What is the 21st Century Afterschool Science Project (21st CASP)?
The 21st Century Afterschool Science Project is a federally-funded project supported by the New Jersey Department of Education for out-of-school time (OST) [before-school, afterschool, summer, winter recess, and weekends] programs in New Jersey. The project was a collaboration among the New Jersey Department of Education, Liberty Science Center and the New Jersey School Age Care Coalition, to develop, pilot test and document a replicable model to enrich student learning and engagement in the afterschool setting. What are the components of the project model? The project model includes the following components: • An informal, hands-on science curriculum that provides an opportunity to practice language arts and math skills, and reinforces science concepts that is appropriate for the OST setting; • Use of guided-inquiry approach to encourage student problem-solving and engagement and effective facilitation of science learning; • Training and capacity-building through modeling of effective
