Join Our Study

As part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, researchers at MMSA are conducting a phone study to learn from residents in selected regions of Maine how to support youth with interests in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

We are seeking:

• Residents of thse selected regions (currently Dover/Dexter/Guildford and Central Lincoln County)
• Who are parents/guardians of Maine youth ages 10 to 18 who have an interest in science, technology, engineering, math or subjects related to these field

What the study involves:

• A 15-minute phone interview, asking parents/guardians about…
  • Out-of-school activities your child has been involved in that relate to the STEM areas.
  • STEM related programs your child/family has attended.
  • Places you have visited or projects you have worked on that support your child’s interests.
• If possible, we would also like to speak to your child/children for five minutes after this interview to hear about their interests in STEM and perspectives on the STEM activities available to them

Each parent phone call will take approximately 15 minutes. Each child interview will take about 5 minutes and only be conducted with the parent’s/guardian’s stated permission.

• Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and not compensated.
• We may also invite you to participate in a follow-up interview in the next few months, which you are free to accept or decline.
• Should you choose to do so, you may end your phone interview at any time during the call. We can reschedule another time to complete the interview if you feel that is possible.
• If you are interested in participating in our study, please click on the link below. We will contact you to schedule the interview.

Why we are doing this:

MMSA has received funding for a project aimed at encouraging youth in Maine to find and pursue activities outside school that involve science, technology, engineering, and math.

We want to understand what youth, aged 10-18, already do and what more they would like to do in these areas.

Your participation will help to guide us in our work.

This work is supported by National Science Foundation grant #1322827.