Environmental Literacy Initiative

Careers in Science interns from the Academy line up in front of a scenic vista.

To achieve a sustainable future, we must build science and environmental literacy today.

As a leader in public education and science engagement, the Academy's Environmental Literacy Initiative aims to provide free, cutting-edge environmental and science education materials to everyone, with a special focus on K-12 teachers and afterschool programs.

Why Is Environmental Literacy Important?

20 million families in the US do not have access to afterschool programs.
40% of California grade school teachers spend less than one hour per week teaching science.
Educational materials lack relevance and are outdated.

Here's an alarming omen for our environmental future: K-12 students in the US rank 20^th in science performance out of 35 developed countries.

If we fail to provide today's young learners with a strong foundation in science-based ecological principles, we're compromising their ability to tackle a world of environmental challenges, from climate change to ecosystem fragmentation to ocean acidification.

But if we nurture young minds' boundless curiosity for the world around them, their environmental literacy grows—and so do our chances for a sustainable future.

The Academy: An Environmental Literacy Launchpad

Careers in Science interns are nearly three times more likely to major in a STEM field than the national average.
The Academy is a living laboratory for learning, providing free or discounted field trips for over 130,000 students each year.
The Academy trains teachers to enhance their ability to provide quality science and environmental education.

With only 13% of California schools integrating environmental education into their curricula, our teachers and students need all the resources they can get.

Luckily, the Academy is uniquely equipped to address this alarming deficit by leveraging our key strengths.

Our science and education credentials are unparalleled.
As both a research institution and a museum, the Academy is home to hundreds of world-renowned scientists and educators. Peer-reviewed science and academic rigor inform everything we do.

We produce high-quality learning experiences onsite and online.
From hands-on public programs to high-tech distance learning tools, the Academy excels at designing, producing, and distributing educational content to local museum visitors and global educators alike.

We collaborate with educators and experts around the world.
Working closely with teachers, school districts, and education experts, we strive to align our work with best practices and state and federal standards. Our new online resources are being used by teachers in all 50 states and 70+ countries.

Science Action Clubs

15,000 youth in 200+ cities and towns in 17+ states across the country participate in Science Action Club every year.
85% of Science Action Club participants report "SAC makes science more fun.”
99% of Science Action Club activity leaders "feel able to help youth connect with the natural world through SAC activities.”

For over 10 million US kids, the last bell of the day doesn't mean last call for learning. Afterschool programs are an important part of an evolving educational ecosystem—with outdoor adventures often at the core of their curricula.

The Academy's Science Action Club (SAC) was created to fill a growing need for quality afterschool and summer STEM opportunities for 5^th-8^th graders. Since its inception in 2010, over 15,000 students in 17 states have participated in SAC, with a projected reach of 30,000 per year by 2020.

Games, experiments, and citizen science projects encourage SAC members to explore nature, connect with scientists, and imagine a sustainable future for the planet.

Science and Environmental Media Lab

Multimedia content produced by the Academy has reached millions of teachers and students in all 50 states and over 70 countries.
90% of teachers reported that Academy-produced distance learning content increased student science learning.
Crowdsourcing has enabled Flipside Science videos and other online materials to be translated into dozens of languages.

As learning transcends classrooms, educational tools are expanding beyond textbooks.

The Science and Environmental Media Lab is the Academy's media production studio, where media producers, science visualization experts, educators, and students themselves join forces to produce professional-quality Flipside Science videos, planetarium shows, online teacher trainings, and virtual field trips.

This digital departure from science-education-as-usual is already hitting its stride, with over 3 million views across all our digital media offerings—and projected to surpass 17 million by 2020.

Through partnerships with leading learning platforms like Khan Academy and PBS LearningMedia, the Academy is committed to expanding the availability of our free programming to millions of teachers and students—increasing environmental literacy around the world.