CALL FOR PROJECTS
Spring 2015 & Fall 2015
Application Deadline: August 4, 2014
Application for CPC Project Assistance
Instructions: We encourage non-profit organizations and municipal agencies to contact the CPC with ideas for projects
that can benefit the community while providing meaningful service-learning for RWU students. Please fill out the
Application for Project Assistance, answering all applicable questions and including all supporting documents.
In order for any project to be considered for assistance, completed applications must be submitted to CPC Project
Coordinator, Stephany Hessler, by 5 pm on August 4, 2014. Applications may be submitted by:
Email: shessler@rwu.edu
Fax: (401) 254-3565
Mail: RWU Community Partnerships Center
Roger Williams University
One Old Ferry Road
Bristol, RI 02809-2921
Any questions regarding the application process can be directed to Stephany at (401) 254-5211.
CPC project services are performed by students in support of their educational experience. Applicants shall understand
that any deliverables generated through an accepted project are intended to provide conceptual information only to assist
design and planning and as such are not intended, nor should they be used for, construction or other project
implementation. Professional and/or other services may be needed to ultimately implement a sponsor’s desired goals.
SECTION 1: Organization Information
Name of Organization:
Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art
Mailing Address:
60 Charlotte Ave Saunderstown RI
Name of Project Contact Person(s):
Juliette Casselman
Bonnie Epstein
Contact Information:
Phone:
401-749-2704
401-487-3521
Fax:
E-mail: juliettegc78@gmail.com
bepstein@rimosa.org
Type of Organization
 Public (town, city, municipality, special district, government agency)
X Private (citizen, non-profit)
 Other (please explain)
Description of Organization and Mission:
The Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art (RIMOSA), a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is a group of
imaginative people committed to a single goal: using Rhode Islands’ rich resources in the arts and sciences to
create a distinctive, highly interactive, informal learning center.
RIMOSA’s mission is to awaken curiosity and increase independent learning, creativity, and innovation in kids
8 and up – and adults, too! We want to help kids become creative problem solvers that can examine and
understand the world around them. This mission is accomplished by encouraging the exploration of science
through art, and art through science, with interactive exhibits and educational programming.
The RIMOSA board, and its supporters, believe that this exciting educational and cultural attraction is a natural
fit for Rhode Island, home to two major research universities, an internationally-recognized art school, a high
concentration of innovative individuals, businesses and organizations, and a culture of collaboration.
RIMOSA is currently a museum without walls – our goal is to open the doors to our museum within a few
years. To get there, RIMOSA is currently developing, testing and presenting our exhibits as temporary
installations at sites throughout the state, creating and delivering educational programs to schools and other
organizations, drafting a business and fundraising plan.
On average, how many individuals does your organization serve per year?
Over 4,000
How did you hear about the CPC?
Direct email
SECTION 2: Project Description
Title of the Project:
RIMOSA Educational Initiative: Science Standard Alignment and Evaluation Analysis
Project Location (Address, City, State, and Zip):
60 Charlotte Ave
Saunderstown, RI
General Project Description (you may attach a longer narrative if necessary):
Over the past four years, RIMOSA has developed over 12 hands-on art/science programs for ages 8 and up. These
programs include stop-motion animation, sound effects, marble roller coaster, electric dough and more – a more complete
