Exploratorium

The Exploratorium will collaborate with eight other science and children's museums, four afterschool agencies, and a research organization to produce and publish a set of design principles to guide the planning, implementation, and assessment of museum science learning activities for afterschool audiences. As museums play an increasingly larger role in the expanding field of afterschool programs, the project will provide an intensive professional development experience for 26 educational leaders from nine participating museums to create and test the incorporation of design principles at their sites. At the conclusion of the project, the Museums Afterschool: Principles, Data and Design Guidelines will be Web-published, providing tested designs, supporting data, and program descriptions that illuminate principles of evidence-based, engaging, content-rich, informal science in the afterschool environment. Through an aggressive dissemination plan, the guidelines will potentially impact museum programming for thousands of children nationally.