Cool Science: A Report on Project Impacts Upon Formal and Informal Audiences

• In Event: 72.066 - Poster Session 16
  In Poster Session: 72.066-9 - Surrounded by Science: Informal Learning in Museums, Media, and After-School and Everyday Contexts

Abstract

A team of researchers from the UMass Lowell and the UMass Boston will report on the first two years of an informal science learning research project using mass transit spaces in Lowell, MA. Cool Science conducts a statewide art competition for K-12 students in the fall challenging them to express climate science understanding through the visual arts. A panel of judges evaluates entries and identifies the top 24 works of art. The best six works of art are then put on public display throughout the spring on the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). Displaying student artwork in Out of Home Multi-Media (OHMM) such as bus placards and posters engages riders with opportunities to learn informally.

Authors

• David S. Lustick, University of Massachusetts - Lowell

• Jill Hendrickson Lohmeier, University of Massachusetts - Lowell

• Robert Chen, University of Massachusetts - Boston