Evaluating Informal Science Education Centers in the Southern Appalachians

abstract:The southern Appalachian region is a hotspot of ecological biodiversity that is under increasing threat from climate change and rapid population growth. We posit that informal science education is uniquely adapted to foster environmental stewardship in the region, but the current state of informal science education within the southern Appalachians is poorly understood. We reviewed current informal science education centers (ISECs), which we define as centers for science learning outside of structured curriculum (n = 166). For each of these centers, we compiled information on geographical location, programs offered, and funding sources. We found large geographic gaps in ISEC coverage that often aligned with low-population, low-income counties. The most common program type in our dataset was field trips, followed by public programming, while research and virtual programming were the least often offered. ISECs that had funding from multiple organizations generally had the most diverse and robust programming.