KUED PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPLEMENT NATIONWIDE...

October 17, 2012

KUED (Salt Lake City, Utah), partnering with the Natural History Museum of Utah and the Salt Lake City Public Library, is implementing innovative STEM programming as part of the LEAP into Science initiative; a program headed by the Franklin Institute Science Museum of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia. The LEAP into Science initiative is supported by a variety of sources including a $1.17 million Informal Science Education grant through the National Science Foundation (NSF), and more recently a $249,534 National Leadership Grant through the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and an additional $815,123 grant from the National Science Foundation. As the lead organization behind the initiative, the Franklin Institute has expanded the project to 10 different sites nationwide. Each expansion site will receive limited funds to promote science education and literacy in their community.

Working Together to Engage Children and Families in Science
The LEAP into Science initiative began as a partnership between the Franklin Institute and the Free Library of Philadelphia as a means to integrate children’s literature and hands-on science activities, as well as promote student and family engagement in science and literacy. A central goal of the LEAP into Science initiative is to demonstrate how museums, libraries and other educational institutions can work together to enhance the capacity of urban communities to engage children and families in science. The Franklin Institute has since grown the program, and is using recently acquired federal funds from IMLS and NSF to expand the initiative nationwide. In Utah, KUED is working to incorporate STEM programming from PBS into their existing Ready To Learn programs and services while building unique events for all partners.

The Genesis of a Partnership
The Salt Lake City Public Library, acting as lead applicant, approached both KUED and the Natural History Museum of Utah to collaborate. Both institutions have partnered with KUED in the past and are occasional underwriters on several KUED projects. The City Library sought partnership with KUED because they knew the station had the capacity to effectively incorporate LEAP into Science into their programming. The Franklin Institute also noticed the quality resources KUED would bring to the table and the close relationship between the partners, and saw an excellent opportunity for success. Julia Skolnik, Project Associate-Curriculum Specialist of the Franklin Institute states “we’ve been very lucky to have KUED as the representative public television partner in our network of over 25 organizations nationwide, who has demonstrated great possibilities for public television partnerships with community organizations to engage communities in science and literacy.” Seeing the success of KUED, the Franklin Institute is eager to identify other public media community partnerships for future implementation sites.

KUED and its partners are expected to receive up to $1,500 in reimbursement funds from the Franklin Institute to purchase materials that support program curricula, as well as travel to a professional development session early in the project. KUED had already begun to incorporate STEM programming into their outreach and educational services. To help grow and sustain their efforts, KUED has started to apply for additional grants that meet the needs of the project. Additionally, they continue to promote and build awareness around existing PBS programs and services offered by KUED such as Dinosaur Train, Peep and the Big Wide World, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That and Curious George.

The ability to establish strong, long lasting relationships proved critical in Utah’s selection as an expansion site. For those stations interested in establishing and maintaining similar successful partnerships, KUED recommends that stations know their partners and reconnect with them frequently. Jacqueline Voland, Community Outreach and Education Services Manager at KUED states “always try to be aware of opportunities that mutually benefit your organizations. It will come back to you in willingness to engage, in-kind funding and community good will.” KUED’s hard work is paying off. They have built strong stable relationships with local institutions, which give the station even greater positioning and leverage in the community.

Additional resources:
NSF’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning (formally Informal Science Education) grant information.
IMLS’s National Leadership Grant information