RESEARCH: "Making Connections: Exploring Culturally-Relevant Maker Experiences through an Iterative, Cross-Institutional Approach"

明尼苏达州科学博物馆与双子城社区合作进行了一项为期三年的基于设计的研究--Making Connections，该研究正在开发和研究新的方法，以吸引更多的受众参与有意义的制造者体验。这项研究借鉴和建立了现有的理论框架，以研究如何利用社区参与技术来共同设计和实施与文化相关的营销、活动和活动，重点是使家庭能够从代表性不足的受众中吸引家庭，并最终让他们参与有意义的非正式STEM学习。研究分三个阶段进行：分享和倾听--与目标社区共同设计；活动设计和实施；最终分析、综合和传播。该项目还在探索博物馆的新方法？跨机构的做法，可以加强其社区参与的质量。近年来，Making-一种通过创造力、解决问题和工具使用来设计和构建真实事物的草根方法-作为一种富有成效的工具，向年轻人介绍科学和工程的兴奋以及这些领域的职业技能，受到了越来越多的关注。每年都会吸引成千上万的人参与制作活动，这些活动的受欢迎程度，以及开始为公众提供定期参与这类活动的机会的博物馆和图书馆的数量正在飙升。然而，尽管制作实践在更多样化的社区中同样常见，但Maker节目往往吸引以白人、中产阶级、男性、受过良好教育和对科学强烈感兴趣的观众为主。建立联系有可能改变孩子们在很小的时候就开始培养对工程的终身兴趣的方式，这最终可能会鼓励更多的有色人种年轻人在未来追求工程事业。

Making Connections, a three-year design-based research study conducted by the Science Museum of Minnesota in partnership with Twin Cities' communities, is developing and studying new ways to engage a broader audience in meaningful Maker experiences. This study draws and builds on existing theoretical frameworks to examine how community engagement techniques can be used to co-design and implement culturally-relevant marketing, activities, and events focused on Making that attract families from underrepresented audiences and ultimately engage them in meaningful informal STEM learning. The research is being done in three phases: Sharing and Listening - co-design with targeted communities; Making Activities Design and Implementation; Final Analysis, Synthesis and Dissemination. The project is also exploring new approaches in museums? cross-institutional practices that can strengthen the quality of their community-engagement. In recent years, Making - a do-it-yourself, grassroots approach to designing and constructing real things through creativity, problem-solving, and tool use - has received increasing attention as a fruitful vehicle for introducing young people to the excitement of science and engineering and to career skills in these fields. Maker Faires attract hundreds and thousands of people to engage in Making activities every year, and the popularity of these events, as well as the number of museums and libraries that are beginning to provide opportunities for the public to regularly engage in these types of activities, are skyrocketing. However, Maker programs tend to draw audiences that are predominantly white, middle class, male, well educated, and strongly interested in science, despite the fact that the practices of Making are as common in more diverse communities. Making Connections has the potential to transform how children begin to cultivate a lifelong interest in engineering at a young age, which may ultimately encourage more young people of color to pursue engineering careers in the future.