At the outset, the alliance shared a strong belief that improvement in K-8 science and math learning will only be accomplished through a teaching pedagogy that emphasizes active student investigation of science concepts, processes and phenomena. The SLN alliance sought to integrate the educational resources offered by these science centers with the power of telecomputing to provide powerful new support for teacher development and science learning in the pilot schools. As the SLN project approached its three-year term, the founding six museums felt it important to begin expanding the network's horizons. With the Web's popularity continuing to become a global phenomenon, the SLN alliance began linking with other leading science museums around the world that were also exploring information technology as a means to support science learning. Unisys as Founding Sponsor is providing continuing funding for the expansion.
Collaborative projects are already underway in the expanded network.
Projects are focused on developing and testing educational Web resources , translating existing SLN resources into various languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Finnish and facilitating communications and collaboration among classrooms around the world. The effort will expand the successful SLN project into international territory, enabling teachers, students and science learners all over the world to use effective, Web-based science resources developed by leading science museums. The partners hope to attract a growing audience of science learners around the world and be recognized as the premier website for science educators everywhere. The project will exploit the rich collections of flight technology and artifacts in the two museums. The Japan Science Foundation plans on developing and using virtual exhibits as a science education curriculum.