The tech will conduct an evaluation of its virtual and in-person field trip programs to adapt to the evolving needs of the education community after the covid-19 pandemic

The TECH Interactive, doing business as TECH, will receive $495,506 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the Museums for America federal grant program to conduct an evaluation of its virtual and in-person field trip programs. The project aims to adapt TECH's offerings to evolving educator needs post-pandemic by assessing barriers to participation, updating programs and operations based on findings, and disseminating learnings. Specifically, TECH will survey educators to understand field trip perspectives and challenges, iterate virtual and on-site programs accordingly, and publish a case study sharing strategies for increasing accessibility. Results will help TECH provide more K-12 students with hands-on science and engineering experiences through improved field trip access. The period of performance is September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2025.

Project activities will include conducting a landscape needs assessment to better understand educators' perspectives on field trips and barriers to participation; updating existing field trip programs, marketing, and operations in response to the findings with iterations as needed; and publishing/disseminating learnings as a case study to support other science museums with strategies for making field trips more accessible for schools. The results of the evaluation will aid the tech in increasing field trip participation to provide more k-12 students with critical hands-on science and engineering learning experiences.