Informal Science Educators Gather for Fall Conference

"Building Bridges: Informal Science Supporting Educational Reform" was the theme for a two-day conference sponsored by the Regional Alliance and the Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS). This was t he second annual event for the Northeast Informal Science Education Network (NISEN), which connects educators from regional museums, nature centers, and other informal science sites.

Offering more than a dozen presentations, the conference focused on many of the critical issues in informal science education. Participants explored ways to increase parent and community involvement, secure funding, develop professional development programs for teachers, collaborate effectively with schools, and use technology to promote inquiry. Since a primary goal of NISEN is to coordinate ongoing professional collaboration across the region, conference designers scheduled a substantial amount of time for networking. This included a series of "alike" sessions that allowed participants to meet with colleagues who have common interests and work challenges. The sessions were grouped by role or job, content or subject area, and size of the organization.

Sessions for state planning and networking were particularly effective. States began defining strategies for continuing communication and collaboration and are making plans to visit each other’s sites. For Connecticut these plans included establishing a statewide
electronic mailing list, which is now active.

For more information about NISEN or state and regional activities, contact Molly Singsen at TERC; molly_singsen@terc.edu. If you would like to receive the MITS newsletter, contact MITS, 79 Milk Street, Suite 210, Boston, Massachusetts 02109;
(617) 695-9771.

Informal Science Resources

In Print

Informal Mathematics and Science Education
An ENC Focus publication

This ENC Focus includes interviews with several informal science experts and descriptions of curriculum and web resources. The publication is divided into six sections– national parks, zoos, aquariums, amusement parks, museums and science centers, and youth organizations. The
interviews introduce each section and are followed by resource descriptions. The
publication is also available from the ENC web site.

ENC
The Ohio State University
1929 Kenny Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1079
(800) 621-5785
info@enc.org
www.enc.org

The Regional Alliance can mail copies of ENC Focus to residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vermont. For a copy, send requests to Regional Alliance at TERC, 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140, Attention: Publications; or alliance@terc.edu. Supplies are limited.

Directory of Informal Science Sites in the Northeast and Islands Region