20 min talk for the dotAstronomy 6 conference.

1. Engaging Youth With
Astronomy and Technology
Laura Whyte

2. STEM workforce for the future
The United States alone faces a
shortage of 140,000 to 190,000
people with deep analytical skills,
and a further lack of 1.5 million
managers capable of analyzing
Big Data and making decisions
based on their findings.
Manyika et al. 2011

3. Science and Technology
Literacy
Success in a technology rich world
and equitable access to the
resources of modern society is the
civil rights issue of the 21st
century, with women, minorities
and people of low socioeconomic
status being the ‘designated serfs
of the information age’
Moses & Cobb 2002

5. S
70% of
physics and
science
teachers
have no
major in
that field
T
10%
American
schools
offer any
kind of
coding
E
3% of 2009
graduates
had taken
engineering
in high
school
M
2/3 of
middle
school
maths
teachers
are not
qualified

6. Far Horizons

7. HOMAGO
Hanging
Out Messing
About

9. Teen Hangouts
November: Building Websites and
Coding
December: Capturing the Cosmos
January: Programming 3D
February: 3D Printing
March: Astronomy
April: Virtual Exhibits
May: Mapping
June: Game Design

10. Teen Hangouts
No Learning Objectives
No Exams
This is NOT school!

13. GDH 2014
75 High School Girls
37 STEM Professional Mentors
.... cultural, stereotypes that prevail so
strongly that most young women think
“typical” scientists are men.....
Hill et al. 2013

14. PROVIDE YOUTH ACCESS TO STEM
DISCIPLINES AND MENTORS.
Mentoring is one of several factors
that can positively influence the
success of racial and ethnic minority
students in STEM.
Museus et al. 2011
Seeing women who have succeeded
in STEM is a vital for inspiring and
motivating young women, especially
when they can relate to these role
models as people with lives outside of
the lab.
Evans, Whigham, & Wang, 1995;
Liston et al., 2008

15. STEM Workshops
Girls show higher levels of
engagement when activities
encourage:
• Collaboration and cooperative peer
engagement (Brickhouse et al.
2000; Stake & Nickens 2005;
Williams 2006)
• Problem-solving activities that allow
multiple paths and many possible
answers (Inkpen 1999)

21. PROVIDE AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT FOR
STUDENTS
STEM subjects need to be
delivered in tangible and
reallife oriented ways.
Traurig et. al 2010

22. STEM Skills
Highlighting the unexpected
- Communication
- Team work
- Creativity
Building confidence with the expected
- Coding
- Problem Solving

23. Targeted
Recruitment
Teachers/Schools
Youth Organisations
Bus Funds

24. EXPAND THE ADLER’S REACH IN
COMMUNITIES OF NEED
The Adler recognizes that transportation costs and lack of familiarity with
museums can prevent many Chicago families from coming to the Museum
Campus. Committed to engaging a broader cross-section of people with
science, Adler leaders are developing innovative programs—in partnership with
CPS, the Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Libraries, Hive Chicago
Learning Network, and other community organizations—to reach students and
their families where they are. Five years from now, a student’s first encounter
with Adler programming may be at their school, neighborhood library, park, or
community center.

27. Alyssa Hui (left) and Terry Melo (right) spent
most of their summer writing blog posts on
Zooniverse Citizen Science projects, giving
presentations to their peers and Adler
visitors, and doing scientific research… but
they also spent some time eating candy and
cupcakes with their mentor Dr. Bans.

28. Girl PoWeR MENTORS
+
+

29. AstroScience
Workshop

30. Teen Interns
& Volunteers

31. Youth
Leadership
Council

32. Family and
Community
Engagement

33. Build students’ STEM related skills and content
knowledge.
• Students demonstrated significant gains in STEM-related skills and
museum related-content knowledge.

34. Reinforce positive attitudes toward museums
and STEM subjects.
• Exposure to the Adler positively affected attitudes, even from those
with lower levels of involvement.
• The students with the greatest involvement experienced the greatest
positive attitudinal impact.
• Positive attitudes were the results of encountering diverse
experiences and feeling challenged.

35. Develop a suite of programs that allows for
multiple entry points to engender a sense of
belonging within the scientific and museum
community.
• The partnership programs were able to engage a diverse community
of AFAHS students and other under-represented teens.
• Programs that empowered youth to contribute made them feel highly
valued.
• The diverse suite of programs provided opportunities successful in
gaining student engagement beyond what was mandatory.

37. Engaging Youth with Astronomy and
Technology
• Find Partners
• Be a Mentor
• HOMAGO!
• Multiple Entry Points
• Financial Incentives Work
• Food and Transport