ED51D-0835
Integrating Art and Science Through “Design Challenges”
Friday, 18 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Laura Conner1, Stephen M Pompea2, Carrie Tzou3, Mareca Guthrie1, Blakely Tsurusaki3 and Jen Danielson4, (1)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (2)National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ, United States, (3)University of Washington, Bothell, Bothell, WA, United States, (4)Goldstream Group, Fairbanks, AK, United States
Abstract:
Combining art with science can be a powerful way to engage audiences, yet there is little published evidence about effective STEAM approaches. Through our NSF-funded effort “Project STEAM: Integrating Art with Science to Build Science Identities among Girls,” our team has developed a “design challenge” approach that combines optics, biology, and art. During these challenges, participants explore scientific concepts and use their understandings to design artistic products. The project aims to ultimately increase female representation in careers that currently have a high gender disparity, such as the geosciences, by changing attitudes and dispositions towards science among pre-middle school girls. We present evaluation and research results that suggest that our approach is effective in engaging and building science identities in participants.
