Explore awards
Use the filter menu and interactive map to explore the past competitions offered and grants awarded through the Environmental Literacy Program.
To learn more about project findings and outcomes, view the summaries of our grantees’ summative evaluation reports.
Engaging ESL Adult and Youth Learners in Technologically Facilitated Outdoor Experiential Learning to Improve Environmental, Ocean, Climate and English Literacy
Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) - Monroe County, Inc. and The College of Exploration are developing and implementing a pilot project to target traditionally under-represented ethnic groups who are limited English proficient-- many reading and writing in English at the grade 0 - grade 5.5 level. The project goals are for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to use digital photo cameras, digital video cameras, waterproof underwater HD cameras and GPS technologies to geo-locate, explore, observe, record, display and tell stories in English both in words, photos and short HD video clip sequences. Stories will be about the exploration of places like the National Marine Sanctuaries and other areas of the country and coasts where there are scientific observation and monitoring opportunities created and supported by NOAA partners.
Embedding NOAA in a Public Learning Laboratory - The Environmental Scientist-In-Residence Program at the Exploratorium
The Environmental Scientist-in-Residence Program will leverage NOAA's scientific assets and personnel by combining them with the creativity and educational knowledge of the pioneer hands-on science center. To do this, the program will embed NOAA scientists in a public education laboratory at the Exploratorium. Working closely with youth Explainers, exhibit developers, and Web and interactive media producers at the Exploratorium, NOAA scientists will share instruments, data, and their professional expertise with a variety of public audiences inside the museum and on the Web. At the same time the scientists will gain valuable skills in informal science communication and education. Through cutting-edge iPad displays, screen-based visualizations, data-enriched maps and sensor displays, and innovative interactions with visitors on the museum floor, this learning laboratory will enable NOAA scientists and Exploratorium staff to investigate new hands-on techniques for engaging the public in NOAA's environmental research and monitoring efforts.
Carbon Networks
Carbon Networks is a three-year collaborative project that aims to improve public understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification and atmospheric carbon dioxide on the environment. It involves three informal education partners - the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii, and the Pacific Science Center in Seattle - working together to provide professional development for staff and local educators, as well as create educational programs and activities for museum visitors using authentic ocean and atmospheric data. The project aims to address the disconnect between scientific evidence and the public's understanding of these impacts by developing and implementing professional development workshops and training programs that connect local ocean and atmospheric data with regional, Pacific, and global systems. The goal is to create meaningful place-based education narratives and activities that help people better understand the evolving narrative and impact of ocean acidification and climate change.
Hurricanes and Climate Change: Local Impacts and Global Systems
The Miami Science Museum, in collaboration with Ideum and the Institute for Learning Innovation, is designing and developing an interactive multi-user exhibit that allows visitors to explore the global dimensions and local impacts of climate change. The exhibit will raise public understanding about the underlying science, the human causes, and the potential impacts of climate change by combining the attraction of a 4-foot spherical display with a user-controlled interface that lets visitors control the sphere and choose from a range of global and local content they wish to explore. A particular focus is on climate-related impacts on coastal communities, including the dangers posed by rising sea level and the possibility of more intense hurricanes. The project emphasizes engagement of diverse, multigenerational audiences through development of an interface that is fully bilingual and that promotes social interaction. The open-source learning module will be adaptable by other museums, to explore climate impacts specific to their region.
ResilienceMT: Building Resilience in Montana’s Rural and Tribal Communities
ResilienceMT: Building Resilience in Montana’s Rural and Tribal Communities” education and engagement activities will enhance the environmental literacy of over 2,000 Montanans, including youth and adults, and support community climate resilience planning, implementation, and capacity building. This project addresses the need for adaptive capacity related to (1) wildfires and associated impacts on human health, state and local budgets, and Montana’s tourism and recreation economies; (2) drought and impacts on crops, agricultural economies, wildlife and game species, and culturally-significant plants; and (3) flooding due to extreme weather events and changes in amount and timing of spring snowmelt and associated impacts on water supplies, recreation, and fishing. Impacts associated with our changing climate are already occurring, and rural and tribal communities are particularly vulnerable and less prepared than larger communities. Project objectives include building action competence and capacity for resilience planning and implementation among youth and adults in partner communities. Specifically, the project will develop participants’ climate resilience-related knowledge and skills as well as their willingness, confidence, and capacity for action. Project leaders from the University of Montana, including spectrUM Discovery Area, and Montana State University will work in close collaboration with two tribal communities in Montana, the Blackfeet Nation, and the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and with two rural communities in the Bitterroot Valley, all of which are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Project activities aimed at achieving these objectives include (1) An interactive, data-based Mobile Climate Resilience Exhibit serving middle and high school students and families; (2) Community Climate Resilience Resource Guides; (3) Community Climate Resilience Forums; and (4) Follow-up interviews, report dissemination, and additional education and networking opportunities. The Mobile Exhibit will be collaboratively designed with partner teachers and communities and will utilize data and expertise from multiple sources including NOAA and the Montana Climate Office. The exhibit will employ digital ESRI Story Maps and other interactive physical elements to allow students and families to explore the science of wildfires, drought, and flooding; historical trends and projected climate changes, impacts, and interrelated human and ecological vulnerabilities at multiple geographic scales; and locally relevant climate resilience strategies. Elements of the Mobile Exhibit will be included in the Resource Guides, which will be available online and in print at the Community Forums. Collaboratively designed and led with tribal environmental offices and community partner organizations, the Community Climate Resilience Forums will include intergenerational dialogue; enhance understanding of community climate vulnerabilities and resilience planning efforts; and facilitate local action projects. Project leaders will obtain additional input from forum participants and community leaders; report to the community on the results; and facilitate various follow-up engagement, education, and networking activities among students and other community members to support achieving project objectives.