Expedition Science is an afterschool program that aims to engage early learners (children age 6-11) in the wonder of scientific discovery. Nature, wildlife, and the environment are interesting and accessible topics for young children. Ecology, the study of our natural environment, presents an ideal opportunity to immerse early learners in science and encourage the early development of STEM thinking and attitudes that facilitate ‘science as a way of knowing’. The program builds on foundational science learning strategies by using hands-on, place-based, and learner-centered activities to bridge the on-screen and off-screen experience and facilitate science as a way of understanding the world. Expedition Science will be collaboratively designed (co-designed), developed, evaluated, refined, and disseminated by a working-group of STEM curriculum and media specialists, education research experts, informal education practitioners, videographers and artists, and STEM research scientists.
Results/Conclusions
‘Expeditions’ are programs that cover a specific ecology topic that will be available at two Learner Levels, which build in complexity. Each Level contains five separate Modules which include short videos, interactive place-based activities, guides for group discussion, and training materials for facilitators. Activities and phenomena that start with the local and tangible world, then span to a global context, will help learners transfer new understanding of ecological concepts into generalized principles that can be seen both at home and afar. Expedition Science combines the art of nature cinematography and animation with STEM learning approaches to encourage science thinking dispositions and interest in early learners. Furthermore, Expedition Science collaborates with real-life ecologists to create video and program content, providing scientists with an avenue to achieve broad societal impact with their research program.