40. Community Need The Boonshoft Museum has been a longstanding community anchor in the Dayton region for decades. Our museum's impact extends beyond the local community, particularly through our educational resources. Between 2021-2023, the Ohio Institute of Informal Science Education (OIISE), initiated by the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, serves as a central platform for Ohio educators to access high-quality, peer-reviewed, standards-based content from various Ohio museums and informal education institutions. This online resource features a user-friendly database, ensuring educators can easily find programs suitable for their classrooms. Emphasizing virtual learning, OIISE bridges the gap, enabling Ohio students to engage with STEM subjects, irrespective of their physical access to educational facilities.

Students engaged in our programs have demonstrated a remarkable improvement, achieving up to a 40% increase in their standardized test scores. This notable enhancement can be directly attributed to their involvement in Boonshoft programs, which were aligned to state-standards and their curriculum. OIISE enables a wider distribution of these curriculum-aligned programs to a larger and more diverse audience.

With additional funding support for OIISE, our team will expand on the partnerships with outside institutions and program offerings. While the current focus is on aerospace and space science concepts, there is a growing demand for lessons in biology and natural sciences. By broadening the program offerings, OIISE can continue to provide accessible, professionally crafted, standards-based content to teachers and classrooms throughout Ohio's communities.