{"id":420624,"date":"2026-05-05T02:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/learning-resources\/science-activation\/breaking-barriers-at-3rd-annual-findings-from-the-field-symposium\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T02:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:58:41","slug":"breaking-barriers-at-3rd-annual-findings-from-the-field-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=420624","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Barriers at 3rd Annual Findings from the Field Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Students had the opportunity to practice their science communication skills during the poster session portion of the Findings from the Field Symposium, held in Portland Maine.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On March 30, 2026, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and the NASA Science Activation program\u2019s Learning Ecosystems Northeast<\/a> (LENE) project hosted the third installment of the Findings from the Field Student Research Symposium. This annual event and associated Findings from the Field journal are where students are the experts and the usual \u201cwhite coat\u201d barriers associated with science communication come down. This year\u2019s event welcomed 106 students, grades four through eight, 29 educators, and 15 Subject Matter Experts, and it featured 68 research posters, 14 lightning talks, and 5 discussion sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To continue to foster a sense of belonging, the 2026 symposium introduced several shifts in how students interacted with science experts, data, and each other. In a move that subverted the traditional \u201clook but don\u2019t touch\u201d rule of science, the first part of the day had students engaging in an activity inspired by the Data Vandals art group. They marked up visuals and treated data as a living, breathing conversation rather than a static fact. Another shift occurred within small discussion groups \u2013 the physical layout helped position the student scientists as the professionals. Students sat at the main table, while adults and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) sat behind them. This put the youth, and their findings, at the center of the room.<\/p>\n

A keynote speech given by Dr. Dave Reidmiller, Chief Impact Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, delivered what became the day\u2019s unofficial mantra \u2013 \u201cScience is a team sport\u201d. This idea was reinforced in discussion groups with youth where they realized that scientific inquiry isn\u2019t isolated. Students from different schools discovered they were essentially colleagues working on the same problems.<\/p>\n

In the \u201cAsh and Hemlock\u201d groups, students who had only read about invasive pests found themselves swapping notes with students who had actually identified them in the field. Guiding questions posed by facilitators helped bridge any gaps in their knowledge and move the conversation forward:<\/p>\n