Partners
Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos
Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos is one of three community partners anchoring the ESC network and serve as the project’s drop-in ESC headquarters. Centro has hosted Families Learning Together programming since 2017. Housed in the historic Bonham Prekindergarten building, Centro brings a long history of community STEM programming to the Research Collective, dating to the NASA teacher education collaboration with Texas State University, as well as arts and cultural programs serving children and families in San Marcos.
San Marcos Public Library
The San Marcos Public Library is one of three community partners anchoring the ESC network and, alongside Centro, has co-hosted Families Learning Together since 2017. Building on its tradition of family-centered literacy programming, SMPL hosts periodic self-contained ESC events such as book circles, scientist roundtables, and community science engagements.
Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, a public-facing educational center and research institute at Texas State University, joined the ESC network to accentuate the expressive science component of the project by providing space, mentorship, and program support for community STEM learning. Situated at the headwaters of the San Marcos River, the Meadows Center hosts self-contained ESC events and monthly family science programming within its living-laboratory setting at Spring Lake.
Alkek One (Texas State University)
Alkek One, part of Texas State University Libraries, provides ESC/FLT participants with media production resources for building participant-curated digital portfolios, including facilities for video and podcast creation. Alkek One works alongside the Multidisciplinary Innovation Lab (School of Art and Design) to give families, youth, and undergraduates no-cost access to fabrication and media tools for documenting and sharing their STEM learning.
ESC Research Collective
The ESC Research Collective is an NSF-funded research project investigating how families, youth, and community members learn, make, and imagine together.