What does it take to sustain a productive partnership in education?

Since 2004, eight of New York City’s leading cultural institutions — including museums, zoos, and botanical gardens — have worked with the New York City Department of Education to support effective science instruction in the city’s middle schools.

In 2002, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) approached the New York City Department of Education to offer its assistance in responding to a new policy mandate. Out of concern that too few middle graders were getting a solid foundation in the sciences, city officials had declared that in order to graduate from 8th grade and enroll in high school, every student must complete at least one extensive, multipart scientific investigation. At the time, however, the schools were facing a severe shortage of science teachers overall, much less ones who were prepared to guide students in conducting complex, independent projects. How would the school system make up for this lack of expertise? Perhaps AMNH could help fill the gap.

The museum’s education staff had vast experience creating hands-on activities for children of all ages, with input from more than 200 resident scientists doing research in fields ranging from astrophysics and anthropology to biology, paleontology, and zoology. Further, across the city’s five boroughs were several other scientific institutions that had valuable resources and expertise to contribute, including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York Botanical Garden, Queens Botanical Garden, New York Hall of Science, Staten Island Zoo, Bronx Zoo, and the New York Aquarium. Working together, they could address a broad range of content and serve thousands of students.