Eight museums in the Greater Boston area have collaborated to help 96 elementary teachers from cooperating school districts improve their overall science literacy and their ability to transmit such literacy to the children that they teach. The summer institute and school year followup program has created a professional partnership between classroom teachers and the diverse resources of the museums, both staff and collections. Such partnerships contribute to the development of greater knowledge of the processes and content of science as well as heighten the excitement and improve attitudes towards science by both teachers and their students. Key summer activities focus upon helping teachers understand the commonalities among diverse scientific fields that make each field "science", and developing understanding of the nature of inquiry and ways to foster it among children in school and out. Teachers also have the opportunities to actually "do" science and to broaden their informational background in an area of science of their choosing, since they select the museum in which they will study. Throughout the school year a variety of programs help the teachers with lesson planning, resource consultation, loan materials, and other support activities. The approach is perceived as a potential model for expanded collaborations among museums and schools in New England and elsewhere around the nation. An amount equivalent to 28% of the NSF request has been cost shared by private foundations, museums and school districts.//
