About CAISE

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) is a cooperative agreement between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), Kevin Crowley, Associate Professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Education and Director of UPCLOSE; Kirsten Ellenbogen, Senior Director of Lifelong Learning at the Science Museum of Minnesota; John Falk, Sea Grant Professor of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University; and Sue Ellen McCann, Executive Producer of KQED, San Francisco. CAISE endeavors to advance and strengthen the informal science education field in order to increase understanding, participation and engagement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). CAISE achieves this by leveraging the National Science Foundation's investments in advancing informal STEM learning, catalyzing mutual learning exchanges between NSF and the informal science education field, facilitating the formation of networks through online and in-person connections, building and integrating professional developmental infrastructure, and generating and disseminating resources to enhance the relevance, value and impacts of informal STEM learning programs, projects and activities. CAISE's core audiences include active and aspiring principal investigators, researchers and evaluators, NSF program officers, scientists, educators, and outreach professionals in the STEM disciplines.