AccessSTEM

Whether in person or online, concrete steps can be taken to ensure that conferences, meetings, presentations, and other events are accessible to a diverse audience. Begin by thinking about who might face barriers to an event. These may include individuals who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, have mobility impairments, are English language learners, and are connecting to virtual meetings via audio only.

Women with disabilities in academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers face a variety of challenges.

As institutions seek to leverage the benefits of diversity, application pools for faculty positions have become increasingly diverse, inclusive of faculty with disabilities who bring unique and valuable perspectives and talents to the workplace. However, the inaccessible design of the employment application process, as well as many campus facilities, software tools, services, and online resources, continue to erect barriers to some applicants and employees with disabilities, including those who are also members of other marginalized groups.

Unfortunately, the designs of some informal learning conversations and other activities do not allow individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to fully participate. There are several strategies your program can follow to avoid this situation. Begin by making sure your promotional materials and correspondence with potential participants explain how individuals can request accommodations, including a sign language interpreter and real-time captioning.

The Riverside Art Museum (RAM) created KickstART kits during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide natural science education through at-home art making. Each kit is designed to inspire young learners to explore the natural world, and each kit has five art lessons with specific themes students can choose from: Animals, Art Around the World, Oceans of Fun, Desert, and Winter.

Open Exhibits, originally funded by the National Science Foundation, seeks to transform the way in which museums and other informal learning institutions produce and share digital exhibits. Open Exhibits hosts accessible downloadable exhibits that utilize universal design principles in their development. Examples of downloadable exhibits include the following:

The SciAccess Initiative in conjunction with Ohio State University (OSU) and the Ohio State School for the Blind, launched the fully virtual Zenith Mentorship Program to engage blind and visually impaired 8th to 12th grade students in space and astronomy sciences.

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) works with the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program to “build and advance the informal STEM education field by providing infrastructure, resources, and connectivity for educators, researchers, evaluators, and other interested stakeholders.”

In a community of practice (CoP), a group often focused on a specific application area, collaborators share perspectives and expertise; identify promoters and inhibitors of change; suggest initiatives and activities; and share problems, solutions, and practices. CoPs within organizations can help prevent information across departments from being siloed. A CoP can also be used to disseminate new information, practices, or projects that might otherwise get overlooked.

The California Academy of Sciences has an aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, and natural history museum and is a powerful voice for biodiversity research and exploration, environmental education, and sustainability across the globe. One of their core values is a commitment to diversity and equity. Outlined on their website their commitment reads: