Art + Science = Learning For All

The Cool Science team brings a new approach to the challenge of improving public understanding of climate science.

Cool Science aims to engage students, teachers, parents, and the general public from Massachusetts, Kansas, and Missouri with the science of extreme weather through a statewide K-12 student art competition designed to foster learning about climate science. Students (and their teachers) are encouraged to develop a visual work of art that addresses one of three questions about extreme weather. Winning entries have their work put on public display on local regional bus transit authorities.

Cool Science is a collaborative effort between the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston’s School for the Environment; UMass Lowell’s College of Education and Art and Design Department; the Massachusetts College of Art and Design; the Transportation Center at the University of Kansas; the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis, University of Kansas; Kansas State University; the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston; and Goodman Research Group, Inc.

Uncharted Territory

Over the last seven years, Cool Science piloted a small-scale program in Massachusetts.  The program won awards and was honored by the White House as an exemplary project to improve climate literacy across a community.

Because of its proven popularity and effective engagement with all ages, Cool Science added partners in the nation’s heartland in Kansas and Missouri.  Now, buses with children’s winning artwork will ride in four regions (Merrimack Valley, Worcester, Kansas City, and Topeka). During each year of this 3-year program, roughly hundreds of youth, hundreds of adult mentors, and tens-of-thousands of bus riders will have the chance to learn about the science of extreme weather.

Funded By The National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) generously provided funding for this project, as part of its Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program. The AISL program seeks to advance new approaches to and evidence-based understanding of the design and development of STEM learning opportunities for the public in informal environments; provide multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences; advance innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments; and engage the public of all ages in learning STEM in informal environments.