The Lawrence Hall of Science
The public science center of the University of California, Berkeley.
Open Daily 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Bring your students to The Lawrence, or bring our inquiry-based 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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The Lawrence provides policy research for numerous educational agencies and nonprofit foundations. Our focus is on science education, yet it encompasses all elements of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. We take a participatory approach to education policy research, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. We have conducted studies ranging in design from exploratory to experimental, and using data collection approaches that run the gamut from medium– or large-scale surveys to deep ethnography.
Our team has amassed expertise and experience in many fields of education policy, including informal science education, professional development projects in science and technology, youth development policy, and policies surrounding equal access to high-quality and higher levels of education. We employ a diverse set of veteran policy researchers, who bring to the group new ways of thinking about policy and implementation.
The Lawrence possesses the resources and the capacity to study, analyze, and evaluate education policy for local, state, and national governments, as well as for nongovernmental organizations. We can assist agencies and funding organizations alike as they strive to articulate policies, evaluate a portfolio of programs, and understand how the policies they set influence practice on the ground. We provide nonpartisan information, research, and evaluation on education policy-related issues to policymakers and other education stakeholders, to support their making well-informed decisions. We accomplish these aims by conducting research across a variety of settings and by providing evaluation expertise and services to diverse agencies, organizations, and funding agencies. We share important findings through dissemination strategies tailored to the needs of specific audiences and project goals.
The Learning Activation Lab is a national research and design effort to dramatically strengthen learning in the United States and…
High Hopes – Few Opportunities: The Status of Science Education in California summarizes new and extensive research examining the status of science education in the…
As a unit of the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley, the Research Group possesses the resources and the capacity to study, analyze, and evaluate education policy for local, state, and national governments, as well as for nongovernmental organizations. We can assist agencies and funding organizations alike as they strive to articulate policies, evaluate a portfolio of programs, and understand how the policies they set influence practice on the ground.
We provide nonpartisan information, research, and evaluation on education policy-related issues to policymakers and other education stakeholders, to support their making well-informed decisions. We accomplish these aims by conducting research across a variety of settings and by providing evaluation expertise and services to diverse agencies, organizations, and funding agencies. We share important findings through dissemination strategies tailored to the needs of specific audiences and project goals.
Our policy studies team has amassed expertise and experience in many fields of education policy, including informal science education, professional development projects in science and technology, youth development policy, and policies surrounding equal access to high-quality and higher levels of education. We employ a diverse set of veteran policy researchers, who bring to the group new ways of thinking about policy and implementation.
Policy studies is a new and rapidly growing field for the Research Group. Among our recent and current projects:
Our policy studies work is funded by multiple sources, including federal grants and private foundations.
More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States and forced widespread lockdowns, closures, and social distancing, the field of outdoor science education continues to be fragile, with many organizations teetering on the brink of collapse. Despite easing restrictions and with new concerns about coronavirus variants, the challenges facing the field persist.
During April 2020, the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a survey to learn about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environmental and outdoor science educations field nationwide. This policy brief describes the importance of this field, the findings of our survey, and recommendations for mitigating the potentially devastating threats facing this field.
Have questions about our work? We’d love to speak to you.
lawrenceinfo@berkeley.edu