Press Release: The Lawrence Hall of Science Celebrates STEM Day

BERKELEY, CA – The Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley’s Public Science Center, invites the public to join us on Saturday, May 10 for STEM Day. The event celebrates the innovative work that UC Berkeley, including the Lawrence Hall of Science, has done to shape science education in schools and other learning spaces, like museums and science centers. The special displays and interactive experiences will include:

• The East Bay Academy of Young Scientists (EBAYS) will present a display on their Urban Youth Participation in Community and Citizen Science project, which engages youth of color between 14 and 18 years of age in community-driven science investigations of local environmental issues. EBAYS is studying the impact that participation in these programs have on students’ perceptions and awareness of science and STEM careers.
• Virtually Human is an exhibition that introduces museumgoers to artificial intelligence (AI), and invites them to explore how AI approaches solutions to different problems. The Virtually Human team is researching how young children make sense of and interact with AI. Visitors will prototype new AI experiences currently in development for inclusion in a new iteration of the exhibit.
• Supporting Rightful Presence in Museum Spaces is a model of participatory design with indigenous communities. The project created the tappenekšekma Ohlone Science Diplomats Program, in which Ohlone youth & families co-create Ohlone Science mixed reality exhibits at the Lawrence Hall of Science through a series of participatory design workshops that center and celebrate Ohlone cultural and scientific knowledge.
• Innovative, NSF research-based TK–12 science activities developed by The Lawrence! Our instructional materials, used across the U.S. and internationally, are brought to TK-12 classrooms through partnerships with leading publishers. The Lawrence designs our instructional materials aligned to national standards, and include the programs Amplify Science (TK-8), FOSS (TK-8), SEPUP, and the Ocean Sciences Sequence.
• Several partners from UC Berkeley and beyond including The Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), the NSF Center for Genetically Encoded Materials (C-GEM), and Dynamoid will showcase their innovative research to museumgoers.

STEM Day participants can also explore our engaging hands-on exhibits including the Planetarium, Outdoor Nature Lab, Animal Discovery Zone, Curiosity Corner/Esquina Curiosa, Playtopia/Juegolandia, and so much more at this celebratory event.

STEM Day is on Saturday, May 10 from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Admission to The Lawrence for the day is reduced to a special discounted rate of $5 per person. A free shuttle will run in a continuous loop from the Downtown Berkeley BART station to The Lawrence (every 20-30 minutes) to increase access to the science center on this celebratory day.

Why we are featuring these programs and projects

Throughout our history, federal funding, including major support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), has made possible important innovations from the basic research on learning that led to the creation of new approaches to teaching science, preparation of educators to use high quality instructional materials and methods, and studies on the effectiveness of STEM education in serving the needs of all students. Without federal funding, our visitors would not have been able to experience some of The Lawrence’s most beloved programs, including the Planetarium, our outdoor nature activities, the Virtually Human exhibit, and our outdoor science park, Forces That Shape the Bay.

STEM Day was originally envisioned, in part, as a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the National Science Foundation and the many innovations and discoveries that have been made possible by NSF support over the years. “We want our community to be able to experience and see examples of the impactful projects and programs made possible by past NSF support. On STEM day visitors will engage in science discovery and learning made possible by these investments  and learn more about STEM learning and research across UC Berkeley,” said Rena Dorph, Ph.D, Director of The Lawrence Hall of Science.

About The Lawrence Hall of Science

The Lawrence Hall of Science (The Lawrence) is UC Berkeley’s public science center. Opened to the public in 1968, The Lawrence’s mission is to inspire and engage through scientific discovery and learning in ways that advance equity and opportunity. We activate hundreds of thousands of Northern CA youth, families, educators and communities through fun and rigorous, hands-on science learning at our Berkeley-based science center and with extensive outreach programs. Nationwide, The Lawrence reaches over 20% of US K–12 students through its science curricula (including Amplify Science, FOSS, SEPUP). We also impact millions of people worldwide via its effective STEM learning programs, educator professional learning, and STEM learning research and design.

Press Contact

Newsroom@berkeley.edu

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This material is partially based upon work that was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2241805.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.