A partnership between the
Franklin Institute and the
Free Library of Philadelphia designed to grow young scientists is going national. LEAP into Science began as an offshoot of the library's afterschool homework help program. This year, 10 sites in urban centers nationwide will adopt LEAP, which encourages science and literacy learning among children and their families.
"We received National Science Foundation funding to pilot and develop the program," says Dale McCreedy, Director of Gender and Family Learning Programs at the Franklin Institute. LEAP has used the four year, $1.1 million grant for programs in 33 library branches across the city, taking advantage of the library's vast trove of science books for kids in kindergarten through fourth grade.
The two originating institutions, which sit across the Parkway from one another, have overlapping missions, says McCreedy, in trying to reach multiple age levels and supporting lifelong learning, combining the library's resources with the Franklin Institute's strengths in informal science education.
While the original model was set up in a library, nationally, the program may look different, according to McCreedy, with
workshops and enrichment sessions held in museums and schools in addition to libraries. A recent
expansion conference held in Philadelphia brought together stakeholders from across the country to consider curriculum and goals as they design and launch their own programs. The national expansion program received 30 applications for the 10 available spots in the first phase of the NSF funded initiative.
LEAP into Science now employs around 54 people in Philadelphia, with a dozen teens who serve as leadership assistants, some of whom have moved up the ranks to become associate leaders.
This is the third locally launched program out of the Franklin Institute that's gone nationwide, says McCreedy, who cites two
initiatives in collaboration with the Girl Scouts that have expanded to 90 sites around the country.
Source: Dale McCreedy, Franklin Institute
Writer: Sue Spolan