Boston children's museum (BCM), in partnership with the smithsonian astrophysical observatory (SAO), proposes to create our sky, a series of educational programs and resources that inspire an…

Boston children's museum (BCM), in partnership with the smithsonian astrophysical observatory (SAO), proposes to create our sky, a series of educational programs and resources that inspire an appreciation and understanding of earth and space science (ESS) in a diverse population of children ages 3 - 10 and their parents, caregivers and educators. Our sky focuses on interdisciplinary explorations of objects and phenomena visible in the sky, encouraging participants to look up not only when they visit the museum, but also in their everyday lives. The project will highlight how interwoven phenomena in the sky are not only with science, but with our cultures, our arts, our histories and our understandings of the world around US. Objects and observations of our sky have inspired every area of human thinking and creativity - from early beliefs and current customs based on observations of the sky; to the development of sciences ranging from agronomy to astronomy; to artistic and cultural icons including music (holst's "the planets") and painting (van gogh's starry night); to fiction, non-fiction and children's literature ("a wrinkle in time", "packing for mars", "goodnight, moon"). While our cultures and landscapes may vary, the sky above US unites US all and finds expression in many forms. Our vision for this project is that children ages 3-10 and their adult caregivers will gain an appreciation for celestial objects and phenomena visible to them as a foundation for understanding of earth and space science (earth science, astrophysics, heliophysics and planetary science). All our sky resources and activities will be designed to enact this vision, and to: 1) serve a diverse range of audiences, with an emphasis on urban and low-income children and families who are most in need of high- quality stem engagement opportunities; 2) increase appreciation among diverse adults and children of the sky as a vast source of inspiration and wonder, and as an accessible science learning resource; 3) develop foundational stem skills in children; 4) encourage adults to engage in and guide ESS learning experiences with their children; 5) inspire practical application of stem skills by children and adults as they explore celestial objects together in their everyday lives; and 6) expand the capacity of museum staff and out-of-school time (OST) educators to engage families in learning stem skills through earth and space science exploration. Principal objectives of the project to achieve these goals include the development of: 7) eighteen interdisciplinary museum programs that bring attention to phenomena in the sky, and provide multiple entry points to science learning for our diverse audience; 8) five new ESS-focused activities for the award-winning "beyond the chalkboard" out-of-school time curriculum that will reach hundreds of thousands of children around the world; 9) 5,000 take-home science kits to be distributed to families and school groups visiting BCM, which will encourage at-home investigations of science by families; and 10) an interactive theater production for children and families centered on earth and space science, which will reach over 30,000 children and adults over the course of the grant. The methodology proposed for our sky is supported by recent research and education theory, most notably the concepts of life-long, life-wide and life-deep learning put forth by the national research council in learning science in informal environments (bell ET AL. 2009). Our sky embraces this approach by providing resources that: speak to or appeal to a wide range of ages; can be used in a variety of contexts; and address a range of beliefs, ideologies, and values while offering a diversity of content that appeals (and provides entry points for) as many people as possible.