Background 

This research is being conducted by Adania Flemming, a PhD student in the department of Biology with joint appointment in the Florida Museum of Natural History, at the University of Florida. She is also a research assistant with iDigBio (Integrated Digitized Biocollections). She created an Introduction to Natural History Museums course geared towards introducing undergraduate students to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) through hands-on, research-based projects. As part of her research, she is interested in knowing if similar courses exist and understanding the goals of those courses. 

She is specifically interested in courses meant to introduce students to the nature of science, provide an understanding of how scientific knowledge is generated, and what conducting research entails. She would like to know the role that museum specimens play in this process of learning. She is secondarily interested in how museum collections are used in other aspects of teaching undergraduate students.

Her collaborator Kari Harris, who started the Natural History Collections Club Network (NHCCN), is interested in gathering information about relevant student clubs near you.

Please complete the survey by Wednesday, December 2, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Feel free to email her directly if you have questions, aflemming"at" flmnh "dot" ufl "dot" edu.