Situating Science Learning on Alternative Sanitation Solutions in Breweries to Increase Public Participation in Decision-making Related to Wastewater Systems

Most U.S. sanitation systems rely on aging wastewater infrastructure. Innovative approaches to sanitation are available that can support fertilizer, mineral, and chemical independence for farming communities while saving costs and saving water. However, without greater public understanding and demand, they are unlikely to be adopted. While children regularly get exposure to STEM via school and informal learning settings like museums, many young adults may lack the opportunity to become engaged with STEM if they are not exposed to it in the context of higher education or work. This can affect their ability to engage in decision-making for issues at the intersection of society and emerging technology adoption. Just as museums can serve to help children learn about STEM and STEM careers, other types of informal spaces may help young adults learn about how STEM is infused in daily life and different workplaces. This project will investigate how to present STEM concepts to young adult audiences in non-traditional settings. Specifically, it will explore the delivery of sanitation and agricultural concepts to young adult audiences in the context of breweries. Businesses in Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Vermont sell a product intrinsically connected to the nutrient cycle and offer a compelling setting for increasing awareness of alternative sanitation solutions. To address this need, an interdisciplinary team and STEM researchers from TERC, Notable Human Films, UNC School of the Arts, and Rich Earth Institute will combine 2D infographics, 3D interactives, demonstration toilets, expert perspectives, and documentary short films to create immersive learning experiences for young adults. Ultimately the project will increase public participation in discussions and decision-making related to local water and wastewater systems, creating the conditions for more resilient and economically viable infrastructure systems. The research advances informal STEM learning by investigating how dialogue-based science communication can engage young adult audiences. The project also contributes new knowledge about how communities develop awareness, curiosity, and receptivity toward emerging technological innovations. Responding to calls for an approach to science communication that builds a practice based in dialogue, the project employs ethnographic methods, qualitative inquiry, and artifact analysis to examine how documentary films, installations, facilitated conversations, and interactive experiences function together within businesses that are community gathering spaces to affect how young adults come to understand STEM topics and their intersection with local economic issues. Three interrelated strands of research investigate (1) the design and implementation of the learning experience, (2) participants' learning, engagement, and evolving perspectives, and (3) the role of documentary film within the broader learning ecology. In addition to studying an experiential model for STEM learning in gathering spaces the project creates an event kit, including documentary shorts and learning resources for informal educators and the broader ecological sanitation community. This project was funded by the STEM K-12 program, which supports fundamental, applied, and translational research on STEM learning in both formal K-12 education and informal learning environments. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.