---
title: "Science education"
chunk: 6/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_education"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:18:54.994028+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Informal science education is the science teaching and learning that occurs outside of the formal school curriculum in places such as museums, the media, and community-based programs. The National Science Teachers Association has created a position statement on Informal Science Education to define and encourage science learning in many contexts and throughout the lifespan. Research in informal science education is funded in the United States by the National Science Foundation. The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) provides resources for the informal science education community.
Examples of informal science education include science centers, science museums, and new digital learning environments (e.g. Global Challenge Award), many of which are members of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC). The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Museum of Science (Boston) are the oldest of this type of museum in the United States.  Media include TV programs such as NOVA, Newton's Apple, "Bill Nye the Science Guy", "Beakman's World", The Magic School Bus, and Dragonfly TV. Early examples of science education on American television included programs by Daniel Q. Posin, such as "Dr. Posin's Universe", "The Universe Around Us", "On the Shoulders of Giants", and "Out of This World".  Examples of community-based programs are 4-H Youth Development programs, Hands On Science Outreach, NASA and After school Programs and Girls at the Center. Home education is encouraged through educational products such as the former (1940–1989) Things of Science subscription service.
In 2010, the National Academies released Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments, based on the National Research Council study, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits. Surrounded by Science is a resource book that shows how current research on learning science across informal science settings can guide the thinking, the work, and the discussions among informal science practitioners. This book makes valuable research accessible to those working in informal science: educators, museum professionals, university faculty, youth leaders, media specialists, publishers, broadcast journalists, and many others.

== See also ==
Center for Informal Learning and Schools
chronolog - a citizen science environmental monitoring platform.
Controversial science
Constructivism in science education
Discipline-based education research
Discovery learning
Educational research
Environmental groups and resources serving K–12 schools
Epistemology (the study of knowledge and how we know things)
Graduate school
Inquiry-based Science
National Science Education Standards
National Science Teachers Association
Pedagogy
Physics education
Mathematics education
Engineering education
Public awareness of science
School science technicians
Science education in England
Science, Technology, Society and Environment Education
Scientific literacy
Science outreach
Scientific modelling
Science education on YouTube

== References ==

== Further reading ==
"Is science only for the rich?". Nature. 537 (7621): 466–470. 2016. Bibcode:2016Natur.537..466.. doi:10.1038/537466a. PMID 27652548. S2CID 205090336.
Aikenhead, G.S. (1994). "What is STS teaching?". In Solomon, J.; Aikenhead, G.S. (eds.). STS education: International perspectives on reform. New York: Teachers College Press. pp. 47–59. ISBN 978-0807733653.
Balanskat, Anja (2007). National and European Initiatives to promote science education in Europe (PDF) (Report). European Schoolnet. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2015.
Berube, Clair T. (2008). The Unfinished Quest: The Plight of Progressive Science Education in the Age of Standards. Charlotte NC: Information Age. ISBN 978-1-59311-928-7.
Joyce, Alexa; Dumitru, Petra (2007). "Public-private partnerships for maths, science and technology education: the examples of Xperimania & Futurenergia" (PDF). Proceedings of Discovery Days conference. European Schoolnet. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012.
Falk, John H. (2001). Science Education: How We Learn Science Outside of School. New York: Teachers College. ISBN 978-0-8077-4064-4.
Shamos, Morris Herbert (1995). The Myth of Scientific Literacy. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2196-1.
Sheppard, K.; Robbins, D. M. (2007). "High School Biology Today: What the Committee of Ten Actually Said". CBE: Life Sciences Education. 6 (3): 198–202. doi:10.1187/cbe.07-03-0013. PMC 1964524. PMID 17785402.

== External links ==

The Association for Science Teacher Education
Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education
The European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS)
CBE Life Science Education interview with Jo Handlesman (2009)
Science Education Forum by Miller et al. (2008)