list can be found at our website at www.rimosa.org. For this Educational Initiative, we propose for RWU students to
research and explore the recently adopted Next Generation Science Standards for Rhode Island to make connections to
existing RIMOSA programs. The RWU student will keep detailed notes and observations of where alignment occurs and
report to RIMOSA staff. They will make suggestions to RIMOSA staff regarding any alterations necessary to RIMOSA
programs to create further meshing with the new standards.
In addition, RWU students will analyze evaluations (post-program, anonymous questionnaires) from past RIMOSA
programs – which extend back to 2012 – to determine 1. If there are patterns in these evaluation responses which may be
of interest to RIMOSA or potential RIMOSA funders, 2. If these questionnaires serve as appropriate evaluations for these
program and 3. The best way for RIMOSA to use these evaluations to both improve our programs and indicate to funders
our level of success in our mission (kindling curiosity and encouraging experimentation), as well as interest in and
excitement about Science/ Technology/ Engineering/ Art and Math.
Potential Scope of Work/Tasks for RWU CPC1(you may attach a longer narrative if necessary):
1
CPC project services are performed by students in support of their educational experience. Applicants shall understand that any
deliverables generated through an accepted project are intended to provide conceptual information only to assist design and
planning and as such are not intended, nor should they be used for, construction or other project implementation. Professional
and/or other services may be needed to ultimately implement a sponsor’s desired goals.
-
Research RI Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Become familiar with RIMOSA programs
Record findings with regards to alignment with RIMOSA programs and NGSS
Review questionnaire for past program evaluations
Determine what information about program participants will be of most use to RIMOSA and to potential RIMOSA
funders
Determine how to elicit answers to RIMOSA’s primary mission – kindling curiosity – through evaluation (which will
be simple enough that RIMOSA educators can conduct it)
Review evaluations for past programs to find patterns of information which may be of interest to RIMOSA and to
RIMOSA funders
What will be the final product output for this project? (survey, website, design plans, drawings, etc.)
The final product will be a written analysis of RIMOSA’s programs: their connections to Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS) as well as their past successes (and failures) as elicited from past evaluations. The report will
conclude with recommendations for more appropriate future evaluations and connections to NGSS.
Proposed Project Schedule (when the tasks/project needs to be completed):
Week of September 8: Meet with RIMOSA staff and education committee-go over RIMOSA mission and details of this
particular Education Initiative
Week of September 8th through Week of October 6th: Review and Fact Finding
Review RIMOSA programs independently and with RIMOSA staff
Review NGSS
Review past 4 years of RIMOSA evaluations
Preliminarily connect RIMOSA programs to NGSS
Research types of information from evaluations which potential RIMOSA funders would want to see
Week of October 6th through Week of October 20th: Compilation
Discuss and work on future evaluations with RIMOSA staff
Review NGSS/RIMOSA program connections with staff
Week of October 20th through Week of December 1st: Results
Create findings report
Report to education committee
Please provide the names and contact information for any staff members or volunteers who will be playing a primary role
in the proposed CPC project.
Juliette Casselman /Education Coordinator
401-749-2704 juliettegc78@gmail.com
Bonnie Epstein / Executive Director
401-487-3521 bepstein@rimosa.org
What resources/previous work would the CPC be building upon that you already have completed? (Please select all items
that are applicable)
X

