Learning Science in Informal Environments

Empirical research on learning indicates that informal learning environments—which include a broad variety of settings and pursuits that occur outside of the organizational oversight of the formal education system—can uniquely support youth and adults from historically nondominant communities in important dimensions of science learning. This is particularly true as it relates to cultivating and supporting learner interest and positive affect toward science, promoting participation in the intellectual practices of science, and helping learners come to identify with the scientific enterprise. Additional research is necessary given gaps that exist, trends in the increasing cultural diversification of society, and a greater recognition of how and why people learn across learning environments over extended periods of time.