Informal Education Resources

Informal learning includes everyday experiences and experiences in designed settings, such as museums, zoos, and nature programs. They also include experiences in out-of-school programs, such as after-school clubs, programs, and citizen science.

Featured Resources

Creating Professional Development for Informal and K–12 Educators

The results of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate surveys help science education professional development providers successfully work with educato...

Journal Article

Working at the Intersections of Formal and Informal Science and Literacy Education

The National Writing Project provides professional development, develops resources, generates research, and works to improve the teaching of writing...

Journal Article

Informal science education

To a science teacher, an ideal summer day might include a stroll through a zoo or botanical garden, a cool afternoon in a planetarium or aquarium, a h...

Blog Post

Can an Informal Science Institution Really Play the Key Role in K–12 Science Education Reform?

The Washington State LASER (Leadership Assistance for Science Education Reform) program is under the leadership of the Pacific Science Center, an info...

Book Chapter

Latest Resources

Journal Article

Online Digital Science Resources

Rapidly transition your in-person course to a remote format using these practical resources. ...

Journal Article

Discover the Wild World of Citizen Science With Zooniverse

Participate in one of Zooniverse’s online citizen science projects, which range in topic from astronomy to zoology to the digital humanities. ...

Journal Article

The Science from Scientists Experience Goes Virtual

Let youth take science home with them using Science from Scientists’ new resources. ...

Journal Article

Creating a Preschool Computational-Thinking Learning Blueprint to Guide the Development of Learning Resources for Young Children

Discover how learning blueprint research led to the development of AHA! Island, a project that uses animated stories and songs, live-action videos, an...

Web Seminar

Archive: Write from the Start, June 24, 2020

Have you read great articles in the NSTA journals that changed or added to the ways you and your students do science for the better? You could inspire...

Web Seminar

Archive: Science Update: COVID-19: What We Know, Where We Are Going: A Look at What the Current Research Tells Us About the Pandemic, June 10, 2020

As new information comes out from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and researchers, educators, and parents are left with questions about the progr...

Collection

Online Teaching Resources You Can Use - A List Compiled by NSTA

Due to the coronavirus pandemic many school districts across the country have decided to close schools and teach online full time. NSTA has compiled a...

Collection

Coronavirus Secondary Lesson Plan and Resources

With the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the news every day – and becoming increasingly sensationalized – your students are likely to have ques...

Journal Article

Using the ChangeMaker Mindsets™ to Enhance STEM Experiences

A ChangeMaker is anyone who chooses to take creative action to solve a problem for impact.  The ChangeMaker Mindsets™ help youth navigate amb...

NSTA Press Book

Making Sense of Science and Religion: Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond

The authors of Making Sense of Science and Religion believe that addressing interactions between science and religion is part of all science educators...

NSTA Press Book

It's Still Debatable! Using Socioscientific Issues to Develop Scientific Literacy, K–5

It’s Still Debatable! encourages scientific literacy by showing you how to teach the content and thinking skills K–5 students need to explore real...

Journal Article

Making On and Off the Spectrum

People have been making since the first human used a tool, and have continued to create things for both fun and function. From building model trains...

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