Science for Global Goals, The LASER Model and The Future of Science Education

This summer I interned at the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) in Washington DC, a non-profit wing of the museum dedicated to promoting innovative curricula and good teaching practices in lower school science. During my time there I assisted with the development and implementation of a new UN-SDG aligned curriculum entitled "Mosquito!", which was launched in Panama earlier this summer. The course is part of a broader "Smithsonian Science for Global Goals" series of lesson plans aimed at encouraging students to learn about key scientific concepts and issues through experimentation and interaction in their local communities. My poster will outline the key strategies and open-access philosophy behind the SSEC’s SSGG courses, as well as how they align with the center’s revolutionary five-pronged LASER model for science education. I will focus especially on the areas I contributed to over the summer.