Good Will Home Association (L.C. Bates Museum)

The L.C. Bates Museum will collaborate with 44 teachers at 16 schools to lead a Young Naturalist Investigators project designed to provide 1,740 rural, mostly low-income second and third grade children and their families with unique and stimulating museum-based STEAM educational programming. The project is designed to serve children who are at risk for school failure and need engagement with meaningful interactive learning activities to increase their levels of academic success. It will address local schools' lack of funding to bus children to the museum by bringing programs to the schools and offering family fieldtrips. Project evaluation through surveys and teacher feedback will document the support of children's intellectual growth and development as well as the growth of their interest in science, the local environment, and museums.