15 Year Book - Flipbook - Page 229
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (CONTINUED)
KEY HISTORICAL MOMENTS (2018 - 2022):
2018 — The museum collaborates with the Association of Women in Science (since dissolved) to pair U-M graduate student mentors with
Forsythe Middle School students.
2018 — New Summer Science Communication program, Aspirnaut Summer Research, is launched with the Life Sciences Institute.
2019 — The new museum’s grand opening takes place on April 14, 2019, including new interactive lab space for hands-on learning.
2021 — The museum reopens to the public on a limited schedule on June 18, 2021 after being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
featuring two new interactive public lab spaces with hands-on activities and group programs developed for K-12 students.
2022 — The museum begins hosting Forsythe Middle School's Young Scientist Expo.
2022 — Earth-RISE, a 3-year NSF-funded addition to the Summer Science Communication program for public high school students in
Ypsilanti and Detroit, launches in collaboration with the U-M Earth Dept.
PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
In 2024, 530 metro Detroit middle school students and teachers were impacted through the Science For Tomorrow (SFT)
program, formerly known as Future U.
85% of participants who received the full 120 hours of SFT programming reported that they feel more confident than before that
they can handle science courses at the high school level
77% reported that the experience "made the idea of a science career for me seem possible"
Between 2022-2024, 58 high school students successfully completed summer Science Communication training and conducted
public-facing events with NSF-supported research and mentorship from the Departments of Chemistry, Earth & Environmental
Science, and the Life Sciences Institute.
100% of participants surveyed reported that the science communication training was useful
Since 2018, UMMNH has supported Forsythe Middle School in a mentorship program culminating in a Young Scientists' Expo.
The Expo has been held at the museum since 2022, showcasing Forsythe Middle School students' research next to U-M
postgraduate research for hundreds of visitors every year.
Since 1998, the museum has been running summer camp sessions.
In 2024, 462 individual campers participated in the museum’s summer camp, and 20 local campers in need of financial assistance
received scholarships totaling $5,830.
Since 2013, we have hired, trained, mentored, and supervised a cohort of Junior Counselors (age 13-17) every year.
In 2024, we had a record 21 Junior Counselors on staff.
When the museum moved to the BSB in 2019, we included space for interactive public labs. By the time the museum re-opened to
the public in 2021, we’d developed a robust K-12 programming slate and 25 collection drawers.
In 2024, a total of 52,181 guests visited the public labs.
Between February-April 2025, 52% of the 10,800 visitors who participated in lab activities were estimated to be younger than 13
years old.
To date in FY25, the labs have run 79 separate 45-minute programs, involving 367 hours of docent time. Aside from one
modified program delivered to undergraduate students working with the Office of Sustainability, all programs have been
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delivered to K-12 audiences (including scout groups and camp groups).
