South Dakota Discovery Center

The South Dakota Discovery Center will address educational disparities for rural and tribal communities in the field of STEM by acquiring a new user-friendly, portable planetarium system. Project activities will include working with consultants to develop star shows for K-12 students, after-school programs and summer camps, provide training for staff and volunteers, and work with longstanding tribal community partners on a Lakota Star Knowledge program that incorporates Indigenous Knowledge. The new planetarium system will increase the self-efficacy of museum staff and volunteers to deliver immersive programs and expand capacity for authentic career exploration opportunities that utilizes inquiry- and evidence-based informal programming in public, in-school, and out-of-school settings. The project will be evaluated by analyzing pre and post learning assessments and end-of-program reflection prompts.