Explore Science: Zoom into Nano kits
Explore Science: Zoom into Nano resources are designed to facilitate new or expanded collaborations between museums and other local community partners to engage underserved audiences in learning about nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. Through our Museum & Community Partnerships initiative, NISE Net provided physical Explore Science: Zoom into Nano kits to 100 NISE Network partner institutions. Recipients were required to meet eligibility requirements and were selected through a competitive review process.
Digital kits are available for free download:
www.nisenet.org/explorescience-nano
Project overview
The Museum & Community Partnerships initiative is part of NISE Net's ongoing work to broaden participation in STEM learning and provide educational experiences that are inclusive of multiple and diverse audience. Explore Science: Zoom into Nano resources were designed to help NISE Network partners:
- Reach underserved audiences in their local community that they weren't already engaging in learning about nanoscale science, engineering, and technology ("nano")
- Create new or expanded collaborations with a local community partner such as:
- A local community organization, afterschool program, library, or summer camp
- A local chapter of a national youth-serving group such as 4-H, Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, National Girls Collaborative Project, Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Y (YMCA), and YWCA
Kit contents
The Explore Science: Zoom into Nano kit includes over a dozen hands-on activities for public audiences, educator training materials, and professional resources to assist with partnership planning and program implementation. These are packaged in two ways: as "classroom sets" for out of school time programs, with materials for up to four small groups to use simultaneously; and as "event sets" for festivals, open houses, and other special events.
The digital version of the Explore Science: Zoom into Nano kit can be downloaded for free.
Resources include:
- Collaboration Guide (PDF)
- Profiles of national youth-serving organizations (PDF) to assist museums in finding a new partner
- Collaboration Tips (PDF)
- Sample email text for an invitation to collaborate (DOC) (to be used before submitting your application)
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Sample Template (DOCX)
- Online Brown-Bag Workshop: Planning a Museum and Community Partnership Project: Wednesday, September 30, 2015
- Online brown-bag presentation slides (PPT)
- Online brown-bag presentation slides (PDF)
- Online brown-bag recording (Adobe Connect)
- Video: Creating Successful Collaborations: Museum and Community Partnerships
- Downloadable summary of kit contents (PDF)