The Pacific Science Center (WA), in collaboration with Explora (NM), the North Museum of Natural History and Science (PA) and the Institute for Learning Innovation (MD), will develop, implement, research and evaluate a delivery model for effectively communicating current science to the public at informal science education organizations. Project deliverables will include cost-effective delivery mechanisms, development and testing of professional development workshops for scientists, in-depth research into the factors affecting implementation of the model and a guide to implementation of the model workshops.
The project will reach museum professionals at 28 institutions, 275 scientists and 25,000 visitors over three years. It has significant potential for long-term impact on science museums across the nation based on the development, testing and dessemination of a flexible educational program approach that involves partnering with practicing scientists and engineers in their communities. In so doing, it will enhance their capacities to communicate current science and technology to their audiences.
began in 2007 as a grant project led by Pacific Science Center (Seattle, WA) in collaboration with Explora (Albuquerque, NM), the orth Museum of Natural History and Science (Lancaster, PA), and the Institute for Learning Innovation (Edgewater, MD). The program sought to develop a way to assist informal science education institutions to bring scientists and public audiences together in face-to-face public interactions that promote appreciation and understanding of current scientific research and its application. Instead of a prescriptive program model, the project partners created a flexible guiding framework that gives institutions the ability to design and scale specific approaches and strategies to fit their own unique goals and desired impacts. Informal science education institutions who adopt the Portal to the Public guiding framework focus their efforts in three key areas: • Relationships between science center staff and scientists from organizations such as universities, businesses, and government agencies • Professional development that prepares scientists to share their work with public audiences • Face-to-face public programs where scientists and public audiences interact, leading to increased appreciation and understanding of current scientific research and its application The guiding framework has become the hallmark of Portal to the Public and was developed based on formative research conducted by the Institute for Learning Innovation on the initial implementation efforts at the three core institutions. In 2009, the core team trained an additional five sites to implement the guiding framework: Explorit Science Center (Davis, CA), Adventure Science Center (Nashville, TN), Discovery Center Museum (Rockford, IL), Discovery Center of Springfield (Springfield, MO), and Museum of Life and Science (Durham, NC). These collaborative partners were chosen strategically to include museums with diverse philosophies, communities, sizes, and resources. Tisdal Consulting conducted a summative evaluation to determine if the conceptual approach of Portal to the Public provided a scalable and flexible guide to creating successful and sustainable programs. The Portal to the Public project team created a guide to implementing a Portal to the Public program, the Implementation Manual. It shares the most important results from the grant project’s development and dissemination phases based on the experiences of the first eight Portal to the Public sites, and as supported by research and evaluation. The manual chapters focus on the planning steps and program elements required for successful face-to-face experiences between scientists and public audiences. It also includes a set of 23 detailed professional development procedures and sample workshop agendas created by the three original Portal to the Public institutions, the Catalog of Professional Development Elements. The catalog is intended to be a practical guide to creating and facilitating professional development experiences for scientists. A research study and a summative evaluation were conducted to support the overall conceptual framework through the development and scale-up process. The comprehensive research study conducted by the Institute for Learning Innovation used a benefit versus cost analysis and showed a net benefit to the three audiences reached by this project: museum staff, participating scientists, and visitors who attended a public program. The summative evaluation was conducted by Tisdal Consulting and sought to determine the reliability and applicability of the model as it was initiated at the five dissemination sites. It therefore focused on determining the degree to which the Portal to the Public framework could be scaled and the factors that most influence implementation. Portal to the Public has impacted a large number of people across multiple audiences. Hundreds of scientists have received professional development and gained experience communicating their work directly to public audiences. Thousands of museum visitors interacted with scientists at public programs at the eight Portal to the Public institutions. Museum and science center staff at participating institutions gained knowledge and expertise in working with scientists from their communities. Additionally, the project has been a significant contribution to the field to dispel the stereotypes that scientists do not want to commit time to a project like this and that scientists think they have nothing to learn from informal science providers. Portal to the Public offers a validated solution to museums and educational organizations seeking to connect local communities to scientific research, to embed scientists into the ways they engage their audiences, and addresses many of the challenges that arise when science and scientists meet the public directly.
