERPRETATION (NAI) WORKSHOPS AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS. ESTABLISHING A NOVEL AND DEFINED SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT INTERPRETATION FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT VISITOR INTERACTION AND LEARNING BASED ON NAI BEST PRACTICES WITH THE GOAL TO INCREASE VISITORS? SCIENCE CAPITAL (SCIENCERELATED KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, EXPERIENCES, AND CONTACTS). REFORMATTING OUR EXISTING HANDS-ON, SCIENCE EDUCATION EXPERIENCES AS WELL AS DEVELOPING NEW PROGRAMS AND EXHIBITIONS IN OUR EXHIBIT HALLS THAT SUPPORT THE FORMALIZED PLAN ABOVE. INCREASING THE SCIENCE CAPITAL (SCIENCE RELATED KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, EXPERIENCES, AND CONTACTS) OF STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO VISIT OUR MUSEUM.

FIE EARMARK GRANT AWARDS

EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT/ATTAINMENT

MATH/SCIENCE

THE MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER WILL GROW THE MCWANE ACADEMY EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES FOR THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR. THESE INITIATIVES INCLUDE DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING SCHOOL-BASED OUTREACH PROGRAMS, VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING, TEACHER WORKSHOPS, AND CLASSROOM RESOURCES. THE MUSEUM WILL USE THE LESSONS LEARNED DURING THE PANDEMIC TO FULLY DEVELOP AN EXPANDED EDUCATIONAL DELIVERY MODEL SECURING DIGITAL PROGRAMMING AS A STAPLE IN ADDITION TO IN-PERSON SERVICES. THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE UNIQUE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO ASSIST THOSE STUDENTS MOST AT-RISK FOR LEARNING GAPS RELATED TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC RELATED CLOSURES AND RESTRICTIONS.

THE MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER WILL STRENGTHEN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF ITS MUSEUM EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS ITS SUCCESS IN DELIVERING THE INSTITUTIONAL MISSION. BASED ON A RECENTLY COMPLETED NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT DEFINED A LOGIC MODEL IDENTIFYING THE OUTCOMES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS, THE MUSEUM WILL INITIATE A PROCESS TO BUILD ITS EVALUATION CAPACITY AND CREATE A CULTURE OF IMPACT EVALUATION. THE MUSEUM WILL ESTABLISH A STAFF EVALUATION TEAM TO WORK WITH AN EXTERNAL CONSULTANT WHO WILL CREATE A SUMMATIVE EVALUATION INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS IMPACT OBJECTIVES; TRAIN STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS IN DATA COLLECTION AND DOCUMENTATION; AND IMPLEMENT AN EVALUATION PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND THE MUSEUM'S IMPACT PERFORMANCE, CREATING A BASELINE FOR FUTURE COMPARISON. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE TWO EVALUATION CYCLES, ENSURING THAT STAFF ARE TRAINED AND PREPARED TO CONTINUE THE PROCESS INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT EXTERNAL SUPERVISION.