ABSTRACT
Research findings demonstrate that beyond the four walls of schools and science centers, the opportunities of science learning are abundant. The author, a veteran of the science center field in India, examines what characterizes these outdoor and outreach programs, how they operate, and how effective they are. Developing nations in the world have introduced outdoor science parks, mobile science exhibition units, demonstration vans, science circuses, science expresses (trains carrying large exhibitions and science activity modules to rural areas), mobile science labs with experiments, and science camps, in order to offer non-formal STEM learning to their public, especially students in remote areas who are deprived of such resources. One of the central characteristics of these programs is playful learning, based on intrinsic motivation, active engagement, and attention to means rather than ends. The programs are free-choice, non-coercive learning environments that offer a higher degree of exploration than can usually be found in formal science classrooms. Research findings also demonstrate that these programs generate much-needed excitement and interest in science with students and the public. Making informal STEM learning accessible to underserved learners in remote locations can increase their curiosity, interest, attentiveness, achievement, and skills.
