Anyone who has visited a science museum, gone on a nature walk, or watched a science program on public television knows that one need not be in a classroom or lecture hall to learn about science. Indeed, opportunities to be immersed in science present themselves to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, in a myriad of locations.
Through its Informal Science Education program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded these kinds of learning opportunities for decades. The field of informal science education has grown tremendously in recent years, and NSF's interest in evaluating the effectiveness of projects and practices has contributed to a growing body of knowledge about informal learning. Against this backdrop, NSF provided funding to the National Research Council (NRC) to pull together existing research about informal learning to advance the field and help practitioners create more effective informal learning experiences.
"Informal learning is a field that is maturing after a period of rapid expansion," said David Ucko, deputy division director for NSF's Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings. "Whether we're talking about science museums, television and radio programs, large-format films or citizen science projects, opportunities for informal learning are available to people all over the country. This is an excellent moment to synthesize the research that's been done and help researchers and practitioners build on it and share their knowledge and experience."
Source: National Science Foundation