The University of Texas at Arlington and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will announce Tuesday a Research and Learning Center at the museum, a collaboration that allows scientists to engage with the public they study. The Center will be located in the first-floor gallery. The Research and Learning Center will invite museum visitors to participate in short research interactions lasting no more than 15 minutes. The work will take place in a 1,200 square foot area that contains movable furnishings.
The museum is partnering with UT Arlington’s College of Education and Health Professions. It will be guided by the University’s Southwest Center for Mind, Brain and Education. According to the school, it will be the only such center in the southwest and one of five in the United States. “This collaboration fulfills our mission to educate students, encourage learning, support faculty research and engage the community,” said Jeanne Gerlach, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions in a news release. “What usually unfolds in a university setting will now take place in a public setting with museum-goers as the potential subjects. Out of that interaction we hope to see unpredicted but great ideas.”
The Jan. 14 opening will feature Dan Popa, a UT Arlington associate professor of electrical engineering, who is researching the use of robotic technology in the treatment of children with autism.