The Lawrence Hall of Science
The public science center of the University of California, Berkeley.
Closed Sept. 3-6 And Sept. 9-13 Open Daily 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. View Additional Hours >
We’ll bring our science programs to you.
We partner with school districts to support science learning. We offer district-wide elementary, middle, and high school programs, either virtually or in-person.
We collaborate with a range of partners to innovate in science education. Together, we go further.
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Dedicated to disrupting inequities, creating sustainable change in K-12 systems, and fostering inclusive science learning environments with leaders, partnerships and networks, and instructional materials.
Vanessa Lujan, Ph.D.
Director, Center for K-12 Science
k12science@berkeley.edu
Sign up for the Center for K-12 Science newsletter to learn more about our programs, activities, events and more!
Our Work
Our Services
Our Expertise
Our Impact
Our Partners
We are committed to empowering equitable K-12 science education through advancing efforts in three key areas: (1) K-12 leadership and systems change; (2) transformative professional learning; and (3) instructional materials development.
At the Center for K-12 Science, we believe systems-level thinking and organizational change have transformative potential for improving K-12 science. The Center has tested approaches for fostering equitable change that both support leaders in their contexts and help them drive meaningful transformation.
At the Center for K-12 Science, we believe that professional learning is instrumental in building educators’ capacity and reinforcing the value of science across schools and districts. We engage educators in transformative experiences to support their facilitation of engaging, relevant, phenomena-based multimodal science instruction based on the three dimensions of science.
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The Center for K-12 Science develops high-quality, research-based, K-12 instructional materials designed for the national science standards. We partner with publishers to distribute these materials to districts and schools for use by teachers and students in classrooms, nationally and internationally. Our Center includes the curriculum development teams for Amplify Science (K-8), Full Option Science System (FOSS) (K-8), and Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) (6-12th grade).
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We support K-12 leaders, teachers, and partners to advance science education through our customized approaches to any one or more of the following areas:
Standards-aligned, Hands-on Science Instruction
Systems Change & Capacity Building
Computational Thinking & Computational-STEM
Assessment-related Practices
Interdisciplinary & Content integration Across Subject Areas
Localization of Teaching & Learning Experiences
Language & Literacy for Multilingual Learners’ Success in Science
Environmental & Outdoor Learning
Our staff at the Center for K-12 Science brings this extensive expertise, along with its passion for science education, to all of its programs, striving to make a meaningful impact in the world.
We work with learners of diverse backgrounds, including multilingual learners, diverse learners, and underserved populations.
We teach and work with schools and districts ranging from urban settings to rural areas, large and small systems, and at all grade levels K-12, as well as in pre-K and post-secondary education.
We work with and advise school system leaders such as state leaders, district superintendents, and school principals.
We conduct both educational and scientific research addressing questions in nearly every discipline within the natural sciences and engineering.
We develop pedagogical approaches, instructional materials, and assessments designed to meet the vision of the Framework and NGSS.
Members of the Center for K-12 Science regularly appear on national science education agendas, such as key leadership committees for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); panel discussions as part of the National Academies for Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Board on Science Education (BOSE); the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) National Assessment Governing Board; and associate members of the Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS).
The Center for K-12 Science engages with various partners, and below is a small, representative sample of past and present partners.
“I think it is important to have the expertise of [the Center for K-12 Science]… I also think it is important for practitioners to see that others are doing the same work and to learn from what other districts are doing. . . I think it is really important for superintendents to hear from one another and from teachers at the elementary schools to hear from one another––that really helps with enriching our vision and our human capital development…” District Superintendent
“I think it is important to have the expertise of [the Center for K-12 Science]… I also think it is important for practitioners to see that others are doing the same work and to learn from what other districts are doing. . . I think it is really important for superintendents to hear from one another and from teachers at the elementary schools to hear from one another––that really helps with enriching our vision and our human capital development…”
[The Center] has provided teachers with invaluable training that they can directly infuse into their classroom instruction and planning. Teachers have had opportunities to become teacher leaders. These teachers have taken on leadership roles to provide staff development opportunities in our district and have mentored other teachers with the transition to NGSS. Furthermore, our work with [the Center] has provided us with opportunities to network and learn from best practices from other districts and key people within the science community. It has been an incredible journey, and I hope we can continue it!”District Leader
[The Center] has provided teachers with invaluable training that they can directly infuse into their classroom instruction and planning. Teachers have had opportunities to become teacher leaders. These teachers have taken on leadership roles to provide staff development opportunities in our district and have mentored other teachers with the transition to NGSS. Furthermore, our work with [the Center] has provided us with opportunities to network and learn from best practices from other districts and key people within the science community. It has been an incredible journey, and I hope we can continue it!”
“[The Center for K-12 Science] gives voice to science…It has provided our district with a vision of and mission for science. This helps us to have discussions about the coordination of professional development, distribution, and management of science materials, and a shared understanding of best practices for NGSS. In these ways, it is making a difference.” District Leader
“[The Center for K-12 Science] gives voice to science…It has provided our district with a vision of and mission for science. This helps us to have discussions about the coordination of professional development, distribution, and management of science materials, and a shared understanding of best practices for NGSS. In these ways, it is making a difference.”
The Center for K-12 Science at the Lawrence Hall of Science is home to a team of over 50 experts with a wide range and depth of skills and experience across the science education landscape.
Meet Our Team
Questions? We’d love to speak to you.
Sign up for the Center for K-12 Science newsletter to hear about our workshops, research, and opportunities to collaborate and partner!
We support K-12 leaders, teachers, and partners to advance (increasing the quantity and/or quality of) K-12 science education through our customized approaches to any one or more of the following areas:
