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High-quality after-school programs devoted to science have the potential to enhance students' science knowledge and attitudes, which may impact their decisions about pursuing science-related careers. Due to the unique nature of these informal learning environments, an understanding of the relationships among aspects of students' content knowledge acquisition and attitudes toward science may aid in the development of effective science-related interventions. We investigated the impact of a semester-long after-school intervention utilizing an inquiry-based infectious diseases curriculum (designed for use after-school) on 63 urban students' content knowledge and aspects of their attitudes towards science. Content knowledge increased 24.6% from pre- to posttest. Multiple regression analyses indicated suggested that the "self-directed effort" subscale of the Simpson-Troost Attitude Questionnaire - Revised best predicted increases in students' science content knowledge. The construct "science is fun for me" served as a suppressor effect. These findings suggest that future after-school programs focusing on aspects of attitudes toward science most closely associated with gains in content knowledge might improve students' enthusiasm and academic preparedness for additional science coursework by improving student attitudes towards their perceptions of their self-directed effort.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) is supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Strategic Education Framework's vision—“to capture the imagination of students … strengthen the nation's future workforce … and [improve] the overall teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines”—through a comprehensive kindergarten through postdoctoral education program [S. O’Keefe, NASA, The New Age of Exploration: NASA's Direction for 2005 and Beyond, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, 2005]. The current NSBRI EPOP is comprised of four programs: kindergarten through undergraduate college (K-16); graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs; and Space Medicine Grand Rounds and Aerospace Medicine Board Meetings, which are held at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The mission of the NSBRI EPOP is to train scientists and teachers, inspire and prepare students to pursue science careers, and promote public engagement in space exploration. This paper focuses on the accomplishments of the K-16 program and references ongoing efforts to strengthen the 21st Century US science workforce.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) is supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) new vision for space exploration by educating and inspiring the next generation of students through a seamless pipeline of kindergarten through postdoctoral education programs. NSBRI EPOP initiatives are designed to train scientists and to communicate the significance of NSBRI science, as well as other space exploration science, to schools, families and lay audiences. The NSBRI EPOP team is comprised of eight main partners: Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Binghamton University–State University of New York (BUSUNY), Colorado Consortium for Earth and Space Science Education (CCESSE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM), Rice University and the University of Texas Medical Branch (RU–UTMB), and Texas A&M University (TAMU). The current kindergarten through undergraduate college (K-16) team, which was funded through an open national competition in 2004, consolidates the past 7 years of K-16 education activities and expands the team's outreach activities to more museums and science centers across the nation. NSBRI also recently expanded its education mission to include doctoral and postdoctoral level programs. This paper describes select K-16 EPOP activities and products developed over the past 7 years, and reports on new activities planned for the next 3 years. The paper also describes plans for a doctoral program and reports on 1st-year outcomes of the new postdoctoral program.