The sciencenter, in collaboration with the science museum of minnesota (SMM), the children s creativity museum (CCM), and other partners in the national informal stem education (nise) network,…

The Sciencenter Discovery Museum, a non-profit STEM education organization based in Ithaca, New York, received a $998.4K cooperative agreement from NASA to develop "Explore Science: Destination Moon," a comprehensive educational initiative combining hands-on STEM activities and a mobile application focused on lunar and Mars exploration. As the prime contractor, Sciencenter collaborated with the Science Museum of Minnesota, Children's Creativity Museum, and other partners within the National Informal STEM Education (NISE) Network to create a toolkit of interactive learning experiences based on NASA's human space exploration mission. The project leverages resources from multiple NASA centers, including the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute at NASA Ames Research Center and the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, to incorporate authentic NASA content, visualizations, and mission data into the educational materials. This cooperative agreement carries no set-aside designation and was awarded on January 29, 2021, with an ultimate completion date of January 28, 2025.

The toolkit will be distributed to 350 science centers, children's museums, and planetariums across the NISE Network, reaching an estimated 2.1 million people over the three-year project period. The initiative targets youth and families, particularly students in grades 4-8, and extends learning beyond museum walls through the mobile application, which bridges in-museum STEM engagement with at-home learning experiences via interactive activity guides and customized connections to NASA visualizations. The project specifically emphasizes engaging underserved and underrepresented communities, aligning with NASA's broader mission to inspire the next generation of American explorers while advancing public understanding of space exploration technology and human spaceflight initiatives.

The sciencenter, in collaboration with the science museum of minnesota (SMM), the children s creativity museum (CCM), and other partners in the national informal stem education (nise) network, proposes explore science: destination moon. The project team will create a new toolkit of hands-on stem (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities based on NASA's continuing pursuit of human exploration of the moon and a mobile APP that starts at the moon and launches users towards mars and farther out in our solar system extending learning beyond museum walls. Expanding on the successful explore science series from the nise network, the toolkit will be distributed to 350 nise network partner science centers, children s museums, and planetariums. The toolkit will feature unique NASA assets and content for museum visitors and informal educators, while the APP will bridge stem engagement in museums to learning experiences at home through interactive activity guides and customized connections to NASA visualizations and mission data for families and youth in grades 4-8. This project will reach an estimated 2.1 million people over three years through a national network actively engaging underserved and underrepresented groups and will inspire the next generation of american explorers through NASA s push to expand the boundaries of human presence in space. By leveraging NASA people and resources of the solar system exploration research virtual institute at NASA ames research center, the scientific visualization studio at NASA goddard space flight center, and collaborators within NASA human exploration and operations mission directorate (heomd) and space and technology mission directorate (stmd), the project will incorporate content, visualizations, and other unique NASA assets that will serve to highlight new science and technology in support of human space exploration. The project has target two audiences: 1) youth and their families, especially students in grades 4-8 and 2) museum educators. The project objectives are to: . Provide access for youth and families to high-quality stem education resources with powerful connections to NASA that will inspire the next generation of explorers. . Engage museums as strategic partners in their communities and to strengthen stem ecosystems to increase the impact of NASA stem engagement investments. . Engage groups historically underrepresented and underserved in stem fields through local museums supported by a national network of informal education organizations. Destination moon will use evidence-based design strategies to reach diverse public audiences at 350 partner museums throughout the country by developing, disseminating, and evaluating a toolkit of inquiry-based, hands-on activities, professional development resources for museum educators, and a new DIY APP. The outcomes for the project s target audiences are: youth and families students in grades 4-8: . Increased knowledge and understanding of space exploration, science, and engineering. . Better understanding of major activities and missions within NASA heomd and stmd. . Increased stem literacy and engagement with NASA-unique content museum educators . Increased capacity to provide effective stem engagement with NASA-unique content that can be tailored to multiple and diverse audiences. . Increased capacity to support learning that extends beyond the museum visit. Destination moon will increase knowledge and understanding of space exploration by connecting to current NASA heomd and stmd activities and missions, while building stem literacy and engagement among the public, specifically related to NASA s strategic goal to extend human presence deeper into space and to the moon for sustainable long-term exploration and utilization.