The Children's Educational Outreach Program at the Exploratorium

Vivian Altmann - Program Director

The Children's Educational Outreach Program, now in its seventh year, serves three main purposes:

  1. ) filling a need in the community by taking Exploratorium exhibit-based educational activities out to underserved children and teens in their own neighborhoods via ongoing partnerships with community learning centers, as well as bringing those children and teens to the Exploratorium for extended study;

  2. ) establishing a presence in underserved neighborhoods via science activity booths at festivals, street fairs, and other public events; and

  3. ) providing services in-house by collaborating with other programs and departments (such as SITE and Membership) to offer teacher enhancement for adults working in underserved areas, activities for children and families during members' events and temporary shows, and family classes for Exploratorium members.

In the last two years, the program has also provided in-service teacher enhancement workshops for the Early Childhood Education Department of the San Francisco Unified School District.

Staffing for Children's Educational Outreach consists of a program director and about a dozen on-call educators from the Field Trip and Explainer Programs.

In our workshops and activities we use a variety of hands-on materials as well as Lending Library exhibits and kits, Snackbook exhibits, and our own modified, portable versions of exhibits. The emphasis is on common, everyday materials that are very inexpensive and easily obtainable. We also stress the use of recyclable materials (i.e. - cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls are easily adapted into a variety of "exhibits" such as Pipes of Pan or Persistence of Vision Tubes). The component of art is integral to all the science we do. It makes science more easily accessible and often more apparently relevant to a young person's life.

Another important component of Children's Educational Outreach is a young, ethnically and culturally diverse staff. We have found that role modeling is extremely effective in reaching youngsters who have been underrepresented in the fields of science and math. Almost all of these workshops and services are provided free of charge.

Some of the groups with which we are currently in partnership:

In 1994, we will also work with the Bay Area Girl Scouts, teachers from Bay Area Jewish Community Centers, and the Parent Involvement Project of the San Francisco Unified School District's School Volunteer Program.

The Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon Street, San Francisco CA 94123