12 Science centres awarded grants for Explore Your Universe: Valuing Inclusion project

  • Published: 5 Feb 2024

This national STEM engagement project is part of the longstanding Explore Your Universe programme run by ASDC with many of the science centres and museums around the UK. Explore Your Universe: Valuing Inclusion focuses on co-developing a Logic Model that defines, guides, supports and evidences meaningful practice in values-led, inclusive STFC science engagement within our Informal Science Learning sector.

This Logic Model will be developed in collaboration with Informal Science Learning researchers, the British Science Association, and in-depth understanding from 12 of the science and discovery centres from the ASDC UK-wide network.

As part of this development work, grants of £9,500 have been awarded to the 12 science and discovery centres for in-depth exploration of participant experiences, working with community partners to provide evidence and explore the areas and assumptions of the developing Logic Model.

The science and discovery centres awarded the grants are:

  1. Aberdeen Science Centre
  2. Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
  3. Cambridge Science Centre
  4. Catalyst Science Discovery Centre
  5. Dundee Science Centre
  6. Dynamic Earth
  7. Jodrell Bank
  8. National Space Centre
  9. Royal Astronomical Society
  10. Techniquest
  11. W5
  12. We The Curious


To kick start the project, the ASDC team is running a training academy evaluation meeting for the participating science centres and their community partners working alongside five experts in Informal Science Learning evaluation and research.

The focus will be on 6 outcome areas – previously surfaced through a 12 month rigorous review that looked at all our inclusive work with STFC, alongside wider projects and programmes such as Curiosity (Children In Need), and Science Capital in Practice, and a listening to STEM funders project, wider-networks, researchers, practitioners and youth workers on the outcome areas of meaning when working with under-served audiences.

The project is funded by the Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC) part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

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