Langworthy, SaraBenning, SarahJordan, Catherine2013-12-092013-12-092012-10https://hdl.handle.net/11299/161319The Wonder Years: The Science of Early Development (WY), funded by the National Science Foundation, is a collaboration among the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) and University of Minnesota’s Extension Children Youth and Family Consortium (CYFC), the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED), and the Institute of Child Development (ICD). The WY project includes a variety of elements. Public forums bring together community members and experts to discuss scientific findings and implications for families and communities. Citizen dialogues convene a diverse mix of interested citizens, state and local policymakers, and early childhood advocates to discuss society’s role in supporting young children. CYFC’s qualitative research study examines the usefulness of informal science education settings, like museum exhibitions and citizen dialogues, in enhancing state legislators’ knowledge and decision-making in early childhood policies. This is a completely new way of thinking about how policymakers might learn and integrate information about the science of early childhood into their decision-making, and how the University can best facilitate the useful translation of research for policymakers. CYFC has hosted WY field experiences for students. CYFC also recently developed a virtual tour of the exhibition that gives viewers insight into what they might learn when visiting the WY exhibition. In this poster presentation, CYFC staff will engage conference attendees in learning more about this collaborative and innovative project and how they might utilize it in their Extension work.en-USearly childhoodtranslationresearchinformal science educationPresentation