New York Hall of Science

The New York Hall of Science, along with three partner science museums, will leverage its expertise in making and design-based learning to provide professional development and online resources for informal educators in libraries and other community settings. There is growing interest among a broad range of informal education institutions in using these techniques to transform learning in science, technology, engineering, and math—areas of education critical for the nation's future. This project will create community-based networks of museums, libraries, and out-of-school organizations interested in design-based learning, develop professional development for staff at these informal learning environments, foster design based learning projects, and develop robust online resources. The project will expand opportunities for young people to experience design-based learning STEM activities in libraries and other out of-school, informal learning settings; build capacity among informal education professionals to teach STEM in these out-of-school settings; and develop a model for empowering informal educators to teach using design-based learning activities.