T261 Natural History Museums in the 21st Century—Programming for the Future While Preserving the Past (Posters)

Tuesday, 24 October 2017
9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Halls 4EF

TEEN SCIENCE SCHOLARS: INCREASING DIVERSITY AND ACCESSIBILITY IN THE SCIENCES THROUGH AN INCLUSIVE MUSEUM PROGRAM

Paper number: T261-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Diversity is a crucial ingredient in the sciences, leading to collaboration, innovation, and excellence. While many programs are designed to promote diverse students in the sciences, lack of diversity remains a pervasive issue. In an effort to feed the science pipeline with talented and diverse high school students to address the ongoing diversity gap, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) developed the Teen Science Scholars (TSS) program. Initiated in 2007, the TSS program strives to increase diversity in the sciences by expanding science accessibility through paid and immersive internships aimed at underrepresented groups. The TSS program actively recruits teens who demonstrate a passion for science, are first in the their family to seek a four-year post high school degree, attend low-scoring/performing public high schools, and may otherwise lack access to science programs. Run primarily in the summer months, scholars are paired with DMNS scientists and staff on research and collection project in the disciplines of space sciences, medical sciences, zoology, anthropology, paleontology, museum archives, and education collections. In its 10 year history, the TSS program has mentored nearly 200 scholars. More than 90% of all scholars have attended four-year colleges or universities in a science field, with several scholars now completing their PhDs. In 2017, 100% of the participants came from underrepresented groups including 72% racial and ethnic minorities and 78% women. This year the Earth Sciences department mentored eight students who worked alongside DMNS paleontologists on analyzing fossils immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary in the Denver Basin, CO. Scholars spent two weeks in the field collecting data, and six weeks in the lab analyzing collections to understand the recovery of ecosystems following the K-Pg extinction. The work was summarized in conference-style scientific posters and associated websites displayed at an end-of-the-year poster showcase. Ultimately, the TSS program strengthens investigative and communication skills, and introduces scholars to a variety of science-related careers. They develop a peer network of students and science professionals, and better understand how to take the necessary steps to pursuing a career in the sciences.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-306910

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