PGE/SEP: Latinas En Ciencia

Oregon Museum Of Science And Industry, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

This Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) project experiences and the numbers of Latinas choosing to pursue careers in science and technology. The three primary project goals of Latinas en Ciencia are: 1. To engage Latina girls in science and technology at early age before they've decided against science and technology career pathways. 2. To support Latina girls' engagement with science and technology from preschool through high school. 3. To change the internal culture at OMSI in order to make the Museum feel like home for the Latinas. Several strategies will be utilized to achieve these project goals. OMSI will create an outreach program in three communities with a large Latino population around the Portland Metropolitan area. Aimed at recruiting and supporting Latina girls in third through fifth grade, this program will help build ability and create opportunities for girls in science and technology, while reinforcing the girls' abilities, fostering independence, and creating an "I can succeed" attitude in the girls. Activities in each community will include school assemblies, a weekly science club, family science nights, overnight programs at the Museum, and summer camp experiences. OSMI will create a culture within the Museum that is conducive to attracting Latina girls and provide effective programs at the Museum, and summer camp experiences. OMSI will create a culture within the Museum that is conducive to attracting Latina girls and provide effective programs and opportunities for them in science and technology by instituting monthly Latino Family Science Days, utilizing bilingual staff and volunteers for interpretation, within the Latino Community and within the Museum will be linked to facilitate connections at all age levels, offering mentoring opportunities and building leadership abilities and self-confidence in the Latina girls. Community partnership established during the Planning Grant will also be further developed and nurtured. These various strategies will be evaluated to assess participation levels in different programs and for different age group and to assess the engagement of the Latina girls in science and technology activities. Academic and skills-based gains will also be evaluated for particular groups to provide useful insight into the effectiveness of the strategies employed. The hope is to determine which strategies are most effective so as to further understanding of how to engage Latina girls in science and technology through nonformal science experiences. By learning how to more effectively introduce this undeserved population to science and technology, nonformal science institutions can help Latina girls discover possible career paths in science and technology that may have otherwise been inconceivable.