Homeroom: How Major Museums and Science Centers Ignite Student Interest in Research

As budgets tighten and both informal science venues and academic researchers compete for limited dollars, the challenge is to develop collaborations that sustain and stimulate ideas at the nexus of research, education, and outreach.

Such partnerships are already underway in major museums and science centers around the United States. Two weeks ago here in Philadelphia, the school district and its partner, the Franklin Institute, officially marked the opening of the Science Leadership Academy, a new magnet high school, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and program on September 28, 2006, at 10 a.m.

This special admission school offers students a college preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Students learn in a project-based environment where the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection are emphasized in all classes.

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York is not partnered with any one high school but there are several programs to engage the scientific interests of students and the public city-wide. One program in particular, the High School Science Research Program (HSSRP), was developed as a practicum for New York City students interested in pursuing a career in science. In the program HSSRP uses graduate students to ...