American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History will pilot a new facilitation and visitor engagement strategy that reflects current standards and research on science education and learning. The project will shift the training of its diverse cohort of college youth facilitators to prepare them to engage visitors in deeper understandings of science, rather than simply conveying facts. The museum will develop and implement a new facilitator training curriculum that integrates teaching practices aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. By positioning youth as effective facilitators of conversations, observations, and practices of science, the museum aims to further their interest in the possibility of future careers in the museum field. An external evaluator will work with museum staff to measure the strategy's impact on visitor engagement and facilitators' attitudes about their careers. The museum will document and disseminate project results to the field.