MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation in Santa Barbara, California, is seeking creative, inquiry-driven learners for a 15-month apprenticeship in informal STEM education. This certificate program is designed to provide students with opportunities to study informal STEM education and develop their capacity to become leaders in informal STEM learning. The program includes hands-on science museum experience through a paid internship as a member of MOXI’s floor staff team (1000 hours), as well as four-quarters of instruction in informal STEM education through UC Santa Barbara Professional and Continuing Education that culminates in a professional certificate in Informal STEM Learning.
The program runs from June 2020 – September 2021. The rolling application review is open now until May 31, 2020. More information and the application are on the MOXI website.
The 2020-2021 apprentice cohort will consist of 8-12 apprentices. Best suited applicants are interested in a career in informal or formal K-12 science education, looking to develop a strong science education foundation, trying to decide between a career in science or education, or wanting to solidify their conceptual understanding of science and improve their problem-solving skills.
One of the coordinators and teachers in the program is Dr. Danielle Harlow, Professor in the Department of Education and Associate Dean in UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School. Harlow’s work focuses on science and engineering education for elementary school children and teachers and the role that informal science environments can play in children’s and teachers’ learning. She teaches courses for Ph.D. students, pre-service teachers, and undergraduates. Her courses include technology and learning, physics and everyday thinking, methods for teaching elementary school science, and the MOXI apprenticeship course series in informal STEM learning.
In addition, Harlow is an exhibits and content adviser to MOXI and contributed to the design and layout of MOXI’s facility and exhibits. Her. Prior to joining the faculty at UCSB, Harlow received her Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder, her M.S., in Geophysics from Stanford University and a B.S. in physics from Valparaiso University. She also spent two years teaching Physics in Tanzania, East Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer.