Research

Much of my work is informed by the time I spent as a research and evaluation associate with the Science Museum of Minnesota, researching how people learn (especially about science) in informal learning environments (outside of school). My research credits include the following.

Research/Evaluation

NISE Net Research on How Visitors Find & Discuss Relevance in the Nano Exhibition (co-author – with the National Science Foundation, Museum of Science Boston, University of Notre Dame)

Weighing the Evidence: Making Informed Health Case Decisions – Research & museum exhibition evaluation (with National Institutes of Health)

School Family Nights – Research on families & underrepresented audiences in informal science education settings

Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network, Museum/Organization Partnerships – Evaluation on programming partnering informal science institutions with youth-serving community organizations (with Museum of Science, Boston / Oregon Museum of Science & Industry / National Science Foundation)

School for International Training, Ghana – Ethnographic study & report on the rites, traditions, & cultural history of the ocean goddess Mami Wata

Research/Evaluation Assistance

Gender Research on Adult-child Discussion in Informal Engineering eNvironmenTs (GRADIENT)

NISE Net Public Impacts

Developing, Validating, & Implementing Situated Evaluation/Instruments to Assess the Impacts of Public Participation in Scientific Research Projects (DEVISE) – Evaluation planning & literature review (with Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Big Data – Research on how humans visualize large data sets (with Indiana University, Center of Science & Industry, Columbus / Informal Learning Group)

Team-Based Inquiry: A Guide (+ video production)

Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Benthic Invertebrates (co-author, poster), Macalester College and affiliated conferences