In addition to the Museum's award-winning hands-on exhibits, breathtaking IMAX films, enriching public programs, and unique Museum School® curriculum, the Museum has a rich history of developing innovative programs that present new venues for learning and exploration. Some of these innovative programs include:
DesignIT Studio DesignIT Studio is an information technology education program for minority and low-income teens. In DesignIT, 160 teens from inner-city Boys & Girls Clubs and a public middle school learn to design their own software and hardware, engage in creative problem-solving, and completely immerse themselves in science and engineering. The Museum received a $891,243 grant from the National Science Foundation for the program. Private funding is sought for this program to continue.
TexNET TexNET – the Texas Network for Exhibit-Based Learning and Teaching – partners the
Museum
of
Science
and History and
San Francisco's Exploratorium with three smaller science museums that have strong connections to rural and Spanish-speaking populations in
Texas: Discovery Science Place in Tyler; Imaginarium of South Texas in Laredo; and Science Spectrum in
Lubbock. The four-year project is modeled on the Exploratorium’s Network for Exhibit-based Teaching (ExNET), of which
Fort Worth
is a lead member. Each year, the smaller museum partners host a set of ten exhibits that focus on motion, weather, or sound. The exhibits are paired with professional development and capacity-building workshops. TexNET is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Texas Center for Inquiry The Texas Center for Inquiry is a collaborative effort between the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, and the Exploratorium's Institute for Inquiry. The Center was established in 2000 in response to a growing number of Texas science educational professional developers and practitioners seeking first-hand experiences inquiry. Participation in TCI's institutes and follow-up coaching and mentoring enables professional developers and practitioners to take their experiences back to their home districts and expand the district's capacity to implement inquiry in classroom settings.
