The Museum of Science in Boston will investigate different museum exhibit design strategies for building computational thinking capacity among diverse middle and high school learners. The goal of this project is to identify how novice learners can be supported to make sense of and interact with computational thinking tools, problem solving strategies, and technical solutions. Exhibits designed in this project will support visitors to engage with the steps of algorithmic problem solving and to evaluate the efficiency and correctness of algorithms. Each of the exhibits involved in this project will undergo initial design and development, including formative prototyping and evaluation to ensure they are easily usable and meet intended educational goals. This traveling museum exhibition has the potential not only to stimulate awareness and practice of computational thinking skills, but also to stimulate capacity, interest, and self-efficacy for computing and computing careers among diverse learners who may not otherwise have exposure to computational thinking.