X


X


Strategic Plan
Marketing & Communication Plans
Additional organizational documents
Preliminary photos of the site/project
Maps
Previous research
Survey results
Architectural or building plans
What active support would your organization be able to contribute should your project be selected?

X
X


Funding
Volunteers
Staff time
Consultants
Other (please list)
SECTION 3: Project Outcomes
Please describe how this project will benefit your organization and the advancement of your mission:
RIMOSA’s mission is to “Kindle Curiosity and Encourage Experimentation”. We deliberately do not have the
acquisition of new knowledge in our mission as we agree with Albert Einstein that “imagination is more important
than knowledge” and curiosity is the driver of imagination! However, curiosity, imagination and empowerment to
experiment are results not as easy to evaluate as the acquisition of specific knowledge – or even as our current
surveys ask – whether the program was fun and the presenters age-appropriate. We have anecdotal evidence that
our program are effective in promoting curiosity, but funders are interested in metrics more than stories. The ability
to measure heightened curiosity and the desire to experiment would not only help us fine tune our programs to
ensure that they are achieving our goal – but also help us demonstrate to potential funders that we are capable of
achieving this necessary and difficult to assess objective.
In addition, while it will be admirable for us to be able to further our goal of increasing curiosity and encouraging
experimentation in Rhode island’s youth, in order for us to reach more children, we need to show that our programs
are in line with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) that are currently to be implemented in the public
schools. Although the framework for the NGSS states that the “overarching goal…for k-12 science education is to
ensure that by the end of 12th grade, all students have some appreciation of the beauty and wonder of science” –
there is very little time for such vague subjects as “beauty and wonder” in most teachers’ days. For this reason, we
need to show that our programs DO fall in line with these new standards, so that teachers can justify bringing us into
the classroom or having us for afterschool programs – benefiting both our organization, our mission, and the children
of Rhode Island.
Please describe how this project might benefit the overall community, including specific groups that could benefit from this
project (i.e. target populations, neighborhoods, specific town/city/region).
RIMOSA’s target age is 8 and up (ages 11 through 15, especially) and our programs are open to all who are
interested. That said, we make an effort to be accessible to those who are traditionally disadvantaged. For the past
3 years, RIMOSA has offered programs through the Providence Afterschool Alliance (PASA) for underserved youth
in Providence. We have also offered programs through the Pawtucket Boys and Girls Clubs for the past 3 years.
Our longest affiliation, however, has been with the Office of Library and Information Services for the State of Rhode
Island. Since 2011, we have offered summer programs free to the public at libraries throughout the state. We have
done programs for 3 children in rural branch libraries in Exeter and Harmony – or for over 25 children (at each
program, offering multiple programs) at public libraries in East Providence, Newport, Cranston and Warwick. As well
as over 20 communities in between and throughout Rhode island!
According to Forbes magazine (7/3/14), STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs “not only account
for more than 10% of jobs in the United States, many of them pay wages close to double the U.S. average”. Of
course, in order to be qualified for these STEM jobs, children need first to be interested in STEM fields. The 2011
National Assessment of Educational Progress at Grade 8 in Science (U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES 2012-465),
showed three of the five strong correlations to higher test scores were the number of hands--on activities students
did in class, whether they did science-related activities outside of schoolwork, and whether they “liked” science (see
figures 8 and 9). The remaining two correlations with high test scores were race and economic indicators. [Science,
2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress at Grade 8, U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES 2012-465]. We
believe access to RIMOSA’s fun, hands-on programs will increase interest in STEAM, and heighten scientific literacy
and general critical thinking for all who are exposed to it.
Please explain why you have chosen to seek assistance from the RWU CPC with your project request, instead of
undertaking the project using fee-for-services from a paid professional:
RIMOSA’s budget is very small. We have one paid, part time Education Coordinator and several free-lance educators
who are paid for the programs they do. Otherwise, we rely on the volunteer efforts of our hardworking board members,
who, being unpaid, are limited in the amount of time they can spend on projects.
Please describe how this project will benefit RWU students.
At base, this project offers RWU students an opportunity to become very familiar with the new standards for Rhode Island
science education (NGSS) and a unique challenge for evaluation – the measurement of important but hard to quantify
criteria “increase in curiosity/enthusiasm/confidence in ones own ability to experiment”. Further, RWU students will
become familiar with RIMOSA’s multidisciplinary, hands-on, semi-open ended programs and a new concept for teaching
science and art. This multidisciplinary direction – based on STEAM – which includes art and design as well as traditional
STEM disciplines, originated in Rhode Island but is fast gaining traction worldwide.
SECTION 4: Financial Information
What is your organization’s annual operating budget? Please include a copy of your most recent budget with the
application.
Our budget has grown through the years. In 2013 it was $22,000. In 2014 it will be $36,000.
What are your major sources of funding?
Our major funding is earned income through outreach programs. Depending on the year, we have large influxes of
funding from grants.
How much funding from your annual operating budget is set aside for this project (if any)?
Unfortunately, we have no funds set aside for this project, simply the time of our staff.
SECTION 5: Private Sector Involvement
Have you or your organization discussed the project with practicing professionals (e.g. architect, engineer, planner,
consultants, etc.)?
(please circle one):
Yes / No
If no, please explain why:
As stated, our budget is very small. This project, while important and helpful, is not key to our day to day functions, and
so we cannot afford to pull from our meager budget to pay for it.
SECTION 6: Supporting Documents
Please include the following items when submitting your application:
 Budget for the current fiscal year
 List of current Board members
 Copies of supporting resources identified in section 2 as needed to support your application